Iowa State Cyclones Projected to Face Red-Hot Big 10 School in Bowl Game

Who were the Iowa State Cyclones recently predicted to play in a bowl game?

Oct 11, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell during the second quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have entered their second bye week of the season with a 5-2 record overall and a 2-2 record in the conference. Since their first bye week of the season, the Cyclones have gone 1-2 with their lone win coming at home against the Arizona Wildcats. 

Playing on the road has been an issue for Iowa State this year, with the team losing their two conference games on the road to the Cincinnati Bearcats and Colorado Buffaloes. Furthermore, even a road game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves was much more difficult than they would have liked. 

The bye week does come at a good time for the Cyclones who need a bit of a reset heading into what could be a challenging stretch coming up. With games upcoming against the BYU Cougars, Arizona State Sun Devils, and the TCU Horned Frogs. This stretch could make or break their season and decide what type of bowl game they will be playing in. 

Mark Schlabach of ESPN recently projected that Iowa State would be playing on January 2nd in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against the thriving Northwestern Wildcats. 

Northwestern is Heating Up

Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In Week 7, there were few games more shocking than what happened between the Wildcats and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Northwestern was able to go into Penn State and pull off a massive upset, which has now sent ripple effects throughout college football. 

Due to the upset loss to the Wildcats, the Nittany Lions elected to fire their head coach James Franklin and will be going in a different direction. While the plan for the program is uncertain, it was a fantastic win by Northwestern and one that has changed the outlook of their campaign. 

The Wildcats are now 4-2 and 2-1 in the Big 10 conference. They will be facing off with Purdue at home coming up before a gauntlet of a schedule against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, USC Trojans, and Michigan Wolverines. 

The Wildcats have played a tough schedule so far and do have a win against the UCLA Bruins, which is looking like a good one right now. However, with losses to the Tulane Green Wave and Oregon Ducks, their upside is likely limited. 

If this ends up being the matchup for the Cyclones in a bowl game, it will be a matchup that they would likely welcome. Both teams play a similar brand of football, but Iowa State would have a significant advantage with Rocco Becht under center.