Iowa State Cyclones' Struggles Continue in Loss to Arizona State Sun Devils

The Iowa State Cyclones saw their struggles continue in their fourth straight loss.

Nov 1, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Sims (2) runs the football against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half at Jack Trice Stadium. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones came into Week 10 as a somewhat significant favorite and once again suffered a bad loss. Unfortunately, with a loss to a team that was without their starting quarterback and top wide receiver, the season has come off the rails for the Cyclones. 

After losing to the Sun Devils, Iowa State is now on a four-game losing streak, and the campaign continues to become even more of a failure. Due to the hot start to the year, expectations were high for the Cyclones. They started out the season 5-0, and after making the Big 12 title game in 2024, making it back was the goal. 

However, this is a team that has simply fallen apart in recent weeks with a lot of things going wrong. In the loss, there were numerous reasons why they lost as a favorite at home and this is a program that is going to have to take a long hard look in the mirror. 

Another Disappointing Game

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

In the loss, there was a good amount of blame to go around. The offense missed opportunities, the defense struggled to make stops, and special teams left some points on the board. With issues at all three levels, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they lost the game. 

On the defensive side of things, it felt like Iowa State could have gotten going in this one against a backup quarterback, but that wasn’t the case. Jeff Sims had a fantastic game against the Cyclones, both in the air and on the ground. This is a team that has faced a fair number of dual-threat quarterbacks, but they didn’t appear to be prepared for Sims. 

The sixth-year senior was able to make a lot of explosive plays for Arizona State and they seemingly didn’t miss a beat on offense without two star players. 

On offense, it was another poor showing for the passing attack and quarterback Rocco Becht. The junior signal caller had to deal with some poor weather, but he was once again not on in this one. Even though the team was running the ball well once again, they weren’t able to get anything going through the air for the most part. 

Overall, it was another poor showing by the Cyclones and their season has become a massive failure. Four straight losses in the conference weren’t something that anyone would have figured to happen a month ago, but it has become a harsh reality for the team.