Kirk Ferentz didn’t just walk into Cy-Hawk week with the usual rivalry edge. He also used the moment to make a bigger point about the state of football in Iowa.
Ahead of Saturday’s kickoff at Kinnick Stadium, the Iowa coach said the game and the broader football scene in the state deserve more national attention. Ferentz, who has been around the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry since 1981, said the sport in Iowa is not getting enough credit outside the state line.
"I still think it's, really, probably underappreciated a little bit on a national front, just the football that gets played here for a state of our size."
That was the heart of Ferentz’s message, and he didn’t limit it to the two programs meeting this weekend. He praised all levels of college football in Iowa and called the state’s overall football profile "underappreciated."
There’s a reason that perspective carries weight. Iowa has both a sustained winner in Ferentz’s program and a competitive Iowa State team under Matt Campbell, which is already more than most smaller states can claim. Ferentz also pointed to the rest of the football landscape here, including Grandview College, which has won 72 straight games, and Northern Iowa, which is regularly in the mix for the FCS playoffs.
Ferentz also credited the state’s high school football development and the way players are produced across Iowa’s programs. The timing matters, too, because this is all coming on the eve of one of the state’s most intense games, but Ferentz made clear that the praise was not about the matchup alone.
His point was bigger than rivalry week: Iowa football, at every level, is producing plenty of quality, even if the national audience hasn’t fully caught up. With no pro teams in the state, that talent and that attention funnel straight into college football, and plenty of it will be on display Saturday when Iowa and Iowa State meet again.
In Other News...
Iowa Is Using Cy-Hawk Weekend To Win Over Priority Targets
The Cy-Hawk game has long been one of the biggest dates on Iowas calendar, and this weekend it is doubling as a recruiting showcase. More than 20 football prospects are expected to be on hand, giving the Hawkeyes a chance to put their atmosphere, tradition and game-day routine in front of a group that includes both committed and uncommitted targets.
It is not just football being spotlighted, either. Iowa is bringing in recruits across womens basketball and mens basketball as part of the weekend push, turning one of the states signature sporting events into a broader pitch for the program. Former Hawkeyes quarterback CJ Beathard is also set to serve as honorary captain, adding another familiar face to a weekend designed to connect current targets with Iowas past and present. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Turns To A Familiar Tone Setter For Huge Cy-Hawk Night
The Cy-Hawk rivalry is set for a familiar kind of spotlight Saturday night at a sold-out Kinnick Stadium, with Iowa leaning into the kind of setting that has long defined these games. The Hawkeyes will be in all-black uniforms for the annual showdown with Iowa State, and the occasion will carry extra weight with the quarterback competition still unfolding as Iowa looks for a clear answer behind center.
C.J. Beathard, who quarterbacked Iowa from 2013 to 2016, is part of the nights build-up and gives the program a direct link to one of its steadier recent eras. For a team trying to find its next leader under center, having a former quarterback from a successful stretch back around the program is the sort of familiar tone setter that can matter on a stage like this, even before the first snap is taken. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa May Have A Rare Chance To Dominate Cy-Hawk Again
The 73rd meeting of the Cy-Hawk rivalry is shaping up as one of those games that can say as much about momentum as it does about bragging rights. Iowa and Iowa State have spent years trading blows in a series that tends to distort expectations, and this matchup has drawn attention because it comes with the kind of context Hawkeye fans know well: a familiar in-state opponent, plenty of history, and a national audience that always seems ready to treat September football in Iowa as something bigger than it looks.
The comparison that keeps surfacing is the 2016 game, when Iowa turned the rivalry into a runaway and left little doubt about which sideline controlled the day. The setup this time is different enough to make the projection interesting, with both programs in new coaching eras and plenty of fan anticipation around whether Iowa can once again turn a rivalry game into a statement. The numbers point toward a lopsided feel, but the real question is whether this Cy-Hawk meeting can match the rare kind of dominance that made that earlier result so memorable. [Read more 🡒]