Cy-Hawk Rivalry Extended - But At What Cost for the Iowa Hawkeyes?

You know what they say: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

In today's ever-changing world of college football, things between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones are staying the same.

For now.

Iowa and Iowa State Extend Cy-Hawk Rivalry

Amid rumblings that the Cy-Hawk Rivalry was nearing its end, a four-year extension of the in-state rivalry game has come to fruition. Iowa and Iowa State are going to be playing each other for the next four years, with the rivalry running through 2031.

This brings me to one simple question: why?

The Cy-Hawk four-year extension, which Iowa AD Beth Goetz discussed on Tuesday, was announced by Iowa State. Here are those dates: pic.twitter.com/RCq44ts3ct
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) July 29, 2026

The juice isn't worth the squeeze for Iowa

Listen, I am not going to sit on some high horse and act like the Iowa Hawkeyes are some holier-than-thou program that looks down upon teams. Iowa has its own shortcomings to work through.

But this game is not worth it for the Hawkeyes. It just isn't. Before you quit reading and get mad about the idea of the great rivalry going away, just listen.

I also love the pageantry of college football. I love geographic conferences. I love silly bowl games with wacky sponsors. I love all of it. I get that side of this thing.

The reality is that world is going away, if not nearly faded into history of what once was.

That way of college football is hanging on by a thread and won't exist for long. It's harsh, but reality isn't always sunshine and rainbows.

This game isn't worth it for Iowa with how college football schedules work nowadays.

With the way the College Football Playoff is going, with expansion talks running rampant, there is no need for this game, with already having a nine-game Big Ten conference slate.

Don't try to tell me it's because of strength of schedule. Iowa plays in the best conference in college football. They don't need any extra power conference games. Look at Indiana last year.

The Hoosiers played a non-conference slate of Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, and Indiana State. No one cared about that when they went 16-0 and won a national championship.

f things expand, a 9-3 Iowa team is a legitimate contender, even if they play the likes of Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Western Illinois for the sake of replacing Iowa State in this year's non-conference schedule.

Does Iowa really have much to gain beating Iowa State?

This is the big part that no one wants to say out loud, but let's do it.

Iowa is supposed to win. They are the big brother. They run the state in fans and recruiting, and they are the better and bigger program.

If Iowa wins, great, so what? It's on to the next game; Iowa State goes about its season on the way to a 7-5 or 8-4 record, and the win carries no water.

If Iowa loses, we can look at 2025, for example. It's an ugly blemish on the schedule that keeps the Hawkeyes on the fringe of the College Football Playoff.

It provides no Big Ten impact and isn't a "good loss" like we like to throw around now as teams are debated for the College Football Playoff.

Riley Donald's Final Thoughts on the Cy-Hawk Rivalry Extension

Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz watches the game from side line against Iowa State during the second quarter in the Cy-Hawk Series at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

I get it. I really, truly do. The state of Iowa, the Hawkeyes, and the Cyclones, and some of those fans are clutching their pearls to hold onto the old way of college football. Can you blame them?

I would go back to that world in a heartbeat if it was possible. But it isn't. There is no going back to that way of life.

So, in today's world of college football, I will leave you with one more question: Are we seeing the final few games of the Cy-Hawk?

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