AMES - Jimmy Rogers has already been through one bruising Iowa game at Kinnick Stadium, and he knows exactly what kind of afternoon that can become.
Back in 2022, he was South Dakota State’s defensive coordinator when the Jackrabbits dragged Iowa into a 7-3 fight and held the Hawkeyes to 57 rushing yards on 36 carries. The next year, Rogers took over as head coach, went undefeated, and finished with an FCS national championship.
Now he’s bringing Iowa State into Saturday night’s Cy-Hawk Series showdown against No. 22 Iowa, with kickoff set for 6:30 at Kinnick Stadium and the game set to air nationally on NBC/Peacock.
The numbers say the Cyclones are walking into a tough spot. Iowa State is listed as a 14.5-point underdog, which is even bigger than South Dakota State was in that 2022 game, when the Jackrabbits were 10.5-point dogs.
But this rivalry has a habit of ignoring the betting line. The last eight Cy-Hawk games have all been decided by 10 points or fewer, and the last two have gone Iowa State’s way thanks to Kyle Konrardy drilling twin 54-yard field goals.
So yes, the guessing game is already underway.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said after the Hawkeyes’ 40-0 opening win over Northern Illinois that he still hasn’t locked in a starting quarterback, which means Iowa State may have to prepare for both Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. Brown had the cleaner stat line, completing 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown to Tony Diaz.
Hecklinski finished 7-for-16 with a touchdown pass to Xavier Williams, but he also threw an interception. Brown, a 6-4, 218-pound former Auburn transfer, looks like the favorite for now, but Ferentz has left the door open.
The clearest threat for Iowa is Kamari Moulton. The 5-9, 211-pound fourth-year back from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ripped Northern Illinois for a career-high 183 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the opener, and he looks ready to be a problem for every defense on Iowa’s schedule.
He missed last year’s Cy-Hawk game because of injury and managed only 16 yards on seven carries against Iowa State in 2024, so there’s extra motivation baked into this one. He led Iowa with 878 rushing yards last season and comes into Saturday as one of the most dangerous backs the Cyclones will face all year.
DJ Vonnahme is another name to circle. The 6-4, 241-pound tight end from Breda caught four passes for 42 yards against Northern Illinois and already owns FWAA Freshman All-America honors from last season.
He’s the kind of tight end Iowa loves to feature - smooth route runner, reliable hands, and a willing blocker. He had just one catch for six yards in last year’s 16-13 loss to Iowa State, but he also scored three touchdowns in Iowa’s final five games of 2025 and is widely viewed as a future pro.
On defense, Bryce Hawthorne brings a different kind of story. The 6-3, 298-pound fourth-year tackle from Osseo, Minn., transferred from South Dakota State, where he played for Rogers and current Iowa State defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit in 2024 and earned Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer honors.
Hawthorne picked up Iowa’s “Hustle Award” on defense last season as a reserve and then posted a career-high four tackles while sharing a sack in the win over Northern Illinois. He’s the sort of hard-nosed interior piece that can matter in a game like this.
And in the back end, Zach Lutmer gives Iowa another player who can change a possession fast. The 6-1, 203-pound safety from Rock Rapids, a two-time “Hustle Award” winner, finished last season with 71 tackles, three interceptions, and one fumble recovery.
Coaches named him a second-team All-Big 12 player last season, and The Sporting News put him on its preseason second-team All-America list this year. He’s a playmaker in coverage and against the run, which makes him one of the most important defenders on the field Saturday.
If Iowa State is going to pull this off, it will have to do it against a roster with a few familiar names and a lot of proven production.
In Other News...
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 Has A Real Opening In The Cy-Hawk Fight For The Trophy
The Cy-Hawk game has a familiar feel to it again: plenty of noise, plenty of history, and not much separating Iowa and Iowa State as they head into a rivalry that rarely gives either side much breathing room. Iowas quarterback situation remains unsettled, which adds another layer to a matchup that already tends to turn on small edges, while the battle up front figures to be a major factor in whether the Cyclones can control the pace and keep the trophy chase on their terms.
Jaylen Raynors first outing in a Cyclone uniform gave Iowa State a glimpse of what the passing game can look like when he is comfortable, and that makes the stakes in this one even more interesting for a team looking to build on that start. Still, the setting matters too, because Kinnick Stadium has not exactly been a welcoming place for the Cyclones in this series, and the recent run of tight finishes suggests this one could come down to the same kind of late-game edge that has defined so many of these meetings. [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 🡒]