Iowa State got through Week 1 in decent shape, and there’s a chance the Cyclones get even healthier before the next one. Jimmy Rogers said Tuesday that tailback Ryver Peppers is “getting closer,” a sign the running back room may soon add another piece after a solid start to the season.
Aiden Flora will be available after dealing with cramps in Iowa State’s 38-10 win over SEMO on Saturday. Peppers, though, is the one trending upward.
Rogers said, "Ryver's getting closer," Roger said. "And he's gonna take on live contact before he goes out there, so he feels comfortable.
But he's been in practice. He's been taking some team reps.
He's been doing the full length of indie (drills) now."
There could be movement up front, too. Iowa State is also waiting on Gavin Proudfoot and DeAndre Carter Trevor Bindel and Austin Barrett on the offensive line.
If Peppers gets back in the mix healthy, he’d join a backfield that produced about 110 yards against SEMO. Flora and Cameron Pettaway handled most of the work, while Tulane transfer Arnold Barnes III also got chances as a between-the-tackles option.
On the basketball side, tickets for the October 7 Indiana Pacers preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves will go on sale at noon CT today. The game brings Tyrese Haliburton back to Ames, and potentially Tamin Lipsey as well, for a Hilton Coliseum matchup against one of the NBA’s more intriguing teams.
Haliburton is expected to return to the Pacers after missing the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered in the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 2025-26 season will be his fifth with Indiana after the Pacers acquired him in a trade from the Sacramento Kings.
His résumé keeps getting bigger. Haliburton was an All-NBA pick in 2024 and 2025, became the eighth Cyclone to win Olympic gold with Team USA in Paris, and remains the only former Iowa State basketball player to do it. He led the NBA with 10.9 assists per game in 2023-24 before guiding the Pacers to the franchise’s second NBA Finals appearance.
At Iowa State, Haliburton’s time was cut short by a season-ending injury in 2019-20, but his impact was unmistakable. He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors, was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, and finished his Cyclone career with 222 games played. Over 57 career games from 2018-20, he averaged 10.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 50.4% from the field, 42.6% from 3-point range and 77.5% at the line.
The new AP Top 25 also delivered plenty of movement for the Big 12. Four league teams are ranked in the first poll of the regular season: No.
13 Texas Tech, No. 14 BYU, No.
20 Utah and No. 22 Houston.
Texas Tech and BYU each slipped one spot, while Utah and Houston climbed.
The schedule gives those teams little time to settle in. Texas Tech visits Oregon State, which lost at Houston in Week 1.
BYU, after rolling past Utah Tech, gets a chance to make noise against Arizona in Provo. Utah faces Arkansas at home, and Houston has a buy game against Southern.
Elsewhere in the rankings, LSU jumped into the AP Top 10 after pounding Clemson, Oregon dropped out of the top five, and Michigan fell out of the poll after a controversial win over Western Michigan. Ohio State stayed at No. 1, setting up a top-five showdown with No.
4 Texas in Austin. Seven schools received No. 1 votes, the most since the 2016 preseason poll and the most in a regular-season poll since September 2, 2014.
Virginia also entered the Top 25 after hammering North Carolina State in Week Zero, marking the Cavaliers’ first regular-season ranking in the opening poll since 2005.
In Other News...
Iowa States Cy-Hawk Hopes Suddenly Rest On A Long-Awaited Breakthrough
Carson Willichs path back to the field has already made him one of the more compelling figures on Iowa States defense. The fifth-year linebacker has battled through two ACL injuries and a severe staph infection just to get back into the rotation, and he even chipped in during the season opener as the Cyclones settled into their new year. For a player who has had to fight for every snap, simply getting to this point has been its own kind of victory.
Now the stage gets bigger, with Willich lined up to make the first start of his career in the Cy-Hawk game against Iowa. Coaches have continued to point to his accountability and the growth he has shown through the grind, even as recent games have included missed tackles that still leave room for more. In a rivalry where every detail seems to matter, Iowa State is suddenly leaning on a long-overdue breakthrough from a veteran who has spent years waiting for this chance. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Heads Into Jimmy Rogers First Cy-Hawk With One Big Unknown
The buildup to Jimmy Rogers first Cy-Hawk rivalry game has plenty of the usual edge, but Iowa State is also spending the week sorting through a fresh variable on the other sideline. Iowas quarterback picture is still unsettled after the opener, and that means the Cyclones are preparing for a game plan that could shift depending on who takes the first snap.
For Iowa State, the emphasis has been on the Hawkeyes offense as a whole rather than trying to chase one name off the depth chart. Defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit said the focus is on Iowas scheme, while players such as wide receiver Tony Diaz and Iowa States Isaac Terrell loom as key pieces in a game that already carries its usual emotion and now adds one more layer of uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Just Created A Fascinating New Cy-Hawk Setup
Iowa State opened the season with a clean defensive showing against Southeast Missouri, and Isaac Terrells three sacks gave the Cyclones an early sign that the front can set the tone this fall. It was the kind of start that coaches like to see in September, especially for a team trying to build rhythm and confidence before the schedule tightens.
The long-range schedule news adds another layer to that momentum. Iowa State has adjusted its 2027 slate with the idea of giving itself better preparation heading into the Cy-Hawk showdown, creating a setup that should leave more breathing room before Iowa arrives. For a rivalry game that always carries extra weight, that kind of planning could matter just as much as what happens on the field in the weeks leading up to it. [Read more 🡒]