Iowa State Cyclones Rightfully Slip a Spot in Power Rankings After Narrow Victory

The Iowa State Cyclones rightfully slipped in the power rankings after nearly being upset.

Sep 6, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; The Iowa State Cyclones celebrate after their win against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Jack Trice Stadium. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

In their first road game of the season, the Iowa State Cyclones were able to avoid disaster and win against the Arkansas Red Wolves. 

It wasn’t pretty for the Cyclones in Week 3, but they were able to survive and move to 4-0 on the season. Iowa State knew coming into the matchup that this was going to be a challenging game and that proved to be true. 

The matchup against the Red Wolves was not only their first road game of the year, but it was also the game following an emotional win against their rival. This had all the makings of a letdown spot with a bye week coming up, and this certainly wasn’t the best version of the Cyclones. 

However, despite this being a one-point game in the fourth quarter, Iowa State was able to make some plays at the end to secure the victory. Now, they will be getting some much-needed rest before they face off against the Arizona Wildcats after their bye week. Even though they were able to move to 4-0, how they are viewed against the rest of the country likely took a hit based on the subpar performance. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Cyclones dropping one spot in their power rankings from 12th to 11th. 

Is the Drop Fair?

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Despite the win, Iowa State dropping one spot is fair because of the struggles that they had against the Red Wolves. While getting the victory was the most important thing, they didn't look great in doing so. 

Due to some massive wins from other teams, the Top 15 of the rankings got shaken up quite a bit. It would have certainly been easy to see the Cyclones move down even more, but escaping with the victory with some scheduling challenges was likely factored in. 

With four games under their belt, Iowa State should feel quite good about how they have performed so far. Wins against the Kansas State Wildcats and the Iowa Hawkeyes are signature victories, and they will be heading into the heart of their conference schedule undefeated. 

Despite Week 3 not being their best performance, Iowa State is arguably the team to beat in the Big 12. While things can change quickly once conference play really gets going, the team should be pleased with the first quarter of the campaign being completed. 

Now, the Cyclones will be able to get some rest during their bye week, which will be much needed. Iowa State is by no means a finished product through four games, but they are 4-0, and that’s what matters.