Iowa State Cyclones Predicted to Beat Arizona Wildcats Comfortably in Week 5

Will the Iowa State Cyclones get a win against the Arizona Wildcats in Week 5?

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell high-five fans as enter the field with the team before the game against Iowa in the Cy-Hawk football at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After their bye week, the Iowa State Cyclones will be set to face the Arizona Wildcats in Week 5. Both teams are coming off bye weeks and should be fresh for this Big 12 showdown. Furthermore, with each team holding one win in the conference, the winner will be moving up in the standings. 

Due to the Big 12 looking like a tight race as of now, every game is going to matter for the Cyclones for the rest of the year. Currently, it has been the Texas Tech Red Raiders who have rose in the ranks of the conference after their impressive showing on the road against the Utah Utes. However, the Cyclones have sustained quite a bit of success going back to the 2024 campaign and want to win this conference. 

With winning the Big 12 and making the CFP being the top goal for the program right now, that really starts now for Iowa State. The Cyclones will be entering a favorable stretch of their schedule and have the opportunity to move to 7-0 in the next couple of weeks. David Kenyon of Bleacher Report recently predicted that Iowa State would emerge victorious over Arizona in Week 5 by a score of 24-16. 

Cyclones Keep Winning Streak Alive

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Even though the Wildcats are 3-0 on the year with a victory over the Kansas State Wildcats on their resume as well, this is going to be a challenging opponent on the road under the lights. Iowa State is having a white out game in this one, and the home crowd will undoubtedly be rocking. 

This matchup feels like a step up in competition for Arizona as well, despite their nice start to the campaign. Stylistically, the Wildcats are going to want to move the ball up and down the field, while the Cyclones will be playing a more slow and methodical game. 

Iowa State is certainly going to be looking to bring a physical brand of football to this matchup with some heavy sets to move the ball on an Arizona team that doesn’t have as much size. However, the Wildcats do have some big play ability with Noah Fifita and the passing attack that could be the equalizer. 

An eight-point victory is a reasonably comfortable one for the Cyclones based on some of the close ones that they have played so far this year. However, that is still a one-possesion game, which means that anything could happen if mistakes are made.