Iowa State Football: Post-spring game-by-game predictions for 2019

Matt Campbell has Iowa State football trending in the right direction, but how could the 2019 season play out following another solid spring?

Remember when Iowa State football was considered a laughing stock in the Big 12? It wasn’t all that long ago, but Matt Campbell has made changes for the better in Ames and things are looking up for the Cyclones.

Does that mean Iowa State will soon be contending for Big 12 titles? Potentially, especially with the talent returning to the roster in 2019, led by sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy who took the Big 12 by storm last season.

David Montgomery is gone, but there’s still plenty of hope in the backfield with Kene Nwangwu and highly-touted freshman Breece Hall.

Expectations are rising for this program, but what does the season look like, game-by-game, after spring ball?

Northern Iowa had an up-and-down season in 2018, going 7-6 with a loss to Iowa in the Panthers’ only matchup with an FBS opponent.

They did, however, beat No. 2 South Dakota State and No. 13 Illinois State along the way. Still, it was an underwhelming season for the Panthers with a couple of bright spots and things look to be headed toward much of the same in 2019. In fact, most preseason prediction magazines have them finishing in the middle of the pack in the Missouri Valley.

This should be a sure win for the Cyclones who’ll be just far too much for the Panthers to handle, especially in Ames. It may be a battle between in-state foes, but it doesn’t have that rivalry feel like the Iowa Hawkeyes game.

Final Score: Northern Iowa 13, Iowa State 38 (1-0)