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Iowa Football: One Cy-Hawk Streak Ends, Another Extends

By Lance Patton

AMES, IA - SEPTEMBER 14: Linebacker Nick Niemann #49 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, quarterback Brock Purdy #15, and tight end Chase Allen #11 of the Iowa State Cyclones all attempt to recover a fumble made by Purdy in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - SEPTEMBER 14: Linebacker Nick Niemann #49 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, quarterback Brock Purdy #15, and tight end Chase Allen #11 of the Iowa State Cyclones all attempt to recover a fumble made by Purdy in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /
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With the Big Ten announcing there will be no non-conference football games this season, Iowa Football will not play in-state rival Iowa State this season. This is the first time the Cy-Hawk Series will not be played since 1977.

If I were to find the positive side in not having the Cy-Hawk series, it is that Iowa State will not score a touchdown in Kinnick Stadium for another year. The downside, is well, everything else. From a personal standpoint, the CyHawk series is my favorite game that Iowa plays every year. To say the Cy-Hawk series means a lot to the players and fans is an understatement, this game means a lot to a lot of people.

So, it’s obviously a disappointment that is cancelled and Hawkeye fans will have to wait a whole year to, as Ihmir Smith-Marsette put it, “go 6 for 6”:

Despite the Cy-Hawk series often catching flack (from both sides of the fence) that in the end, the game doesn’t mean as much since there are no conference implications. I would disagree; I think the rivalry brings out the best aspects of both teams. Iowa often times flexing their discipline and ball control to sneak out victories, while the Cyclones show their ability to come so, so close to winning but in the end lose in the most exciting ways possible.

Despite the Hawkeyes having won five straight, as well as seven of the last ten this seemed like a year the Cyclones could finally do what Cyclone fans had been waiting for almost 6 years… find the endzone in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa State has not done so since the 2014 matchup, where Sam Richardson tossed for two touchdowns, leading the Cyclones to a 20-17 win, their last victory of the series.

It’s been over 2,100 days since Iowa State has beaten the Hawkeyes, but in the interest of complete honesty, this was a good chance for the Cyclones to end the streak. Iowa would have had a new quarterback, lost a first-round tackle, and multiple key players on the defense. The Cyclones return almost everyone on both sides of the ball, including highly touted quarterback Brock Purdy.

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Then again, every year for the last five has been a self-proclaimed “Cyclone year” and every year the Hawkeyes were able to survive in close games.

The Cy-Hawk series generates a buzz across the state that is frankly, unmatched. Who could forget about one of the best I-O-W-A chants in Kinnick two years ago? Or College Gameday and the drama of last year? Or the overtime thriller in 2017? All of these games changed the course of seasons and individual careers, so despite not having conference implications; the Cy-Hawk series is important.

Assuming the Cy-Hawk series will continue next season in Ames (which unfortunately for Iowa City logistically makes the most sense), the 43-year streak of Cy-Hawk games comes to an end, but the Cyclones not scoring a touchdown in Kinnick will continue for at least another two years.

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