Iowa State Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

An early-season matchup in Ames could be a contender for a Saturday primetime slot. The Cyclones might break out the all-black unis for this one.

Who could forget last year? After being down 42-21, Iowa State came back to within one point after scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the game. However, Matt Campbell decided to go for two, and Brock Purdy’s pass was intercepted in the endzone. Oklahoma won 42-41.

The Sooners will have a lot of new faces on this team. Jalen Hurts, CeeDee Lamb, Kenneth Murray, Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon are not on the team. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler has been named the starting quarterback. Rattler may not be another big-time transfer, but he could easily become a household name very soon.

As for the other side of the ball, every year, it seems like people claim that Oklahoma’s defense has improved — only for the doors to get blown off of them in the playoff semifinals. That said, their defense ranked second in the conference last year, and they return over half their starters.

Even though faced with some questions, Oklahoma has proven to be an automatic fill-in for the Big 12 title by this point.

In an extra cruel twist, the Sooners go for two and win on the last play of the game.

Final Score: Oklahoma 36, Iowa State 35 (1-2, 0-2)

Redshirt sophomore Alan Bowman will likely be the starter again this year after missing most of last season with an injury. Under second-year head coach Matt Wells, the Red Raiders look poised to improve upon their quick-tempo offense that ranked seventh nationally in passing even with a backup last year.

Then there is Tech’s defense. The Red Raiders ranked near the bottom of the conference, giving up over 30 points per game. Defense has never been a priority in Lubbock, and the key will likely be creating turnovers after their defense picked off 14 passes last season.

However, the ball will be in good hands with Brock Purdy, and the Cyclones beat Tech again.

Final Score: Iowa State 37, Texas Tech 27 (2-2, 1-2)