When asked to describe what Iowa football’s Cy-Hawk rivalry game against Iowa State will look like on Saturday, punter Tory Taylor gave an answer dripping with sarcasm.
“It’s a pretty nice place to play,” Taylor said of Jack Trice Stadium on Tuesday. “It’s not like there’s 8-year-olds hanging over the fence giving you the rude finger or anything like that.”
When the Hawkeyes make the two-hour trip westward to enemy territory, they will be greeted with not-so-friendly hospitality and a new-look Cyclone offense.
The Hawkeyes will have even more incentive as they try to propel head coach Kirk Ferentz to his 200th career win. Ferentz said the feat doesn’t mean much to him, but Iowa players want that success for the longest-tenured head coach in FBS.
“He is the best leader I’ve ever been around,” Iowa fifth-year defensive end Joe Evans said of Ferentz on Tuesday.
Because of his involvement in the state gambling probe, 2022 starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers’ will be absent on Saturday. Redshirt freshman Rocco Brecht will start under center for the Cyclones. Brecht saw action in just three contests last season, most notably in the Cyclones’ season finale against TCU, when he completed 7-of-13 passes for 65 yards.
Brecht started for Iowa State in its season opener against Northern Iowa, throwing for 113 yards and two scores on 10-of-13 passing. The Cyclones defeated the Panthers, 30-9.
“I think he’s a pretty good athlete,” Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean said of Brecht. “You know, they get him out in space a little bit. Obviously, it’s his first game starting, so I don’t really know what to expect with only one game on film.”
The run game
Iowa only put up 88 rushing yards on 36 attempts in week one against Utah State as the offensive line struggled to create holes. Sophomore Kaleb Johnson led the way with 63 yards and a TD on 19 attempts, with running backs Leshon Williams and Jaziun Patterson also earning some touches. Iowa averaged under 100 rushing yards a game last season.
Starting right tackle Gennings Dunker said the Hawkeyes are honing in on the fundamentals ahead of their game against the Cyclones. When watching film from Iowa’s 10-7 loss to Iowa State last season, Dunker said the offensive line missed a lot of “makeable” blocks.
“I think we’ve got a lot of things to improve on,” Dunker said on Tuesday. “Just basic stuff like our first steps and eye aiming points, like knowing what angle you’re blocking at … Maybe your hips aren’t square like they’re supposed to be. Or maybe your feet are a little jacked up and that kind of impacts how you’re blocking.”
Iowa State’s ground game will bring a challenge for the Iowa defense. The Cyclones are without last year’s starter, Jirehl Brock, who is also away from the team amidst the gambling investigation. Led by ball carriers Abu Sama and Cartevious Norton, the Cyclones ran for 135 yards against Northern Iowa and averaged five yards per attempt.
Iowa ranked 14th nationally in rushing defense last season, giving up 107 yards on the ground per game. The Hawkeyes surrendered 116 total rushing yards on 24 carries against the Aggies.
Solid secondary
Yielding just one touchdown to the Panthers, the Cyclone defense was stout, giving up 3.9 yards per play. Cornerback Myles Purchase led the squad with six tackles while linebacker Caleb Bacon collected two sacks.
In addition, 2022 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Jeremiah Cooper started his sophomore campaign with a bang, snagging two interceptions, one of them being a 58-yard return for a touchdown. Lining up across from Cooper is senior TJ Tampa, who earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last season.
The Cyclones play a Three-High safety defense, where one safety will line up in the middle of the field and serve as a hybrid linebacker of sorts. According to Iowa tight end Luke Lachey, this middle safety concept stands out on film, as the position gets involved in the run game but is also an extra defender in passing situations.
Despite the Cyclones’ strong secondary, Hawkeye wideout Seth Anderson said he sees “a lot of opportunity” when watching film.
Homegrown Hawks
Evans, an Ames native, said he loves every rivalry game, but playing for the state of Iowa has a bit more magnitude. He is excited to experience the hostile environment and hopes to quiet the Cyclone fans in Jack Trice Stadium.
“In 2021, I remember a group of guys were yelling, ‘Joe, Joe, Joe,’” Evans said. “So I’m like, ‘These have to be my buddies from high school, right?’ I looked around, and it definitely wasn’t my buddies. They definitely let me have it.”
Linebacker Kyler Fisher and defensive lineman Aaron Graves both attended Southeast Valley High School located about an hour from Ames. Fisher said he and Graves have converted lots of people over in Gowrie, Iowa, to Hawkeye fans, but he still hears some trash talk from those back home.
“I kind of try to keep a level head, try to see every game the same,” Fisher said on Tuesday. “I kind of try to avoid text messages and stuff like that. Especially because where I grew up, it’s Cyclone territory.”
Cornerback Cooper DeJean also grew up around the Cy-Hawk rivalry. The junior from Odebolt, Iowa, was recruited by the Cyclones and attended the contest at Jack Trice Stadium in 2019 when there were two rain delays that lasted almost three hours. He said he remembers running back to his car in a “downpour” and waiting for the weather to pass.
When the game resumed, DeJean got to witness one of the craziest endings to a Cy-Hawk game yet. Iowa led, 18-17, and punted the ball away with just over 90 seconds left in regulation. Iowa State’s Datrone Young ran into Deshaunte Jones, the returner who was trying to field the punt. The ball hit Young’s back on the way down, and Iowa recovered to take home the Cy-Hawk trophy for the fifth-consecutive year.
DeJean said the muffed punt made him realize just how important it is to execute in all three phases on the field – offense, defense, and special teams.
“A lot of things can happen,” DeJean said. “You have to be able to deal with the different momentum shifts in the game. Last Saturday there were a few shifts in momentum that we feel we didn’t handle greatly.”
Rivalry reminiscent
For players born outside of Iowa like Anderson and quarterback Cade McNamara, the experience of the Cy-Hawk game is slightly foreign but nothing too unfamiliar. Anderson mentioned how when he was playing for Charleston Southern, fans of rival Eastern Carolina would throw empty cans at him and his teammates. Likewise, McNamara likened the game to his days at Michigan when the Wolverines would take on Michigan State in the Paul Bunyan trophy game.
“It’s not as much about the fans as it is about the on-field stuff,” McNamara said. “Because two teams dislike each other, you know, those games are fun to play … the intensity is definitely higher … I’m super excited to be a part of this game.”
For Lachey, who hails from Columbus, Ohio, the realization that the Cy-Hawk game meant something special hit early. Lachey said in the week leading up to the Hawkeyes’ visit to Ames in 2021, he would have to hear Iowa State’s customary touchdown siren being played through the speakers at the facility.
“[The sirens] are playing at 5 a.m. in the morning,” Lachey said. “Just gets you real frustrated and gets you a little more mad at [Iowa State]. You want to go out there and perform a little bit better.”
No longer ranked
The Associated Press released its new top 25 rankings on Tuesday afternoon. After being listed at No. 25 in week one, Iowa now finds itself on the outside looking in. Even with a 10-point win, the Hawkeyes received 73 votes, which was good enough for the unofficial No. 26 rating.
With 141 votes, Clemson is now slotted in at No. 25, down 16 spots from where it was in the last rankings. The Tigers lost, 28-7, to Duke on Monday night, the Blue Devils’ first win over an AP top-25 opponent since 1989. After being unranked to start the season, Duke is now in at No. 21.
Another team that moved into the top 25 is the Colorado Buffaloes led by new head coach Deion Sanders. Colorado won its season-opener against TCU in a dramatic 45-42 shootout on Saturday and now sits at No. 22.
