Iowa State Football: 2018 Game-by-game predictions
2. Iowa (Sept. 8)
The Cy-Hawk series is renewed again in Iowa City as Iowa State looks to bring the Cy-Hawk Trophy back to Ames for the first time since 2014. Iowa has won four out of the last five meetings and seven out of the last ten overall. Last year’s game in Ames may have been the most exciting in series history resulting in a 44-41 Iowa win in overtime. But, Iowa State’s last win against Iowa did come in Kinnick on Cole Netten’s game-winning field goal as time expired.
Iowa had a very up and down season, with high points against Iowa State and Ohio State, and low points against Wisconsin and Purdue. However, Iowa has a great chance to be a sleeper in the Big Ten Championship race this upcoming fall and the catalyst is junior quarterback Nate Stanley. Iowa does return a bulk of their passing game and their defense, which may very well contain one of the deepest defensive lines in the country.
Iowa State fans will tell you beating Iowa isn’t a big deal, they are lying. Iowa fans will tell you beating Iowa State isn’t a big deal, they are also lying. This game has a lot of meaning to a lot of people, myself included. This will be the most anticipated matchup in the rivalry’s history and there’s plenty of good reason for it to be. However, as I stated in my Iowa preview, the Kinnick Stadium edge will be too much for the Cyclones in the end.