Each week during the season the Hawkeye Headquarters staff will predict the outcome of the Iowa football game.
HawkeyeHQ.com
Blake Hornstein (1-0): For the record — I hate this game. It doesn’t “bring the state together,” it rips it to shreds. And just to add more gasoline to the fire: Donald Trump (and 60,000 others) is crashing the party. This should go totally fine.
Between navigating whatever the Secret Service has in store and the media hell that the Cy-Hawk always turns out to be — this game has disaster written all over it. I can only imagine what the final score is going to look like.
It’s the first real test for a Hawkeye offense that showed flashes, but still left some to be desired against Utah State. The Iowa State secondary is uber-talented and the Hawkeyes have yet to prove they can run the football effectively (2.4 YPC in Week 1).
If not for a fluke 99-yard drive in last year’s Cy-Hawk, Iowa would be coming into this game on a seven game win streak against their in-state foe. That 10-7 final feels irreplicable, but it also doesn’t sound too far off from what we might see on Saturday.
Prediction: Iowa 14, Iowa State 10
Ryan Jaster (1-0): The Hawkeyes won last week and dropped in the polls – all the way out, in fact.
It’s happened before and will happen again. Iowa’s opponent this week, Iowa State, knows how that feels. Before the Cyclones’ biggest game of all-time – remember College Ames Day in 2019? – UNI dropped the Cyclones out of the rankings. Not because of a Panthers win, but a 3-point ISU escape in 3OT that was enough of a scare to sway voters.
There wasn’t anything scary about Iowa’s game against Utah State. But the discomfort returned in a hurry after the initial elation of two quick touchdowns.
But one more note about polls before we get to the picks: Nothing compares to the reaction to the Hawkeyes’ 2016 win over Iowa State. With an impressive score of 42-3, Iowa dropped a spot. That pretty much captures the value of this series. So does the 2002 season, when Iowa’s only loss was in the Cy-Hawk game and it made no difference to their BCS fortunes.
With that year’s Orange Bowl opponent, USC, arriving with UCLA, Washington and Oregon, the Big Ten eventually might add conference games to the schedule at the expense of games like the Cy-Hawk. A break like the 1934-77 stretch would still be a surprise, but a welcome one. As Kirk Ferentz said about the Ames trip: “It happens every other year.” But maybe we’re approaching an era where it shouldn’t. College football fans have let go of plenty in recent years, is this really worth clinging to?
Iowa State is coming off its first win in the series since 2014. Iowa still has the Cyclones doubled up in the series 46-23. The Cyclones’ new ticketing system left fans stranded outside the stadium last week and this week we’re adding the Secret Service as politicians have decided the Cy-Hawk game is the place to be. The game result might not hurt the Hawkeyes, but everything about this ultimately inconsequential game screams pain. The Hawkologist’s prognosis is a 6 on the 6-point pain index.
The Totally Irrelevant Prediction says the Hawkeyes win 24-10, which is funny in ways a PS2 cannot comprehend. I know some fans are already tired of the 25-point thresholds and the various trackers like the #DPOWatch, but that’s on the Hawkeyes. Remember, we create our own demons. If Iowa finishes 12-2 with a Big Ten West title, a bowl win and a 24-point average, Brian Ferentz might have his contract voided, but there would be nothing stopping Iowa from issuing another one. Unless Kirk was riding off into the sunset.
Here’s a look at what others from near and far expect, starting with the weather from Local 4’s Tyler Ryan:
HawkeyeInsider.com
David Eickholt: Iowa 24, Iowa State 13. Iowa has more proven talent on both sides of the ball. Experienced secondary will get at least one INT against young ISU quarterbacks. Kaleb Brown gets his first touchdown as a Hawkeye.
ESPN
Bill Connelly: Iowa
Athlon Sports
Steven Lassan: Iowa
Joe Vitale: Iowa
Luke Easterling: Iowa State
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