Sports Editor Brett Twelmeyer (0-0)

Iowa State 34, North Dakota 17

Week one games are always odd for Iowa State. The Cyclones, in years past, slip up and lose or flat-out dominate teams. This year, much like the last, I have Iowa State grabbing a fairly easy win to start the 2024 campaign.

This game has a lot of intrigue, mostly because of the fact that the Cyclones returned 19 of their 22 starters from last season, and that is highlighted by redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht. The Wesley Chapel, Florida, native broke records set by Brock Purdy last season, and I have no doubts he will continue to do so this season.

I am especially interested to watch wide receivers Beni Ngoyi, Isaiah Alston and Eli Green go to work and battle it out for the third spot in that room’s depth chart. Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins will see plenty of playing time, but I expect the brunt of the work in the second half to be spread amongst Ngoyi, Alston and Green.

North Dakota will have a new starting quarterback this season in Simon Romfo, who is three-for-three for 18 yards over the past two seasons. Yes, he has a perfect passing record.

Navigating the Iowa State defense is hard enough, but with the added fact that it will face a quarterback making his first career start, the Cyclones’ secondary could be in for a field day.

At the end of the day, I believe this will be a good way for Iowa State to start the season. The first half may be a little shaky, but I think everything will get sorted out at least by the second half. Chalk this one up as a victory for the cardinal and gold.

Assistant Sports Editor Pavle Markovic (0-0)

Iowa State 38, North Dakota 20

Finally, the season opener is here. After a long eight-month hiatus, Iowa State will take the field Saturday to host North Dakota to open up its 2024 season. 

This matchup gives the Cyclones a good base to see where all the preparation has been building throughout this long break in play. One of the bigger things that will be put on stage is the second starting season for redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht, who is coming off his best game in Iowa State’s Liberty Bowl loss to Memphis.

In that game, Becht threw for a record 446 yards and three touchdowns and officially solidified himself as the Cyclones’ future signal-caller. Now, he gets a chance to start his second season as a starter on a potentially good note, as he faces a North Dakota team that has looked vulnerable at times.

Much like Iowa State, the Fighting Hawks shared the same regular season record at 7-5, but in terms of actual competition played, it is not even close. Especially when it comes to now, where North Dakota will roll out a new starting quarterback in junior Simon Romfo, who has only completed three total passes in his collegiate career.

With this ability to face an inexperienced quarterback in Romfo, the Cyclones’ defense is expected to give the Fighting Hawks offense fits throughout the game that will eventually lead to North Dakota’s demise on Saturday. With that being said, I have Iowa State beating the Fighting Hawks comfortably, which gets the Cyclones season starting off on the right foot.

Sports Reporter Cayden Storm (0-0)

Iowa State 38, North Dakota 10

Week one is finally here and as Iowa State tradition the Cyclones will take on an FCS team to open the season. This is the first time that Iowa State and North Dakota will face off, but it will feel like a game Cyclone fans have seen plenty of times.

Iowa State has played seven FCS opponents in the Matt Campbell era, and the results have been shaky. Campbell is 6-1 in those games, with the average margin of victory being 11 points. Those numbers have been juiced up a little by the Cyclones’ last two performances where they have dominated, but among the six wins include a triple-overtime victory over Northern Iowa, a three-point victory over Drake and another one-possession victory over the Panthers.

I think the most important thing I said there was that the last two times Iowa State was in this position, they dominated. It seems as though they may have shaken the habit of making week one games too difficult. That is why I believe they will continue that streak and dominate again Saturday. 

North Dakota’s quarterback Simon Romfo has a very tough challenge for his first career start. I don’t think he’ll be able to do much of anything against the Cyclones’ defense until they put in the backups. Speaking of Iowa State’s backups, I think that’s what I’m most looking forward to seeing this week, given they actually have a big enough lead to put them in.

Getting the chance to see what backup quarterback JJ Kohl and some of the reserve receivers like Eli Green and Kai Black do intrigue me. Also, with the defense, we could get the chance to see a lot of players rotate in and get valuable snaps on that side of the ball.

Of course, the Cyclones will have to get up big in order for any of that to happen, but I think they will. Iowa State gets its season off to a strong start and dominates on its way to victory against the Fighting Hawks.