Iowa State heads into the break at 3-3, and the record alone doesn’t really tell the story. This team has already shown it can hang in tough spots, and it has also shown how thin the margin is when the opponent is elite.
The Cyclones opened with a three-point loss at No. 17 Iowa in Kinnick, then pushed No.
11 Utah before coming up short at home. They also gave the home crowd plenty to remember in a 45-42 win over West Virginia, a game fueled by Aiden Flora’s five-touchdown performance.
Then came the trip to Provo against No. 8 BYU, a 14-point loss on paper that looked more competitive than the final number.
Kalani Sitake’s aggressive fourth-down decisions didn’t go BYU’s way, and Iowa State’s defense managed to hold up in key moments and keep the game alive longer than the scoreboard suggests.
That’s the bigger picture here: three of Iowa State’s losses have come against top 20 teams. This is not a team drifting through the season. It has been tested, and it has answered in stretches.
Still, the bye week has a very specific job to do, and it starts with health. The news there is rough.
Overby is done for the season, and with that, the questions about why he was on a special teams unit in Provo suddenly carry a lot more weight. There are no easy explanations.
For a passing game already looking for consistency, it’s a major blow. It also puts more pressure on Raynor and a receiver room that just lost its most reliable option.
That leaves Roehl and Rogers with six games to sort out who can step forward. Someone has to. The bye week is where that process begins, with film work, reps and a hard look at who can be trusted when the offense needs a play in a key moment.
Iowa State returns on Oct. 24 against Arizona, then closes with Oklahoma State, Baylor, Cincinnati, UCF and Kansas State. There are games in that stretch the Cyclones can win, and there are games that will demand another high-level effort.
A bowl game is still there for the taking. Iowa State needs three wins from its final six to get there, and given what it has already shown against strong competition, that remains a realistic path. But without Overby, the road just got tougher.
In Other News...
Blake Buchanan Could Decide How Far Iowa State Can Go
Blake Buchanan arrived in Ames with a different kind of resume than the usual one-and-done buzz, and last season gave Iowa State plenty of reason to believe his presence changes the ceiling. After two years at Virginia, he settled into a role for the Cyclones and averaged 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, showing the kind of steady interior production that can matter in a long Big 12 season.
What makes Buchanan especially important for Iowa State is the part of the game that does not always show up first in the box score. T.J. Otzelberger has called him the best defensive big man he has coached, a striking endorsement from a coach who has built his program on toughness and connected defense. With Buchanan returning, the Cyclones are banking on his leadership and rim protection to help determine just how far this group can go. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States Passing Game Just Took Another Brutal Hit
Iowa States passing game took another hit over the weekend when Dominic Overby went down with a knee injury against BYU, and the Cyclones now have to finish the season without one of their most reliable receiving options. Head coach Jimmy Rogers later confirmed on Coaches Corner that Overbys injury is season-ending, a tough development for a unit that has already been thinning out at wide receiver.
Overby had emerged as a leading target for Iowa State, giving the offense a steady option as it tried to keep pace through a difficult stretch. Losing him only deepens the challenge for the Cyclones, who have already been dealing with multiple season-ending injuries at the position and now have to reshape their passing attack again with little margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces A Huge Basketball Decision Beyond This Season
Iowa State heads into the season with real buzz on both sides of the program, especially after landing at No. 6 in the preseason KenPom rankings. The projections suggest a team built to contend right away, with an offense expected to sit 23rd nationally and a defense pegged second, a combination that should keep the Cyclones in the thick of the Big 12 race if those numbers hold.
Bigger-picture questions are already starting to form around the womens program, though, because Bill Fennelly has announced he will retire after the 2026-27 season. That gives Iowa State some time, but not much, to think through a succession plan, and several names are already circulating as possible fits, including Heather Ezell, Billy Fennelly and Caroline McCombs. [Read more 🡒]