AMES - Jaylen Raynor’s first start for Iowa State comes with a twist.
Not only is Saturday’s season opener his debut in a new uniform, it also puts the three-year Arkansas State starter back across from Southeast Missouri State, a team he already knows well.
Last year’s meeting was one to remember. Raynor laughed when asked about it before settling on, “It was … ” He paused, smiled, and finished: “Pretty good.”
That barely covers it. The 6-1, 208-pound fourth-year player went 26 of 32 for 345 yards and three touchdowns in Arkansas State’s 42-24 win over the FCS RedHawks in last season’s opener. Now he’s about to make his 37th straight start at the FBS level, and he’s not expecting the same kind of afternoon to come easily.
“Some familiarities from last year, but obviously it’s a new team,” said Raynor, one of more than 80 newcomers on an ISU roster that most projections have near the bottom of the Big 12.
Southeast Missouri State enters at 1-0 after a 23-21 win over Indiana State last Saturday, and it, too, has been rebuilt. The RedHawks brought in more than 50 new players, including several from the FBS level, giving them some early-season momentum heading into Ames.
That’s part of why first-year ISU head coach Jimmy Rogers isn’t downplaying the matchup, even with his team listed as a 29.5-point favorite by Las Vegas oddsmakers.
“We have our hands full,” Rogers said. “We’ve got to be ready to play our best ball.”
That warning carries weight because Rogers has lived this exact kind of game before. At South Dakota State, he saw an FCS team knock off FBS Colorado State 42-23 in 2021, then push Iowa to the edge the next season before a 7-3 loss at Kinnick Stadium. He understands how dangerous an overlooked FCS roster can be when it gets a shot at a bigger opponent.
“Our guys better not relax or think anything less of a team because of the level in which they play at,” Rogers said, adding that his own background makes the lesson easier to sell. “It surely helps knowing this because some of (our) guys came from that level and they were excited when they had the opportunity to play an FBS team, or a Power Four team. So momentum is a powerful thing and they’ve got to take every bit of this week seriously.”
The Cyclones have spent more than eight months hearing plenty of outside doubt. They’re expected to be underdogs in all but two or three games, and that has shaped the mood inside the program.
The predictions say one thing. The roster, as Rogers and his players see it, hasn’t had a chance to answer yet.
Raynor framed that mindset in simple terms.
“I think confidence is built through competence,” he said. “Competence is where you’re putting in the work. The hours that people don’t see behind closed doors and things like that builds competence, and beyond that, your confidence on the field builds.”
That work has been happening everywhere - in the weight room, in meetings, and on the practice field. It’s also helped forge a team identity out of a group of newcomers trying to turn separate stories into one result that will ultimately be measured in wins and losses.
“How are you gonna respond in a game?” first-year offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl said.
“It’s to be determined. We all think we have a really good idea of how it’s going to go, but it still needs to show up and show up in a big way.”
For Rogers, who brings a 33-9 record as a head coach into the season, that response is the whole point of Saturday.
“The mission is winning,” Rogers said. “I’m excited to watch the guys compete against somebody else. I’m excited to watch the discipline of what we’ve tried to create to this point and see how the guys respond to live action and the bullets flying at them.”
In Other News...
Iowa State Fans Have A New Jimmy Rogers Routine To Watch
About 15 former Iowa State football players are expected to open the 2026 NFL season on active rosters after the leagues official roster deadline, another reminder of how much talent has been moving through the program in recent years. For Cyclone fans, its a notable point of pride and a useful measuring stick for where the program stands, especially as the current staff settles in and starts putting its own stamp on the roster and routine.
The fall schedule now gives supporters a steady weekly look at that process, with Tuesday morning media availabilities set to begin with head coach Jimmy Rogers and offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl, plus selected players. And beyond the weekly football updates, the Cyclone Club will be recognized at the home opener, a small but meaningful nod to the people whose support helps keep Iowa State athletics moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States Opener Will Reveal How Set This New-Look Team Really Is
Iowa States season opener against Southeast Missouri State at Jack Trice Stadium arrives with the kind of fresh-start energy that always makes September interesting, but this one carries more uncertainty than usual. Jimmy Rogers is beginning his first year as head coach, and he has a new-look staff around him with Tyler Roehl, Jesse Bobbit and Rob Grande helping shape the early identity of the program.
The bigger question is how quickly all of that can come together once the ball is kicked off. With roughly 80 new players on the roster and only 25 back from last season, the Cyclones are trying to turn a major roster overhaul into something coherent before the schedule starts to tighten. The opener should offer an early glimpse of how settled Iowa State really is, and how much remains a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States First Jimmy Rogers Test Looks Trickier Than Expected
The Jimmy Rogers era at Iowa State is set to begin in familiar surroundings, with the Cyclones opening the 2026 season against SEMO at Jack Trice Stadium. It is the kind of debut that brings immediate attention to how quickly a new staff can settle in, especially with Iowa State working to blend in 22 new starters before the first snap.
SEMOs defense already offered one early warning sign. Safety DJ Delmore turned heads in the Redhawks opener with a disruptive all-around night against Indiana State, making life harder for the offense from the back end and around the line of scrimmage. For Iowa State, the first test of the Rogers tenure now looks a little less like a tune-up and a little more like a genuine first examination. [Read more 🡒]