Week 1 of the NFL season gave a little bit of everything for former Iowa State players: big stat lines, injuries, and a few quiet nights that still came with meaningful snaps.
Breece Hall wasted no time making his presence felt in the New York Jets’ 23-10 win over the Tennessee Titans. Hall started and handled 22 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.
He also caught two passes for 18 yards. While snap counts are unofficial, he was on the field for 39 offensive snaps and one special teams snap.
The Titans, as a team, managed just 68 rushing yards.
David Montgomery turned in one of the loudest performances of the opening weekend in the Houston Texans’ 36-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He started and found the end zone three times, twice on the ground and once through the air.
Montgomery finished with 60 rushing yards on 20 carries and added three receptions for 19 yards. He logged 39 offensive snaps.
Another former Cyclone in Houston, Xavier Hutchinson, contributed as well. In that same loss to Buffalo, he caught three passes for 32 yards and was on the field for 44 offensive snaps.
Jaylin Noel also got involved for the Texans. He did not start, but he finished with two catches for 53 yards, fair caught a punt and returned three kickoffs for 70 yards. Noel played 24 offensive snaps and six on special teams.
Jake Hummel’s night ended early in Houston’s loss. He logged 17 special teams snaps before leaving in the third quarter because of an injury. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports Hummel (groin) is considered week-to-week.
Brock Purdy picked up right where fans are used to seeing him. In the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, Purdy completed 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran five times for 29 yards.
On the defensive side, Darien Porter had a strong outing in the Las Vegas Raiders’ 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins. Porter started, assisted on two tackles, defended two passes and played 46 defensive snaps along with eight on special teams.
Domonique Orange, listed as “Big Citrus,” helped the Minnesota Vikings to a 39-22 win against Green Bay. He did not start, but he recorded two tackles, including a tackle for loss that led to a Packers fumble on the next play. Orange played 22 defensive snaps and seven on special teams.
Will McDonald IV was on the field for the Jets’ win over Tennessee, playing 25 defensive snaps and eight on special teams. He did not play, but he did sack Cam Ward in the fourth quarter for an 11-yard loss.
Charlie Kolar started for the Los Angeles Chargers in their 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He did not record a reception, but he was out there for 30 offensive snaps and 13 on special teams.
Jalen Travis started at right tackle for the Indianapolis Colts in their 41-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and played every offensive snap - 54 in all - plus four special teams snaps.
TJ Tampa appeared in the Ravens’ 41-23 win over the Colts, but his night was cut short by a knee injury in the first half. He played five special teams snaps before exiting for the rest of the game.
Eyioma Uwazurike was also listed among the former Cyclones from the opening week.
In Other News...
Tamin Lipseys Iowa State Future Now Hinges On One Decision
Former Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey is waiting on a legal ruling that could shape what comes next in his college career. He is among the athletes involved in a case seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow players to compete in a fifth season, and the matter is now in the hands of Indiana's Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Kara Krothe, whose decision is expected soon.
For Iowa State, the outcome carries obvious interest because Lipsey was such a central piece of the program's recent success, and any chance to extend his college run would ripple beyond just one roster spot. Even as the legal process plays out, the Cyclones have moved on to other fall business, including adjustments in punt return roles and the release of the Big 12 schedule, but Lipsey's future remains one of the more closely watched unresolved storylines around the program. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Faces A Brutal Reality In The ACC Talent Race
Iowa States place in the broader college football money race looks a lot like the one it has fought for years: competitive enough to matter, but still operating in a world where roster-building dollars can separate the haves from the have-nots. A new look at estimated 2026 roster spending across Power 4 programs puts the focus on the schools at the lower end of the scale, and the Cyclones are part of that group alongside programs such as Boston College, Duke, Arizona and Cincinnati. The numbers are estimates, not confirmed figures, but the snapshot offers a useful read on how much latitude different schools may have as the sport keeps tilting toward financial muscle.
What makes the picture more interesting is how varied the reasons are behind those spending ranges. Donor motivation, athletic department priorities and recent coaching changes all play into where a program lands, which means the gap is not just about size or conference affiliation. For Iowa State, the key question is how far it can stretch in a talent market that keeps getting more expensive, especially if the schools around it are making their own push to close ground in the same recruiting and transfer spaces. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State May Need This Breakout Guard Sooner Than It Can Get Him
Iowa States roster churn has already started to reshape the outlook for next season, with Joshua Jefferson going in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets and Milan Momcilovic testing the draft before ultimately ending up at Kentucky after withdrawing from the Cyclones. Those departures leave the backcourt and wing rotation looking different than the one that helped define the program recently, and they put even more attention on the younger pieces expected to absorb a bigger role.
Killyan Toure is one of the names now carrying real intrigue because of what he could become once he gets back on the floor. Recovering from shoulder surgery, he is expected to miss time until January, but Jon Rothstein has still pegged him as a potential breakout player for the 2026-27 season. For Iowa State, the challenge is obvious: there may be a real need for that upside before the calendar even turns, and the staff will have to wait and see how quickly his game can catch up once he returns. [Read more 🡒]