By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Very few college football programs have gone through as much change as Iowa State has since last December when Matt Campbell resigned as head coach to accept the Penn State job.

His departure opened the flood gates as the 2026 Iowa State roster now includes a new coaching staff, 81 new players and no returning starters on offense or defense.

New head coach Jimmy Rogers has had to practically rebuild the entire roster, so it’s hard to know what to expect when Iowa State faces No. 22 Iowa on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa added a program record 16 players from the transfer portal this past offseason, and also has eight new starters on defense, a new starting punter, a new starting kicker, new return specialists, a new special teams coordinator, and a new starting quarterback.

Compared to the Cyclones, though, Iowa is a model of stability and continuity under veteran head coach Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 28th season as the head Hawk.

The gutting of Iowa State’s roster is a product of the times, proof of just how fluid rosters are these days.

The Jimmy Rogers era got off to a successful start as Iowa State defeated Southeast Missouri State 38-10 this past Saturday in Ames.

Quarterback Jaylen Raynor, who started 36 games for Arkansas State over the past three seasons, made his first start for Iowa State this past Saturday and accounted for four touchdowns – two passing and two running.

Last season, Raynor completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns while running for seven more scores.

Raynor doesn’t have blazing speed, but he is slippery and capable of escaping from the pocket and extending plays.

Just that alone will test the Iowa defense.

Iowa is expected to use two quarterbacks against the Cyclones as Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski continue to compete for the starting position.

The depth chart was released on Monday and still shows an or between the names Brown and Hecklinski, while running back LJ Phillips isn’t listed due to the ankle injury that he suffered against Northern Illinois.

Brown started against Northern Illinois in the season opener this past Saturday and completed 12-of-20 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown in the 40-0 victory while playing just in the first half.

Hecklinksi completed 7-of-16 passes for 76 yards, one touchdown and one interception while playing over three quarters.

Both quarterbacks were hurt by some dropped passes, but when comparing the two performances, Brown maybe had a slight edge.

Iowa State will have to account for both quarterbacks, which could work to Iowa’s advantage.

Saturday’s game, which starts at 6:30 p.m., could have been Rocco Becht’s final game against Iowa, but Becht is now Campbell’s starting quarterback at Penn State; one of 24 former Cyclone players that followed Campbell to Penn State.

With Campbell coaching and Becht playing quarterback, you knew what to expect from the previous Cyclone squads.

That didn’t make winning any easier, though, considering Iowa State has won three of the last four games in the series.

But you still had a pretty good idea what to expect.

On the other hand, the current Iowa State squad is sort a mystery, because for the most part, it didn’t even exist just a few months ago.

Rogers is only in his fourth season as a college head coach with previous stops at Washington State last season and at South Dakota State in 2023 and 2024.

He led South Dakota State to the FCS national title in 2023 with former Hawkeye Mark Gronowski playing quarterback and to the semifinals in 2024.

He then finished 6-6 in his one season at Washington State.

To win on Saturday in Iowa City would be a massive step forward for Rogers, and a huge statement, while for Ferentz, a win would simply be avoiding what would be considered a bad loss.

Iowa State might prove to be better than expected.

But for now, the rebuilt Cyclones are more suspect than established.

If they struggle to contain Iowa’s running game, it could be a long day in Kinnick Stadium.

There was a time not that long ago when leaving Washington State for Iowa State as a head football coach would’ve been a head-scratching move.

But with Iowa State’s sustained success under Campbell, and with Iowa State a member of the Big 12 Conference, Rogers apparently had an offer he couldn’t pass up.

Washington State now competes in the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference, which is better than having no conference affiliation, but a far cry from what being a member of the Pac-12 used to be.

A win by Iowa State on Saturday wouldn’t necessarily shock the college football world. But it would show that there is reason for hope after Matt Campbell, who lost his first game against Iowa, 42-3, in 2016 in Iowa City.

Iowa is currently favored by 14.5 points, which seems to suggest that Iowa State having to practically rebuild its roster is reason to doubt the new-look Cyclones.

 

Iowa State (1-0) vs. Iowa (1-0)

When: Saturday. 6:30 pm

Where: Kinnick Stadium

TV: NBC

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series history: Saturday’s game will mark the 73rd meeting in the series where Iowa holds a 46-25 advantage (Iowa’s win over the Cyclones in 2023 was vacated). The series began in 1894 — a 16-8 Cyclone victory.

Iowa is 25-15 all-time against Iowa State inside Kinnick Stadium. The Cyclones have won the last two meetings in Iowa City, winning 10-7 in 2022 and 20-19 in 2024

Kirk Ferentz is 13-12 all-time against Iowa State, including winning 10 of the last 17 meetings, dating back to the 2008 season.