AP Poll Voters Have Very Little Respect for Iowa State Cyclones in Weekly Breakdown

The Iowa State Cyclones are being disrespected by AP Poll voters.

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones kept their undefeated record intact in Week 5 when they defeated the Arizona Wildcats at Jack Trice Stadium, 39-14.

Coming off their bye week, it was clear the team wanted to come out and make a statement in their first game back. While idle, the Cyclones dropped two spots in the AP Poll to No. 14, being leapfrogged by a few teams that had major performances in Week 4.

A dominant performance against a Wildcats squad that entered the matchup undefeated should have led to Iowa State moving up the rankings. Especially when taking into consideration how many teams ahead of them suffered losses this past week.

Alas, it didn’t end up having much of an impact. The Cyclones, despite the victory, didn’t move up in the AP Poll Top 25 this week. They remain at No. 14 despite being one of only eight teams that are 5-0 in the FBS heading into Week 6.

Voters still showing Iowa State no respect in AP Poll

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even with their strong performance on the field, voters aren’t giving Iowa State much respect. As shared by IAfootball on X, this week’s breakdown of where each voter put Matt Campbell’s squad is a little hard to believe.

There are some believers in the Cyclones. Four votes were placed with them as the No. 8 team in the country. One vote was cast for No. 9, and eight had them at No. 10.

The eight votes for the 10th spot were the third most for any spot. There were 12 votes cast for No. 13 and 15 votes for No. 14, where they ultimately landed. 18 total voters had them ranked 15th or lower, with a single person placing them inexplicably at No. 14.

Your weekly breakdown of where Iowa State landed across all AP voters' ballots:

#8 - 4 votes
#9 - 1 vote
#10 - 8 votes
#11 - 6 votes
#12 - 3 votes
#13 - 12 votes
#14 - 15 votes (AP ranking)
#15 - 6 votes
#16 - 2 votes
#17 - 2 votes
#18 - 5 votes
#19 - 1 vote
#20 - 1 vote
....… pic.twitter.com/4SnUjLTzmA

— IAfootball (@IAfootball_) September 29, 2025

It is hard to fathom some voters still viewing Iowa State in such a light. Idle teams, such as the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Texas A&M Aggies, moved up as a result of teams ahead of them going down in defeat, but none of them dropped below the Cyclones.

Three teams in the top 10, the Penn State Nittany Lions, Georgia Bulldogs and Florida State Seminoles, lost games. Alas, Penn State and Georgia both lost to ranked opponents, the Oregon Ducks and Alabama Crimson Tide. Albeit both games were at home, Florida State was on the road visiting the Virginia Cavaliers.

Quality losses are something voters take into consideration, but having zero losses is better than having any at all. Iowa State has not yet lost and has already defeated three teams from Power Four Conferences: the Kansas State Wildcats, Iowa Hawkeyes and Arizona.

Highlights from our win over Arizona‼️ pic.twitter.com/VGmSxGNyQa

— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) September 28, 2025

What will it take for Campbell and the Cyclones to garner some national respect? Traveling for their first true road game in the Big 12 and picking up a victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats would certainly help.

A win on Saturday afternoon would make Iowa State bowl-eligible already. It would be their third season in a row playing in a bowl and eighth time in the last nine campaigns.

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