Iowa State Cyclones Sadly but Correctly Plummeting in College Football Rankings

Things are not looking good for the Iowa State Cyclones, who continue heading in the wrong direction of college football rankings.

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It feels like forever ago that the Iowa State Cyclones had real Big 12 championship aspirations and an eye on a spot in the College Football Playoff. But those hopes were likely extinguished this past weekend with their loss to the BYU Cougars.

A game that started so promisingly quickly got turned on its head. In field goal range, holding a 17-7 lead already, quarterback Rocco Becht made a back-breaking mistake, throwing an interception.

Momentum started changing in favor of BYU, and they took full advantage. From that point on, they dominated the game. Bear Bachmeier proved to be unstoppable, taking full advantage of a secondary that is still trying to figure things out without their star cornerbacks, Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams.

Things quickly unraveled for the Cyclones, who would go on to lose 41-27. The Cougars would score on five consecutive possessions, the last of which was aided by a special teams miscue. Beni Ngoyi accidentally kicked the ball during punt coverage, leading to BYU recovering the fumble.

A pick-six on Becht’s second interception of the game, following the Cougars’ touchdown after the fumble recovery, iced the contest.

Iowa State heading in wrong direction in gridiron

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Riding a brutal three-game losing streak, Iowa State’s record is now 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12. It should come as no surprise that they are continuing to plummet in college football rankings.

Over at CBS Sports, their ranking of all 136 teams in the nation was shared. The Cyclones have dropped another eight spots and now sit at No. 42.

Something will have to give in Week 10. Iowa State will be hosting the Arizona State Sun Devils, who are also reeling a little bit. They lost to the Houston Cougars this past weekend, 24-16, dropping out of the AP Poll Top 25 and falling 12 spots in CBS Sports’ rankings to No. 39.

Just ahead of both teams is the TCU Horned Frogs. They defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 23-17 in Week 9, moving them up to No. 37 in the rankings. Right behind the Cyclones at No. 43 is the Arizona Wildcats, the last team they defeated, all the way back on Sept. 27.

Big 12 see major changes in CBS Sports rankings

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Somewhat inexplicably, despite defeating Iowa State, the Cougars dropped in the rankings. They are now the second-highest ranked Big 12 team at No. 10. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are ahead of them at No. 8.

The Cincinnati Bearcats, who began the Cyclones' losing streak three weeks ago, are at No. 14. The Utah Utes are also inside the top 20, being placed at No. 19. Those two programs will face off in a game with massive Big 12 implications next weekend in Salt Lake City.

A loss by the Utes would effectively eliminate them from the championship game race. If they can win, more chaos will ensue with BYU being the only team without a loss during conference play.