Iowa State Football Predicted to Struggle Immensely in Big 12

The Iowa State Cyclones are getting set for the 2026 season, and with a program that has been completely rebuilt, expectations have been mixed.

After a long stretch of success under Matt Campbell, the Cyclones saw their head coach leave for the Penn State Nittany Lions. This caused a major ripple effect for the program, with nearly all of their roster entering the transfer portal as well.

Fortunately, the team was quick and hired Jimmy Rogers not too long after it was announced that Campbell was departing. However, he was unable to convince most players to stay.

Now, with a completely new roster, Rogers is going to have a lot of work to do to get this all to gel for the program. With new faces and new coaches, it is very hard to predict what things will look like for Iowa State. However, a recent outlook for the Big 12 was not favorable for the team.

Matthew Glenesk of USA Today recently predicted what the Big 12 standings would look like following the release of the Preseason All-Big 12 team. For the Cyclones, the outlook is not favorable.

Iowa State Predicted to Finish Last

Nov 8, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; The Iowa State Cyclones mascot poses for a photo during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even though the conference might be named the Big 12, there are 16 teams that now make up the group. For the Cyclones, being picked to come in dead last out of the 16 schools is certainly tough to see and will likely be used as motivation.

Rogers is no stranger to not having high expectations and being able to overachieve. In his first year with the Washington State Cougars in 2025, he was able to lead the team to a bowl game, overcoming a lot of challenges.

While it might be a completely revamped roster, the Cyclones should be more talented than that Cougars team was last year, and Rogers had them playing hard. This was a group last year that played right to the end with teams like the Virginia Cavaliers and the Ole Miss Rebels.

For Iowa State, these new faces should be hungry to perform, and a last-place finish in the Big 12 would be pretty shocking. The team might not have star power, as showcased by them not having a preseason All-Big 12 player. Even though that might be discouraging to see, what happens at the end of the season is what really matters. Rogers will certainly get the most out of his players, and this team should be better than last in the conference.

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