Iowa Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2018
It will be very hard to top the excitement of last year’s Cy-Hawk matchup as the Hawkeyes stunned 61,000 at Jack Trice Stadium, stealing a 44-41 win in overtime to keep the Cy-Hawk trophy for the third consecutive year.
This year, however, maybe one of the most anticipated matchups in the series history. Iowa State is coming off an 8-5 season with a win in the Liberty Bowl over Memphis and returns many key players to their success a year ago such as David Montgomery, Hakeem Butler and Willie Harvey Jr. Third-year coach Matt Campbell will no doubt have his Cyclones ready to face their rivals in Iowa City.
It will be a fierce non-conference battle for Kirk Ferentz and his Hawkeyes, especially with it being an in-state rivalry and Iowa State wanting revenge. This game will come down to who wants it more and who is more willing to lay it on the line. Not very often will you see a Cy-Hawk game with this level of intensity and urgency. Luckily, the game is in Iowa City this year, and the Kinnick Stadium advantage is an intimidating an environment as you will find in the country, and it will be the factor the Hawkeyes will use to hold on to the trophy for another year.