Rivalries in football bring heated competition year in and year out. They give the teams extra motivation when they play and engage more fan interest.

Through Iowa State’s football history, the Cyclones have been involved with a couple of rivalries, one in-state and one in-conference.

The most well-known football rivalry that Iowa State has is with the University of Iowa. The Cyclones and the Hawkeyes meet every season to play for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, which is associated with the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

The first football game between Iowa State and Iowa took place in the 1894 season and was played in Iowa City. The Cyclones claimed the first victory against the Hawkeyes, winning 12-8. However, the early games weren’t played for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, as it wouldn’t be introduced until later.

Twenty-four total games were played between the two schools up until 1934 when then-coach and athletic director for Iowa, Ossie Solem, would not schedule anymore games. The play between the two schools started again in the 1977 season.

The 1977 season introduced the Cy-Hawk Trophy, a prize for the winning team to take home. The Hawkeyes were the first ones to take home the Cy-Hawk Trophy, winning the 1977 matchup 12-10. The Cyclones claimed the trophy the following season in 1978, winning in a convincing fashion with a final score of 31-0.

The Cy-Hawk series has seen some infamous games between the two teams. The 1985 season saw the biggest blowout of the series when Iowa came into Ames and defeated Iowa State 57-3.

The 2011 season saw the first time that the winner of the Cy-Hawk Trophy would be decided in overtime. However, it took three overtimes to the decide the winner. In the triple overtime, then-sophomore kicker Mike Meyer drilled a 34-yard field goal, putting the Hawkeyes up 41-38.

The following Iowa State possession ended with then-redshirt sophomore running back James White punching it in and winning the game for the Cyclones 44-41.

Iowa currently leads the series 44-22 over Iowa State and currently has a four-game winning streak, including a 44-41 win in overtime in the 2017 season.

Another ongoing Iowa State football rivalry is a Big 12 rivalry with Kansas State University. The first matchup between the Cyclones and the Wildcats dates back to 1917, when both schools were part of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The rivalry between Iowa State and Kansas State followed along as they both ended up in the Big 12 Conference. Games between the Cyclones and the Wildcats are known as “Farmageddon” to fans and the media.

There have been plenty of memorable moments in recent years from games between Iowa State and Kansas State.

In 2015, Kansas State stormed back after being down 35-14 and won 38-35.

In 2017, the Cyclones were in a frenzy after there were three penalty flags that were against Kansas State in the fourth quarter, all of which got picked up by the referees. Kansas State went on to win that game.

In the 2018 season, Iowa State came back from being down 38-21 and won 42-38.

Iowa State has been involved in other rivalries, but some have ended due to teams leaving the Big 12, like University of Nebraska leaving in 2011 and University of Missouri leaving in 2012.