Iowa State Football Surprisingly Goes Back to Jaylen Raynor as Starting Quarterback

After a blowout loss to the Arizona Wildcats, the Iowa State Cyclones are going to be back in action in a tough matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Coming off their bye week, there was certainly some hope that the Cyclones would have been able to cause some problems for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and they were blown out 39-3 on the road.

It was easily the worst game of the season for Iowa State, and the team looked outmatched in the game in pretty much every aspect. Coming into the season, there was a lot of concern about how this team would perform in conference play, and so far, aside from a win against West Virginia, it hasn’t been good.

In the loss, Iowa State benched its starting quarterback, Jaylen Raynor. The transfer from Arkansas State has not lived up to expectations this year, and the benching resulted in Connor Moberly coming in.

As indicated by the team scoring just three points in the entire game, putting Moberly in the lineup didn’t do much. Now, as the team heads into their next game against Oklahoma State, it will be Raynor as the starter.

Cyclones Go Back to Raynor

Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers announces that senior quarterback Jaylen Raynor will start Saturday's game against Oklahoma State. The Cyclones had utilized both Raynor and Connor Moberly last weekend at Arizona.
— Bill Seals (@williamseals) October 27, 2026

After benching the senior quarterback last week, it is a bit surprising to see them go back to him right away. Perhaps Jimmy Rogers was using the move to send a bit of a wake-up call to Raynor, who has not been great this season.

Overall, he has totaled 1,107 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, and four interceptions. As a dual-threat quarterback, he has totaled 145 yards on the ground, but that category is also going to be much lower than in years past as well.

Whether it is being a passer or a runner, Raynor has not lived up to expectations. This is a quarterback that came in with three years of experience as a starter and was being tasked with helping the Cyclones transition into this new era.

Now, it will be interesting to see how he is going to respond to being benched. The hope will certainly be that this is indeed a wake-up call and he starts to play better.

If the struggles continue, it certainly won’t be a surprise to see Moberly again soon. The young quarterback has some potential, and if the season goes off the rails, preparing him for next season will be important.

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