College Football Rankings 2020: Projected preseason Top 25 sans Pac-12, Big Ten
By Zach Bigalke
16. Iowa State Cyclones
- Where they were ranked in the 2019 preseason: 21st (302 points)
- Where they were ranked at the end of 2019: unranked (0 points)
- Where they were in our way-too-early Top 25: unranked
- Where they ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll: 25th (135 points)
Iowa State’s 7-6 record in 2019 was highly deceptive. Luck was largely against the Cyclones, as they lost to Iowa, Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma by a combined 11 points. Flip a few moments in each game and Matt Campbell’s team might have arrived at their regular-season finale on the road against Kansas State with a perfect 11-0 record.
At the same time, though, the wheels fell off in the end as Iowa State fell to the Wildcats in Manhattan by 10 points and then collapsed in a 33-9 blowout loss to Notre Dame at the Camping World Bowl. With a depleted offense that brings back quarterback Brock Purdy but loses four starting offensive linemen, top receiver Deshaunte Jones, and nearly 40 percent of its 2019 production, staving off regression will be critical.
Defensive improvement will also be essential to compete in a season where the Cyclones lost not just their rivalry game against Iowa but also early-season opportunities against UNLV and FCS South Dakota. One of those two paycheck games was at least replaced with a shot against Louisiana, a game that will provide a real test right off the bat for Iowa State as the Ragin’ Cajuns enter 2020 as a real Sun Belt threat
After squeaking in at the final spot in the Coaches Poll earlier in August, expect the Cyclones to bump up into the mid-teens of the AP Top 25 when the organization releases its preseason rankings.