Iowa State Cyclones Officially Announce 2026 College Football Schedule

Iowa State Cyclones fans can now plan accordingly for watching their favorite football team in 2026.

Jimmy Rogers, left, is introduced as Iowa State’s 34th head football coach on Dec. 8, 2025, at Iowa State University in Ames. At right is athletics director Jamie Pollard. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 college football season is the dawn of a new era for the Iowa State Cyclones.

After having Matt Campbell at the helm as head coach for 10 seasons, he has moved on to the Penn State Nittany Lions. Tasked with replacing the winningest coach in program history is Jimmy Rogers, formerly of the Washington State Cougars.

This offseason has been a wild one for Rogers, who had his work cut out for him when it came to the roster. More than 50 players entered the transfer portal, 16 of whom were starters in 2025.

That is a lot of talent and experience that had to be replaced, but he and his staff did a wonderful job replenishing the roster. While fans will have a chance to see how things unfold during spring practices, over the summer and into training camp, Cyclones faithful now know when they will get to watch their favorite team officially back in action.

Iowa State 2026 football schedule released

Jan 2, 2021; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of an Iowa State Cyclones helmet during the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Iowa State football schedule for the 2026 season has officially been released. They will kick things off in their opener on Sept. 5 against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at Jack Trice Stadium.

A week later, the next chapter of the Cy-Hawk rivalry will unfold. The Cyclones will be heading on the road to face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sept. 12 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

After that, Iowa State will be home for three consecutive games, starting with the Bowling Green Falcons in their final non-conference game of the season. Their Big 12 schedule begins after that, hosting the Utah Utes and West Virginia Mountaineers.

On Oct. 10, the Cyclones will head on the road for the first time in Big 12 play, traveling to take on the BYU Cougars. A bye week occurs after that, breaking up the only back-to-back set of road games the team has this campaign.

The 2026 Schedule.

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Oct. 24, they will travel to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats, alternating road and home games for the final six games of the year against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Baylor Bears, Cincinnati Bearcats, UCF Knights and Kansas State Wildcats round out their schedule.

This is the second straight year Iowa State will play conference games against BYU, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Cincinnati. Last year’s game against Kansas State in Ireland didn’t count toward conference records because it was agreed upon before alignment.

In a scheduling quirk and bit of good luck, the Cyclones won’t face three of the four teams that finished inside the final top 25 rankings, not having the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Utah or Houston Cougars on the schedule.

Of the six teams that finished ahead of Iowa State in the 2025 standings, only the Wildcats and Cougars are on the schedule, but both contests will be on the road this time around. It will be golden opportunites for the Cyclones to prove they are a top 25 team once again.