From a player’s perspective, the Iowa State bye week was a much needed Saturday off after running a gauntlet through four weeks including two rivalry games, one of which in Ireland. I had high hopes I would feel that same relief when I booted up my television and did not have to endure three hours of stressful and high leverage Iowa State football.
Thanks to the 4-0 record, the weekend’s slate of games was not too stressful, but it just did not feel the same without the Cyclones.
Season Outlook
At 4-0 with a conference win in the books, Iowa State is right there in contention for a Big 12 Championship appearance in the early going of the season. Around the conference, the tiers are starting to take shape.
No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 16 Utah, two teams that Iowa State miraculously avoided in scheduling this season, faced off to open their conference schedules. The defenses stood tall in the first three quarters with Texas Tech leading 10-3, and the Red Raiders broke loose for 24 points in the fourth for a 34-10 win.
Arizona State and Baylor also played a game with big implications, squeaking by Baylor 27-24.
BYU, TCU and Arizona are all 3-0 and have not taken on a conference opponent yet. The three are all expected to be competitive and it would not be a shock to see one of them in the championship game. Kansas and Houston are also worth mentioning, beating West Virginia and Colorado, respectively. UCF is 3-0 thus far, with their true capability still up in the air.
As the weeks go by, Iowa State’s conference schedule looks more and more favorable, dodging Texas Tech, Utah and Baylor in favor of matchups with Colorado, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Cincinnati.
It is hard to win in a week in which you do not play, but Iowa State may have done just that.
Talking Arizona
Next up, the Cyclones take on a night game against the Arizona Wildcats in Jack Trice Stadium. The Cats are feisty this year, dominating Hawai’i and Weber State and winning over Kansas State in about as ugly of a fashion as Iowa State did.
Junior quarterback Noah Fifita is the star of the show, throwing six touchdowns and running for three without an interception. Granted two of the games were blowouts, senior running back Ismail Mahdi has 263 rushing yards and a score on 7.1 yards per carry and junior running back has taken just 18 carries for 165 yards and a score. With a quarterback that can rush on occasion, the Wildcats present a good balance. Expect Iowa State to mix up the looks all game long.
It will be interesting to see if the extra week of prep for both squads leads to some peak early game play scripting.
The kicker position will also be one to watch as Kyle Konrardy is expected to miss significant time with an injury. Freshman Chase Smith will be tasked with a lot of responsibility, as surely a handful of these upcoming Big 12 games will be one-score games.
What’s the Deal with Airline Food?
With no game over the weekend, the Cyclones needed some news to fill the void and they got it. Tyrese Haliburton announced his shoe, the Hali 1 Opal with Puma, will be released Sept. 26.
https://x.com/hali/status/1967616914320151008?s=46&t=XPyOCcw9PzV03vXhiLeMXw
I have never personally been a shoe guy, as I buy one pair of shoes that I wear for the entire year no matter where I go. That pair has been the exact same black Nike tennis shoe for my previous three annual purchases. While I tend to be a picky guy, the shoes look great, and how often can you get a signature shoe from an Iowa State athlete. He will also be featured in Starting 5, a Netflix series that follows players through a season to get an insight on their personal lives as well as their training. The show releases Oct. 16.
The NFL Players Association released a video following former Cyclones, now Houston Texans Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel as they hit the water for a fishing trip to bring back old memories.
https://x.com/nflpa/status/1968692644868960561?s=46&t=XPyOCcw9PzV03vXhiLeMXw
Iowa State took on Iowa in Cy-Hawk volleyball and won in a thrilling five-set match (25-23, 25-13, 21-25, 21-25, 15-12). The Cyclones lead the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series 5-2 with wins in volleyball and football and a loss in women’s soccer 1-0 in Iowa City on Sept. 4. Up next is women’s and men’s cross country in October.
Will McDonald made an insane play to block a field goal, pick it up and score it all by himself for a Jets lead with under two minutes to play, a lead the Jets would unsurprisingly cough up.
https://x.com/nyjets/status/1969857517103763697?s=46&t=XPyOCcw9PzV03vXhiLeMXw
