Iowa State Cyclones Head Coach Matt Campbell Praises Opposing Quarterback

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell had good things to say about the opposing quarterback this week.

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell watches from the sideline against South Dakota during the third quarter in the home game opening at Jack Trice Stadium on August 30, 2025, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones are looking to stay perfect in the early part of the season with an upcoming matchup against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. 

It has been a perfect start to the season so far for the Cyclones. The team has been able to defeat a couple of good opponents and are 3-0 so far. With wins against both the Kansas State Wildcats and the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State is heading in a good direction.

The strong start to the year has rightfully created a lot of optimism surrounding the program, and the team will be looking to continue to build momentum heading into their bye week. 

Going a perfect 4-0 is going to be the goal, but playing four straight weeks with travel back from Ireland in Week 0 is no easy task. However, the team has been impressive in handling this tough travel schedule, and they are close to getting a break. 

In Week 3, they will be facing a very talented quarterback who is going to be keeping them on their toes in junior Jaylen Raynor. Recently, head coach Matt Campbell spoke about the skill of the talented quarterback. 

“Respect, first and foremost, for Arkansas State,” Campbell said to Alyssa Hertel of the Des Moines Register. “This will be the best quarterback, in my opinion, from mobility, play-making-ability standpoint that we’re going to play.”

Cyclones Must Contain Raynor

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Iowa State will be seeing the talented quarterback for the second straight campaign, but it has appeared that he has taken some steps forward from their matchup last season. In the 52-7 Cyclones victory last year, Raynor didn't play well. He totaled just 68 passing yards and threw two interceptions. 

While the 2024 campaign wasn't great for Raynor, he is showing some significant signs of improvement so far this season. In two games, he has totaled 470 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and two interceptions. Even though his game against the Arkansas Razorbacks wasn’t great last week, it was an improvement against Power Five competition. 

The Cyclones will certainly be hoping to replicate what they were able to do against Raynor in 2024. That was a very comfortable win for the team, and they would like nothing more than an easy victory heading into the bye week. 

However, with the scheduling being a bit challenging for the team, they must be focused on the task at hand. Raynor is a more than capable dual-threat quarterback who has shown some signs of improvement. If Iowa State takes things lightly, he could make this a much closer game than it needs to be.