The coaching carousel can leave a mess behind, and Iowa State is living in the middle of it.
Among the last six Power Four hires in the 2026 coaching cycle, only two are sitting on unbeaten teams: UCLA’s Bob Chesney and Utah’s Morgan Scalley. Strip those away, and the picture gets ugly fast.
The other four late hires are a combined 14-14, with Iowa State’s Jimmy Rogers at 3-4, Kansas State’s Collin Klein at 4-3, Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham at 4-3 and Penn State’s Matt Campbell at 3-4. In conference play, that group is 3-13, with Rogers, Klein and Whittingham at 1-3 and Campbell still winless at 0-4.
That’s the reality of getting hired late. The transfer portal has already been picked over, and the rosters left behind are usually not ready-made fixes. Iowa State was part of that chain reaction, with Penn State’s late move for Campbell helping set off the Cyclones’ own late search for Rogers.
Now the question hanging over Ames is simple: when does Iowa State win again?
Maybe Saturday at home against Oklahoma State, which has been one of the nation’s most improved teams. Maybe a week later in Waco, after Baylor moves on from Dave Aranda.
Maybe against Cincinnati, fresh off an upset of Texas Tech. Maybe at UCF, coming off its own big win over BYU.
Maybe in the regular-season finale at home against Kansas State.
For now, there’s no easy answer. The Cyclones have the Big 12’s statistically worst offense, a defense that hasn’t been much better, quarterback uncertainty and injuries piling up. They were held to a field goal after the bye week and have managed just one touchdown over the last two games.
Rogers said Tuesday that the program is still working through the growing pains of a first-year setup, with a roster full of players adjusting to Power Four football for the first time.
“We have a lot of players in there right now - some that are taking their first [NAPS/SNAPS - CONFIRM] that they’ve ever taken,” Rogers said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
He also confirmed that Jaylen Raynor will start on Saturday after being benched at halftime last week at Arizona.
“If you have some guys that haven’t had a ton of experience, it’s better off to have a guy that knows every moving piece,” Rogers said regarding sticking with Raynor.
But this isn’t a team that can just sort things out on the fly. Iowa State hasn’t looked like this in more than a decade, and the lineup isn’t deep enough to absorb the injuries that keep popping up.
When the reserves go in, they have to be able to tackle, cover, throw and, maybe most importantly, hold up in pass protection. Without that, a quarterback is stuck staring down the next sack.
The schedule, though, may not be as forgiving as it once appeared. Oklahoma State looked like a softer landing spot before the season, but not anymore.
The same goes for Baylor and Cincinnati. UCF has already shown it can pull off an upset, and Kansas State is no automatic finish either.
And while Iowa State is trying to find its footing, the rest of the Big 12 keeps twisting itself into knots.
BYU pulled off a major upset, then got upset itself. Cincinnati lost to West Virginia and then turned around and beat Texas Tech. Utah remains the league’s only unbeaten team, but it has a tricky one coming Saturday against Cincinnati.
Trying to make sense of this conference is enough to give anybody a headache. One week, a team looks fixed in place; the next, it’s gone.
This weekend’s next round of Big 12 chaos includes Utah at Cincinnati, Arizona at Texas Tech and BYU hosting Arizona State. By the time it’s over, as many as 10 teams could be sitting with one or two conference losses.
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Ashleigh Connor Could Shape Iowa State If One Concern Fades
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The only real question hanging over her early impact is the ankle she sprained while getting ready for the season. Connor is expected to be ready for the opener, which matters because Iowa State is looking for a veteran presence who can settle the group immediately and help set the tone from the backcourt. If she is fully healthy, she could become one of the more important pieces on the roster right away. [Read more 🡒]