Good Cop: Presley Polvere

After a 16-10 win versus the University of Northern Iowa Panthers to start the year, the No.9 Iowa State Cyclones are back in action this weekend versus the No.10 Iowa Hawkeyes.

The first Cy-Hawk football game in two years, in Ames, and a special guest: College GameDay means that this is shaping up to be a special day.

Everything is panning out for the Cyclone faithful. 

With defensive highs and a stable offensive effort, the Cyclones have what it takes to face the No.10 Hawkeyes.

Even though Iowa is just scratching the surface of how good they can be, the Cyclones are making offensive strides as well. Breece Hall went for his first rushing touchdown of the season, fitting for the Cyclone junior.

When the defense is on and the offense is on, a Cyclone storm is on the horizon.

Prediction: Iowa State 31, Iowa 21

Bad Cop: Andrew Harrington

The Cyclones were certainly shaky during the season-opener against Northern Iowa, barely squeaking by with a win. Iowa State struggled to get anything going offensively, scoring just one touchdown over four quarters of play.

In addition to the early struggles of the Cyclones, Iowa State holds a five-game losing streak against the Hawkeyes. Iowa State does come in with higher expectations than those of years passed, but the Iowa players and staff know what it takes to come out on top in this matchup.

Iowa is coming off of an impressive defensive performance of its own, scoring a pair of defensive touchdowns against then 17th-ranked Indiana. The Hawkeyes only allowed six points against a team that many had high expectations of its own.

Neither team was clicking offensively in their opening matchups, with each quarterback finishing with less than 200 yards and zero touchdowns. Iowa’s lethal secondary should be able to earn stops against the Cyclones, while the defensive line and linebackers of Iowa State should do the same.

One of the only units that played up to the Iowa State standard was the kickers, who got a lot of action, kicking three field goals during the game.

The looming pressure of Ames hosting College GameDay for the first time since the 2019 loss against Iowa will affect the players, causing another slow start to the game offensively. The offense will get going in the second half, but it will not be enough to complete a comeback.

Prediction: Iowa 27, Iowa State 23