Effort Level Helped Iowa State Cyclones Overcome Miscues Against Arkansas State

Effort helped the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

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The Iowa State Cyclones are idle in Week 4, getting a much-deserved bye week ahead of their matchup next weekend against the Arizona Wildcats at Jack Trice Stadium in a battle of undefeateds.

That game will start at 6 pm CT/7 pm ET and will be a whiteout. The fans will certainly be ready to cheer on their squad, with their previous home game being on Sept. 6 in their rivalry clash with the Iowa Hawkeyes. It will be the last time the Cyclones play at home as well until homecoming on Oct. 25.

Following their matchup with the Wildcats, they head on the road to face the Cincinnati Bearcats on Oct. 4. Following that, a trip to the Colorado Buffaloes on Oct. 11. Another bye week will occur on Oct. 18 before hosting the Cougars.

Given their hot start to the campaign, as the only four-win team in the country currently, they have put themselves in an incredible spot early on. There is still a lot of time for things to change; it is hard to climb out of an early hole. With College Football Playoff aspirations, a 4-0 start has Iowa State sitting pretty heading into the teeth of their Big 12 schedule.

Iowa State Overcame Sloppy Play With Effort Level

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However, if they are going to capitalize on this hot start, there is still plenty of work to do. As linebacker Caleb Bacon noted, there are areas of the team that have to be cleaned up. They were fortunate enough to escape Arkansas State with a 24-16 victory, but sloppy play cannot always be overcome with effort, as it was last weekend.

“We kind of lacked a little bit in a couple of details, but I feel like the effort was there and that catapulted us (to the win),” Bacon said, via Rob Gray of Cyclone Fanatic.

Effort is the one thing players can control week in and week out. As long as that is brought to the table, the Cyclones have a strong baseline to work off of. Alas, the bye week could not have come at a better time, because it will take more than just sheer effort to navigate the Big 12 gauntlet this year.

Staying hungry. pic.twitter.com/Hntl3Z3Wmq

— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) September 19, 2025

There were a few miscues that didn’t result in them losing the game, but were costly. A roughing the punter penalty extended a Red Wolves drive that ended in a touchdown. Had the infraction not occurred, it would have been a three-and-out forced.

That wasn’t the only shortcoming on special teams. Star kicker Kyle Konrardy missed an extra point attempt and a field goal attempt. It was the first time in his career that he had multiple misses in a single game, and now he is dealing with an injury. Punter Tyler Perkins nearly had one attempt blocked, too.

Iowa State left the door open for Arkansas State to pull off the major upset, but they did just enough to squeak out a win. A cleaner performance will have to be had against Arizona, which is having a surprisingly strong start to the campaign. This Week 5 matchup is bigger than anyone could have anticipated coming into the year, based on preseason projections.