Iowa State landed at the very bottom of USA TODAY Sports Network’s preseason Big 12 football rankings for 2026, a reflection of just how much the Cyclones are asking a new-look roster to absorb all at once.
The network’s Big 12 writers voted on a predicted order of finish for all 16 teams, and Iowa State came in 16th after an offseason defined by change. The Cyclones are coming off an 8-4 season, but they also lost the winningest coach in program history, Matt Campbell, and went through a major roster rebuild. Jimmy Rogers, who is new to the power-conference level, now takes over a team that includes more than 60 newcomers.
At the top of the league projection, Texas Tech is picked to repeat after winning its first Big 12 title in school history and reaching the College Football Playoff quarterfinals last season. BYU, which fell to the Red Raiders in the Big 12 championship game, is slotted second. Utah, Houston and Arizona complete the top five.
Iowa State did not place a player on the preseason All-Big 12 team, but three Cyclones did draw honorable mention recognition: running back Aiden Flora, kicker Kyle Konrardy and defensive end Isaac Terrell.
Flora and Konrardy are both returning All-Big 12 selections. Flora earned second-team all-conference honors as a returner last season, while Konrardy was an All-Big 12 honorable mention pick.
Terrell brings a different kind of buzz to the group. He arrives as one of Iowa State’s most promising newcomers after being named the Pac-12 Defensive Line Top Performer of the Year and posting a team-high seven sacks at Washington State last season.
Texas Tech dominated the preseason award board as well. Red Raiders linebacker Ben Roberts was named Defensive Player of the Year, while Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker took Newcomer of the Year. Iowa State was not listed among the players receiving votes for either award.
In Other News...
Iowa State Fans Are About To See A Very Different Big 12
The Big 12 is putting a new corporate stamp on its identity, and Iowa State fans are going to feel it everywhere from the regular-season schedule to the look of the league itself. The conference announced a multi-year entitlement partnership with Monster Energy that will rebrand the football and basketball regular seasons, add logos to jerseys and playing surfaces, and extend the branding across digital and social assets.
It is also being framed as a first-of-its-kind move for the league, one that could wind up serving as a template for other conferences looking for new revenue streams. Monster Energy will be tied to the 2026 football and basketball media days as well, which means this shift is not just about a new name on the front end of the season, but a deeper change in how the Big 12 packages itself going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State May Have Its Answer At Quarterback After All
Iowa State has spent the spring looking for clarity at quarterback, and it may finally be getting some. Head coach Jimmy Rogers said Jaylen Raynor is the current leader heading into fall camp after turning in a strong spring, a notable step for the Arkansas State transfer who arrived with three years of starting experience and quickly became one of the more important pieces in the room.
Raynors value goes beyond the immediate competition, too. He has been working to build chemistry with his teammates, and the new NCAA eligibility rules could keep him in the picture deep into the future, giving the Cyclones more than just a short-term answer as they start shaping the 2026 season. With the opener against Southeast Missouri State on the horizon, the next stretch will show whether the momentum he built in spring carries into camp. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States New-Look Staff Signals Otzelbergers Next Reset
Iowa States offseason has already looked like a reset on the floor, with the Cyclones losing their top three scorers from last season to other teams or professional opportunities. The staff has been reshaped, too, as T.J. Otzelberger keeps reworking the program around a new group of voices and responsibilities while trying to keep the roster-building machine moving.
The latest changes add more familiarity and more experience to that effort. Tim Buckley and Allan Hanson have come in as assistant coaches, Chuck Ruffing joins the bench after stops that include Western Illinois and a long coaching background in Wisconsin, and Richardson Maitre and Fletcher McGarvey are in place as graduate assistants for the 2026-27 campaign. Former Cyclones Diante Garrett and Thomas Pollard have also stepped into player development and recruiting roles, giving Otzelberger a staff that looks different, but still deeply tied to the programs past as the next roster reset takes shape. [Read more 🡒]