Brett Twelmeyer, Sports Editor (9-3)
This is it. The Big 12 Championship.
At the start of the season, I was leery if Iowa State would make it here. Yet here the Cyclones are. This is shaping up to be the biggest opportunity and biggest game in Iowa State football history.
First, I want to flash back to the 2020 title game. The many mistakes in the game, including three interceptions from Brock Purdy, resulted in the Cyclones’ downfall.
This season, though quarterback Rocco Becht has made some mistakes, he has proven that he can battle back from those in the same game. Look at the UCF and Utah games.
If it comes down to it, I trust Becht to lead the offense with the help of senior wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Given that Arizona State ranks eighth in the Big 12 in passing defense, this trio shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
The main problem the Cyclone defense will face is Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo. He has nearly 1,400 rushing yards and has scored 17 touchdowns. Plus, he will enter Saturday as the leading receiver with 468 yards, since starting wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is out.
Throughout his nine years, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell has talked about the process. That journey brought the Cyclones to the title game once before and they failed.
Now, four years later and with some lessons learned, the process may finally reach its storybook ending. I like Iowa State to take the Big 12 crown, but I expect this game to be uncomfortably close, like always.
No. 16 Iowa State 31, No. 15 Arizona State 27
Pavle Markovic, Assistant Sports Editor (8-4)
If last weekend’s game against Kansas State wasn’t already a big game with the potential to get 10 wins in a season for the first time in program history, it doesn’t get any better from here.
The Cyclones get a chance to make things right from the 2020 season and capture their first Big 12 Championship in program history.
But that glory won’t be easy to obtain, as Iowa State will have to take on a team that has gone under the shadow of a doubt the entire season in the Arizona State Sun Devils.
The team picked to finish at the very bottom of the Big 12 conference in the preseason gets the chance now to get its first conference title in its inaugural season.
It’s funny how college football can be inconsistent, aye?
To be fair, Arizona State deserves every right to be in this spot in the season.
Led by the star power of running back Cam Skattebo, the Sun Devils finished the regular season atop the conference with a 10-2 record (7-2 Big 12).
I do give big props to first-time head coach Kenny Dillingham for getting this program to the conference championship in the Sun Devils’ first season in a new conference.
While Arizona State has played tough competition to get to this point, it will be the most difficult to try and get another big win in the form of Iowa State.
With Skattebo being the only focus on the Sun Devils’ offense due to the injury of star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, I expect the Cyclones’ defense, which has improved on their run defense as of late, should be able to hold throughout the majority of the game.
On the flip side, if redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht can play mistake-free football, I trust this Iowa State team to capitalize on the opportunity and take home another historical accolade.
No. 16 Iowa State 27, No. 15 Arizona State 17
Cayden Storm, Sports Reporter (10-2)
At the beginning of the season, I was the only member of the football desk who predicted the Cyclones to secure their first 10-win season in program history. But I’d be lying if I said I expected this team to make it to the Big 12 Championship game after the Kansas loss.
But here we are. The Cyclones are back in Arlington for the second time in five years and this one feels a bit bigger than the first.
For starters, the last and only time Iowa State earned a trip to the Big 12 Championship was in 2020, which, if you don’t remember, was the season that was heavily affected by COVID-19, resulting in only 18,000 fans being in attendance for the big game.
Secondly and more importantly, there is a trip to the College Football Playoff on the line for both the Cyclones and the Sun Devils, two teams that most people would never have predicted to be in this position during the preseason.
On the offensive side of the ball, I think the Cyclones have all the tools to be successful against the Sun Devils.
Iowa State is home to the most productive wide receiver duo in the nation. Seniors Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins are the only pair of receivers to have both reached the 1,000-yard mark this season after both fell just short of that mark in 2023.
Quarterback Rocco Becht is what gives me the most confidence in the offense, though.
The redshirt sophomore has shown an uncanny ability to bounce back from mistakes and make big plays when his team needs it the most.
Those are qualities that will be paramount in a high-pressure game that is projected to be a close, back-and-forth affair.
On the defensive side of the ball it’s pretty simple: stop Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, especially after its star receiver Jordyn Tyson was ruled out of the game.
The Cyclones have the third-worst rushing defense in the Big 12 but have improved week after week during the final stretch of the season.
I think the Cyclone defense slows down Skattebo just enough and Becht and his star receiver duo put together a great performance.
That being said, I think the Cyclones leave Arlington with their first-ever Big 12 Championship and their first-ever berth into the College Football Playoff. Who would’ve thought we’d be saying that just a few weeks ago?
No. 16 Iowa State 34, No. 15 Arizona State 28
Kayde Sheaffer, Sports Reporter
Iowa State has a golden opportunity ahead, having achieved its first 10-win season and now advancing to its second Big 12 Championship game in program history. I just hope the Cyclones don’t fall short of a victory.
After securing an incredible 10th win this season against Kansas State, I have confidence in Iowa State’s ability to play well, but that’s not to say I don’t have some doubts.
The offense is strong, wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel have become the backbone of the offense leading the team to victory. After the game against Kansas State, I do not doubt the defense’s ability to get the job done.
My only worry stems from quarterback Rocco Becht and the team’s inability to pay attention to small details. Don’t get me wrong, Becht is a great player, but the pressure can noticeably get to him and with this high stakes of a game, it could be all or nothing.
Iowa State has made countless mistakes but also had one of its best seasons and had so many significant plays. If the Cyclones walk out of the stadium with a loss, it would be devastating, but Iowa State had one of its best seasons and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Overall, I think the record says it all, that the Cyclones are more than capable of winning and the players want it bad enough to put all their effort in. They have only limited the losses to two this season and they come back harder each time.
Some may argue that the success has been due to luck, and I can’t deny that. Iowa State has benefited from some fortunate plays and mistakes made by the opponents. However, this does not diminish the fact that the Cyclones have skilled players who know how to defy the odds against them.
Going into this game, the Cyclones are the underdogs, and I think this is going to be a messy, crazy, anxiety-ridden game, but I believe Iowa State will come out singing Sweet Caroline in the end.
No. 16 Iowa State 27, No. 15 Arizona State 24
Guest Editor (6-2): Cleo Westin, Editor in Chief
The Cyclones have not looked their best on every play this season, but over 100 players have contributed to their record-breaking 10 wins. Few Iowa State students have witnessed the Cyclones compete for a conference championship and significantly fewer have witnessed what we are seeing now.
There are a lot of firsts happening this season, but the one I am focusing on for this weekend is not highlighted frequently, if at all.
With the new additions to the Big 12, Iowa State has still yet to play its first-ever matchup with one team in the conference. What team? The Arizona State Sun Devils.
The Cyclones were already victorious in two first-ever matchups this season against the Houston Cougars and the UCF Knights. Last season, Iowa State defeated Cincinnati in its first-ever matchup with 18 players who returned to play this season.
Matt Campbell has proved he has the ability to defeat new Big 12 foes, even if it takes some last-minute heroics.
It might not be easy, but I believe the Cyclones will be victorious (and I’m going to be on the lookout for Jaylin Noel to make a big play on special teams).
Let’s continue celebrating the history that’s already been made, and hopefully, the history books will be rewritten Saturday.
No. 16 Iowa State 33, No. 15 Arizona State 27
