Iowa State Cyclones Suffer Major Drop in SP+ Rankings During Bye Week

How far did the Iowa State Cyclones fall in the SP+ rankings on ESPN?

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones entered Week 4 as the only team in college football with four victories. On bye, they got a chance to watch some important games around the country before returning to the field in Week 5 to face the Arizona Wildcats.

A matchup between two undefeated teams isn’t something many people would have predicted coming into the season. Iowa State going 4-0 while playing in Ireland against the Kansas State Wildcats and defeating their in-state rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes, is an impressive feat. But they know there is plenty of work left to do.

That is evident by how much the team dropped in some rankings this week while idle. There were a few teams that took full advantage of matchups in Week 4, leading to the Cyclones' drop. In ESPN’s SP+ rankings, the team had one of the biggest falls in the nation.

Iowa State Suffers Sizable Drop in SP+ Rankings

Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Entering Week 4, Iowa State was ranked No. 23. Now that the week is completed and preparations are beginning for Week 5, they find themselves at No. 30. Their overall rating is +13.3, right in the neighborhood of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Maryland Terrapins.

Where the Cyclones are being held back the most right now is offensively. Their 30.5 rating is 50th in the country. Luckily, they have been getting the job done on the other side of the ball. Iowa State has a defensive rating of 17.3, which is 20th. Their special teams had a brutal outing against the Arkansas State Red Wolves, contributing to their being only +0.1 and 39th in the nation.

Based on SP+, Matt Campbell and his group will have their work cut out for them navigating the Big 12. There are five schools in the conference with better ratings than Iowa State. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the highest at +23.3, which is eighth in the country. Their Week 4 opponent, who they blew out on the road, the Utah Utes, are 19th.

The TCU Horned Frogs, BYU Cougars and Kansas Jayhawks are also ahead of the Cyclones at Nos. 24, 25 and 27. Not too far behind are the Arizona State Sun Devils at No. 37. Also included in the top 50 are Arizona, the UCF Golden Knights, Cincinnati Bearcats and Houston Cougars at Nos. 45, 47 and 48.

There will be numerous challenges ahead for Iowa State. The Big 12 was considered to be wide open by many analysts coming into the year, and that has not changed through the first five weeks of the campaign.