Iowa State Football Will Have a Hard Time Becoming Bowl-Eligible

The Iowa State Cyclones are on their bye week following a loss to the BYU Cougars. With the season at the midway point for the Cyclones, they should be pretty pleased with how things have gone.

Coming into the year, there was a lot of uncertainty about what this Iowa State team was going to be this season. The Cyclones saw their roster get absolutely decimated in the transfer portal following the loss of Matt Campbell as their coach, and there was no way that they were going to be able to replace all that they had lost.

However, Jimmy Rogers and the coaching staff were able to come in and work hard to field a roster. While this group doesn’t have the same talent that they did last year, they are playing hard for Rogers and competing week in and week out.

Now, with the season at the midway point for the Cyclones, one of their goals is well within reach. Iowa State will be hoping to make a bowl game, and to be bowl-eligible, that means they need to win three more games.

With six games to go after the bye week, Iowa State will be hoping to continue to play well and get some key victories in Big 12 play.

Plenty of Work To Do

Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers watches the action during the second quarter against Utah on Sept. 26, 2026, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Coming out of the bye week, the Cyclones will be on the road facing a pretty good Arizona Wildcats team. With this being a tough opponent and it being on the road, even with the extra week to prepare, this game will not be an easy one to win.

Following that matchup, Iowa State will return home to face a surprisingly good Oklahoma State Cowboys team. The Cowboys are currently ranked in the Top 25, and once again, the Cyclones likely won’t be favored in this one.

After the Cowboys, it will be back on the road for a matchup against the Baylor Bears. Once again, that is not a game that the Cyclones are going to be favored in, and it could be three straight losses coming out of the bye week.

Iowa State will get a more favorable matchup after the Baylor game, as they will be hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats. This is a game that they should win and will be the easiest of the first four.

After the Bearcats, it will be back on the road against the UCF Knights; once again, they will likely be an underdog. In the final game of the season, it will be a game that appears to be a bit of a toss-up between them and Kansas State.

Overall, there isn’t an obvious path to the Cyclones getting their six wins right now. Currently, it would involve them pulling off an upset against a Big 12 opponent, and that could be a challenge. While things can change, it does feel like Iowa State will have to win one of the first three games after the bye to secure being bowl-eligible.

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