The Iowa State-Drake rivalry is no Cy-Hawk rivalry, but any in-state opponent is considered a rival as far as junior Koree Willer is concerned.

“You want to be the best team in Iowa so any of these games – Iowa, Drake, [Northern Iowa] – they’re all going to be competitive,” Willer said. “Everyone is trying to prove something.”

The rivalry makes sense. The two schools are only a short trip down I-35 apart. They meet up twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, for contests against each other.

There is also the issue of reputations. Iowa State plays in the Big 12, whereas Drake is not a part of a Power Five conference. Drake is always hungry to prove they can play with the big teams.

“They want to prove something,” Minatta said. “A lot of those players on that team wanted to come here, so they’re out to prove that they’re good enough to play at this level and they have a lot of pride, especially at their home field, so we’re expecting them to come out real hard.”