Iowa State’s start to the 2026 season has been enough to get the Cyclones back on the bowl radar, and one ESPN analyst already sees them finishing the job.
After a 45-42 win over West Virginia, Iowa State sits at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12. The next challenge is a big one: a Week 6 matchup with BYU, the Cyclones’ third ranked opponent of the year. Iowa State has already come up short twice as an underdog against ranked teams, falling to Iowa at Kinnick Stadium and to Utah at Jack Trice Stadium in Week 4.
Even with those losses, the bigger picture is starting to shift. Iowa State looks farther along than plenty expected, and with half the wins needed for bowl eligibility already in hand, the Cyclones are drawing more attention as a team that should be heading to the postseason.
Kyle Bonagura of ESPN is among the believers. In his weekly College Football Playoff and bowl projection piece with Mark Schlabach, Bonagura has Iowa State landing in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The game is projected for Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Bonagura’s matchup has Iowa State facing Washington from the Big Ten. That means no reunion with former head coach Matt Campbell and Penn State, even though that would have been a major draw for a non-College Football Playoff bowl game.
Schlabach’s projection is different. He also has Washington in the Independence Bowl, but with UCF representing the Big 12 instead of Iowa State.
For Jimmy Rogers, getting Iowa State to a bowl in Year 1 would be a strong early marker. He took over a roster that had been gutted, with more than 50 players entering the transfer portal and no starters back from last year’s 8-win team.
It’s a familiar kind of rebuild for Rogers. At Washington State in 2025, he worked with a roster made up of more than 80 new players, and that group still managed to earn a bowl bid and win one. Jesse Bobbit, Iowa State’s defensive coordinator, served as interim head coach there after Rogers took the job in Ames.
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