Iowa State Cyclones Barely Holding Onto Spot in AP Top 25 Poll After Cincinnati Loss

The Iowa State Cyclones held onto a spot in the AP Poll Top 25.

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The Iowa State Cyclones suffered their first loss of the 2025 college football season in Week 6. They went on the road to face the Cincinnati Bearcats, who picked up a 38-30 victory at Nippert Stadium.

It was a disappointing outcome for a Cyclones team that entered the matchup undefeated. Their record has now dropped to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. Ultimately, the injuries the team is dealing with looked to become too much to overcome.

Iowa State went into the game without star cornerbacks Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams. Their special teams were compromised without kicker Kyle Konrardy. On the second-to-last play of the first half, running back Carson Hansen suffered a concussion that knocked him out for the remainder of the afternoon.

Where is Iowa State in Top 25 rankings?

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As a result of the loss, the Cyclones suffered a sizable drop in the AP Poll Top 25. They fell eight spots, going from No. 14 to No. 22. That was the most spots any tell fell this week.

Fortunately, they held onto a spot in the rankings at all, as other programs weren’t as lucky. The Penn State Nittany Lions, who lost to the UCLA Bruins, and the Texas Longhorns, who were defeated by the Florida Gators, both fell out of the rankings altogether. 

Taking their spots in the rankings are the USF Bulls and Memphis Tigers. They picked up dominant victories over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and Charlotte 49ers, respectively.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Bearcats fell just short of making the rankings. They received 129 points, falling just behind the Florida State Seminoles, who held onto the No. 25 spot despite losing for the second consecutive game.

How many Big 12 teams are in Top 25?

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The Big 12 once again has four teams in the Top 25. Ranked highest amongst them is the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who come in at No. 9. Next is the BYU Cougars, who moved up to No. 18. The Arizona State Sun Devils, who were idle in Week 6, moved up four spots to No. 21.

That is tied for the third most representatives in the AP Poll with the ACC, which also has four top 25 teams. The SEC has the most with nine, followed by the Big Ten with five.

Iowa State will have its work cut out for itself to hold onto that ranking and move up the board. They are going to be on the road again next week, paying a visit to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

It is still relatively early in the season, but that is about as close to a must-win game as a team can have in Week 7. Dropping a game to a 2-4 squad that is 0-2 in conference would put a major damper on their Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff hopes.