Week 2 in Iowa brings the kind of game that always grabs the whole state, and this year’s Cy-Hawk meeting has even more moving parts than usual. Iowa hosts Iowa State on Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. in a sold-out primetime setting for new Cyclone head coach Jimmy Rogers.
There’s no shortage of angles in a rivalry game like this, but the quarterback situation on the Iowa side is still one of the biggest ones to monitor. The “OR” remains on the depth chart between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown, even after Brown got the start against Northern Illinois.
Kirk Ferentz said before the opener that Sept. 5 was about who played better, not who went first, and that stance hasn’t changed yet. Both quarterbacks had their moments against the Huskies, good and bad, and both are carrying the pressure that comes with this matchup.
Across the field, Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor is trying to build on a debut that produced 184 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the win over SEMO. Raynor said afterward that it wasn’t his best work, and he wanted some plays back.
His 50-percent completion rate wasn’t where he wants it, even though he showed some ability to escape the pocket. Now he gets thrown into a setting with 70,000 Hawkeye fans and all the noise that comes with it.
Iowa wide receiver Tony Diaz is another name worth tracking after a busy opener against the Huskies. He scored the first touchdown of the season for the Hawkeyes on a 6-yard catch from Brown, and he drew enough attention that ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show took notice Monday.
Diaz was targeted 13 times, more than any other Iowa player, even though he also had five drops. Iowa is going to keep leaning on him, and this game could say a lot about how the offense starts to take shape through nonconference play.
Up front, both teams will have something to prove. Iowa’s offensive line looked like it was continuing what it started last season, while the Hawkeyes also saw encouraging signs from newer defensive line pieces Bryce Hawthorne, Kahmari Brown and Kenny Merrieweather.
Iowa State’s defensive front got three tackles for loss from end Isaac Terrell, but the bigger storyline is the amount of turnover on the Cyclones’ lines, with no returning starters on either side. That makes the battle at the line of scrimmage especially interesting, because early control there could tilt the whole game.
And then there’s the trophy itself. Iowa has been waiting to get back to winning the Cy-Hawk game, and this feels like another chance to do it.
The Hawkeyes are 20-7 in night games, including a seven-game winning streak, and they’ve gone 25-15 all-time against Iowa State in Kinnick Stadium. The last eight meetings in the rivalry have all been decided by 10 points or fewer, which says plenty about how tight this series usually is.
Nothing is handed out because of history, of course. But for Iowa, this is the kind of game that can put the Cy-Hawk trophy back in the building and give a lot of players a chance to hold it for the first time in their careers.
In Other News...
Iowa State Needs To Know These Hawkeyes Before Kinnick Turns Hostile
The Cy-Hawk buildup always comes with a little extra edge, and this one is no different as Iowa State heads into Kinnick for a nationally televised kickoff at 6:30 p.m. The matchup brings plenty of familiar names into focus, from Iowa quarterbacks Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski to playmakers like running back Kamari Moulton, tight end DJ Vonnahme, defensive tackle Bryce Hawthorne and safety Zach Lutmer, all of whom could shape how hostile the environment feels for the visitors.
For Iowa State, the intrigue goes beyond just the rivalry backdrop. Head coach Jimmy Rogers brings his own coaching history into a game that has stayed tight in recent seasons, and the Cyclones know the Hawkeyes are built to make every possession feel heavier than it should. The next wrinkle is the one Iowa has not fully sorted out yet, and it could matter a lot once the crowd settles in and the first real pressure hits. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State May Have Found A New Threat In Its Receiver Battle
Iowa States opener against Southeast Missouri State offered the kind of first impression a new staff hopes for, with Jimmy Rogers picking up a win in his debut and the Cyclones rolling to a 38-10 finish. Jaylen Raynor set the tone with four touchdown passes, Isaac Terrell piled up three sacks, and the game quickly turned into a showcase for a team that looked sharp in several phases right out of the gate.
Amid all that, Dominic Overby made himself impossible to ignore in the receiver mix. He was not listed as a starter on Iowa States first official depth chart, but he finished with two catches for 85 yards and both receptions came on explosive plays of 40-plus yards. For a depth chart battle that was supposed to sort itself out over time, Overby gave the Cyclones a new name to watch very early. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Enters Cy-Hawk Night With One Huge Edge To Defend
The Cy-Hawk rivalry is headed back to Kinnick Stadium in a familiar spot, with Iowa hosting Iowa State on Sept. 12 in a matchup that already carries the usual bragging rights pressure and a little extra juice. It will be only the fifth night game in the history of the series, and both teams will arrive at 1-0 after season-opening wins, setting up another early-season measuring stick between two programs that know each other too well.
Iowa still owns the edge in the all-time series, but the recent trend has belonged to Iowa State, which has taken the last two meetings and will go into this one trying to keep that momentum intact. For the Cyclones, it is a chance to protect a rare bit of recent success in a rivalry that can swing quickly, especially with the crowd, the time slot and the pressure all waiting at once. [Read more 🡒]