Zane Douglas, sports editor (6-2)

Iowa State 31, Texas 28

Much like Iowa State’s season, my picks started out rocky and have taken a turn lately to be in a tie for the lead with my fellow football reporters.

Iowa State is red hot and that culminated in a 45-0 blowout over Kansas State Saturday and sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference.

Texas hasn’t been too bad of late either, but my gut is telling me that the Cyclones are playing too well to lose this game.

I don’t buy into narratives of whether a team remembers two years ago or whether one team has been there before and this is no different.

As much as Texas is playing well, Iowa State has played like the best team in the conference and it would need to be a great performance from the Longhorns to stop that.

Matt Belinson, assistant sports editor (5-3)

Texas 27, Iowa State 21

This is a tough pick to make, but if you have been watching Iowa State football for some time now, you would know we’ve been here before.

Now granted, Iowa State has not been first place in the Big 12 this late in the season for a long, long time, if ever, so yes we technically have never been here before. But, the idea of Iowa State playing in a program-changing game has come up numerous times over the last three seasons, and it still has yet to come close to getting over the hump.

I get it, Iowa State is rolling right now. I will not deny that. And I believe this is a game where everything points toward a win for Iowa State. It just came off a 45-0 blowout of Kansas State, it is in sole possession of first place in the Big 12, and Texas has not played in close to 20 days.

But that’s exactly why I think Texas will win this game.

Texas is a good team with one of the most elite defensive lines and one of the most experienced and talented quarterbacks in college football, so its not like this is some slouch Iowa State is going to play.

This is going to be a good game on Friday. It will be back and forth and the usual suspects will play a big role in how it turns out.

In the end, I think Texas prevails and pushes back Iowa State’s hopes of making a Big 12 Championship to a future game down the road.

Stephen McDaniel, assistant sports editor (6-2)

Iowa State 28, Texas 24

Wow. The amount of back and forth that I went through on this pick was crazy. For me, it wouldn’t surprise me if Iowa State stole a monumental win in Austin, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if Texas came alive when it needed to the most, especially on Senior Day.

I originally had Iowa State as an 8-2 team this season and one of the two teams battling for the Big 12 Championship, and I’m going to stick with that.

The Cyclones showed everyone just how dominant they can truly be last Saturday in a 45-0 shutout game against Kansas State, albeit with the Wildcats playing without their No. 1 QB.

Breece Hall will carry this offense as per usual and Brock should be able to find his targets in the air, especially Xavier Hutchinson. I’m expecting a good game from the tight ends in particular.

This will be no cake walk by any means, in fact, I see this being another blow-for-blow matchup like the Oklahoma State game was, but with Iowa State coming out the victor this time.

Zach Martin, columnist (4-3)

Iowa State 17, Texas 10

Remember when the saying amongst everyone involved with Iowa State football was “Well, they’ll find a way to lose this game.”

Didn’t we think that against Oklahoma? That thought probably crossed our minds versus Baylor. It almost seemed too perfect for the Cyclones to falter at home against Kansas State.

It’s beginning to get to a point where we should expect Iowa State to win the games that in year’s past it more likely loses. That includes defeating Texas on the road.

Even on a short week, the expectation should be that Breece Hall rushes for 145 yards and a pair of scores. The expectation should be Brock Purdy out-duels Sam Ehlinger.

Matt Campbell should be expected to coach circles around Tom Herman. And it should be expected that Iowa State wins this game and is one step closer to the Big 12 Championship.

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez, Engagement Editor

Iowa State 28, Texas 21

The day we’ve all been waiting for is here. The annual Victoria staff pick for the Texas vs. Iowa State football game. Y’all already know I’m a Texan, but I love my Cyclones, and they’ve been impressing me this year. 

Unlike my friend Matt here, I think the Cyclones will stay on the roll we have going right now. I can’t deny the Longhorns’ good season as well, but horns- down always. To make my pick extra spicy, I say we’ll even see some overtime in this game, with a last minute Cyclone touchdown. 

In the case of the event that my predictions don’t prove true, I know nothing about football. What did y’all expect?