Iowa State Football: Ranking Cyclones’ 2020 opponents by toughness

The annual rivalry game may or may not actually happen with the Big Ten expected to decide on a conference-only season because of COVID-19, but let’s just say that the game is still on for the sake of this opponent ranking.

Iowa is never an easy matchup for Iowa State and the Cyclones have been on the wrong side of too many classics in recent years. Matt Campbell is looking to finally break through and this Iowa team may be the most beatable since he’s been in Ames.

Kirk Ferentz is weathering an off-field storm this offseason with his strength coach and has to find a new starting quarterback running back and six starters on defense. Things will be difficult for Iowa in 2019 if they want to win 10 games.

Oklahoma State returns the ‘Big 3’ of Chuba Hubbard, Tylan Wallace and Spencer Sanders in 2020 and you could argue that this will be the most productive trio in college football.

Sanders is entering his sophomore season after he passed for 2,065 yards and 16 touchdowns during an injury-riddled freshman year. Hubbard had 2,094 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns and Wallace caught 53 passes for 903 yards and eight touchdowns and that was even with him missing a handful of games with a season-ending injury.

Offense won’t be an issue, but the defense ranked 82nd last year and No. 102 against the pass. That will need to change if the Cowboys truly want to upend Oklahoma for the Big 12 crown.