Iowa Football: Whats At Stack For The Annual Cy-Hawk Game?

It may not be the biggest in-state war in college football, but there is definitely added tension when the Hawkeyes and Cyclones face off. This weekend it is no different as the game has big implications for both sides.

Kirk Ferentz who became the ‘Dean of College Football’ with the sudden retirement of Bob Stoops from Oklahoma in the offseason, has had an up and down career against the ‘Clones.

With an overall record of 9-9 against Iowa State, Ferentz has never flexed the Hawkeye muscles on the Cyclones like his predecessor Hayden Fry did. Fry went 16-4 against Iowa State in his twenty meetings. This included an amazing run from 1983 through 1997 where Iowa State did not beat the Hawkeyes.

Fry lost in his last meeting with the Cyclones in 1998, and Kirk Ferentz did not get his first win in the series until 2003. Since that time Iowa’s longest winning streak came in the ‘Ricky Stanzi Years’ from 2008-2010. Iowa can match that three game winning streak this weekend, as the Hawks have won each of the last two meetings both by at least a couple touchdowns. Last year was the most lopsided for Ferentz when Iowa won by 39.

Cyclones second year head coach has made waves with his numerous shots at the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes have typically not given in to this point. But, during the Summer offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz expressed his feelings on the Cyclones recruiting tactics:

While speaking on Hawk Central Hour, Ferentz described both trophy game rivals Iowa State and Nebraska’s recruiting tactics relative to the Hawkeyes approach:

“I can tell you this much, if the University of Iowa offers you a scholarship and you commit to us, we intend to sign you and we intend to take your commitment. I think you have to look no further than in-state to see there were a lot of offers that went out in the 2018 class very early out of Ames. And I’m not sure all of those guys were able to commit to them if they wanted to, because some of those guys have since gone other places.”

It took Dan McCarney until his fourth try against Iowa to get his first win. Paul Rhoads beat Iowa on his third attempt during his miserable tenure. And, the man to get it done in his first shot was Gene Chizik who bolted from Ames after two seasons to take over at Auburn.

2017 Matchup

This years pairing is as ‘big’ as it ever was. Both teams have alot to prove, both unranked looking to come away on top.

The Hawkeyes currently have 56 Iowans on the roster, compared to the Cyclones with 42. Most of these players grew up with family on both sides of the rivalry, and they know what a win means for their respective fan bases.

The star for Iowa State is wide receiver Allen Lazard. Lazard caught 8 passes in the week 1 win over Northern Iowa, and could finish among the best at his position in the Big 12.

The Cyclones much improved overall in the small sample size of their first game win over Northern Iowa. Will they be able to slow down the two-headed monster of Akrum Wadley and James Butler? Will Allen Lazard be able to score his first touchdown against the Hawks?

These are some of the questions that are going to be answered Saturday.

Predictions

Last week all of our predictors decided correctly on the Iowa-Wyoming game.

Joe Favia (Dear Old Gold) Hawkeyes 27 over Cyclones 26

Patrick Mooney (Dear Old Gold) Hawkeyes 24 over Cyclones 13

Devin Keller (Dear Old Gold) Hawkeyes over Cyclones

Derrick Mitchell (Former Hawkeye RB) Hawkeyes over Cyclones

Brendan Stiles (Hawkeye Expert) Hawkeyes over Cyclones

Ohio @ Purdue:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Purdue

Towson @ Maryland:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan-Maryland

Northwestern @ Duke:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Northwestern

Cincinnati @ Michigan:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Michigan

Florida Atlantic @ Wisconsin:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Wisconsin

Western Michigan @ Michigan State:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Michigan State

Pittsburgh @ Penn State:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Penn State

Eastern Michigan @ Rutgers:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Rutgers

Indiana @ Virginia:

Derrick, Brendan, Devin – Indiana

Joe, Patrick – Virginia

Nebraska @ Oregon:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Oregon

Oklahoma @ Ohio State:

Patrick, Devin, Joe – Oklahoma

Derrick, Brendan – Ohio State

Western Kentucky @ Illinois:

Brendan, Devin, Joe – WKU

Derrick, Patrick- Illinois

Minnesota @ Oregon St:

Joe, Patrick, Devin, Derrick, Brendan- Minnesota

Overall Season:

Brendan Stiles (12-1)

Patrick Mooney (12-1)

Derrick Mitchell (11-2)

Joe Favia (10-3)