Good Cop: Megan Teske

Iowa State versus Kansas State. A long-standing football rivalry now more commonly referred to as “Farmageddon” that has resulted in the Cyclones holding a close lead over the Wildcats with a 50-49-4 record.

Kansas State, however, has won the last 11 out of 12 matchups between the two teams, including last year’s 27-17 win over Iowa State.

This year, things change though. For one, as my colleague Sam points out, nine of those 11 wins came by one possession.

Iowa State running back Breece Hall has also been on fire this season, lighting up the stat sheet with 1,034 yards, 13 touchdowns and an average of 6.3 yards per carry. This comes as the Cyclones face a Wildcats defense that is in the bottom half of the Big 12 in rushing defense and allowing 161 rushing yards per game. Hall will once again be a go-to guy Saturday.

Last year, Kansas State’s passing attack went 5-12 for 57 yards and an interception and they still won the game with a ground attack, which ranked fourth in the Big 12.

This year, the Wildcats’ passing attack and running game are both struggling, ranking seventh and eighth in the Big 12, respectively.

However, the Cyclones will still have to watch out for freshman quarterback Will Howard, who took over for an injured Skylar Thompson and likes to run the ball, as shown in Kansas State’s win over TCU with 13 rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown and another 14 rushes for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ loss to Oklahoma State.

Iowa State currently has the lead in the Big 12, and a win over Kansas State would only help that lead.

Farmageddon is always a close one, and this one will be no different.

With a strong rushing attack I don’t see slowing down anytime soon and as long as the Iowa State defense holds up, I expect the Cyclones to come away with a win Saturday.

Iowa State 27, Kansas State 20

Bad Cop: Sam Stuve

Kansas State and Iowa State have one of the longest rivalries in college football history, having played each other 103 times.

Iowa State holds a slim 50-49-4 lead in the series.

Kansas State has dominated the series in recent years, winning 11 out of the 12 matchups dating back to 2008.

Nine out of 11 of those wins for Kansas State have come by one possession.

Luck has been on Kansas State’s side in recent years, that’s one of the things needed to win nine close games against the same team.

In its last win against Kansas State in 2018, Iowa State had a big game from running back David Montgomery, who had 19 rushes for 150 yards and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Brock Purdy did have 327 yards passing in that game but had two interceptions to go along with two touchdown passes.

With Kansas State being in the bottom half in rushing defense in the Big 12 this season, I expect Breece Hall, who is the nation’s leading rusher with 1,034 yards, and Iowa State to have a very productive day on the ground.

Kansas State also struggles to run the ball on offense as they averaged 130.6 yards on the ground, which is eighth out of 10 in the Big 12 (Iowa State leads the Big 12, averaging 200.3 yards).

Overall, Iowa State averages 423.1 yards on offense (fourth in the Big 12), its defense gives up 360.1 yards (fourth in the Big 12), but allows 26.7 points per game (tied for fifth in the Big 12) and the offense scores 32.9 points per games (third in the Big 12).

Kansas State scores 29.1 points per game on offense (fifth in the Big 12), averages 347.6 yards per game (eighth in the Big 12), while its defense allows 25.1 points per game (fourth in the Big 12) and 411.4 yards (eighth in the Big 12).

The games between these two have been very close and I expect this one to be as well.

Iowa State’s rushing attack and defensive front seven should give Iowa State the edge in this rivalry game.

Iowa State 28, Kansas State 23