Iowa State vs. Iowa Prediction, Odds, Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 2

Reed Wallach | Sep 2, 2024

Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) reacts after drawing an offside penalty on the Cincinnati Bearcats defense in the fourth quarter during a college football game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at Nippert Stadium win Cincinnati. The Iowa State Cyclones won, 30-10. / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Heated rivals meet in the annual Cy-Hawk game, this time in Iowa City with the Hawkeyes hosting the Cyclones. 

Iowa’s first look at a new offense took some time to adjust before finishing the afternoon with 40 points in a win over FCS Illinois State. The team will face its first real challenge on Saturday when Iowa State comes to Kinnick Stadium with an elite defense and an emerging quarterback in Rocco Becht. 

Will the new-look Hawkeyes offense prove its viable, or can Iowa State jumpstart a Big 12 Championship run with a non conference win against an elite defense on the road? 

Here’s how to bet on the Cy-Hawk game between two rivals. 

Iowa State vs. Iowa Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Iowa State: +2.5 (-105)
• Iowa: -2.5 (-115)

Moneyline

• Iowa State: +120
• Iowa: -140

Total: 36 (Over -110/Under -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Iowa State vs. Iowa How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, September 7
• Game Time: 3:30 PM EST
• Venue: Kinnick Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): CBS
• Iowa State Record: 1-0
• Iowa Record: 1-0

Iowa State vs. Iowa Key Players to Watch

Iowa State

Rocco Becht: Becht will look to build on a stellar freshman season, and showed signs of further maturity in the Cyclones’ opening win against FCS North Dakota, completing 76.9% of his passes for 267 yards with two touchdowns. 

Iowa

Cade McNamara: The former Michigan quarterback struggled last season with a knee injury and ineffective play, but he’s fully healthy in 2024 and we saw more offensive firepower from the Hawkeyes than in years. Under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, the Hawkeyes scored 40 points and averaged north of seven yards per play. McNamara was excellent in his own right, completing 21-of-31 passes for 251 yards with three touchdowns. 

Iowa State vs. Iowa Prediction and Pick

Iowa has dominated this rivalry of late, winning 11 of the last 15 Cy-Hawk games. 

While there’s plenty of turnover year over year, this game has typically been owned by the Hawkeyes and its vaunted defense. 

The question for Iowa’s viability as a truly elite team is if the offense can take a step forward, and despite having only one data point to go off of, McNamara looks healthy and the Hawkeyes offense may go from the basement of the country to slightly below average (this is meant as a compliment). 

However, Iowa State is also an elite defense that has an explosive set of playmakers around Becht. Last season, the freshman struggled against Iowa’s vaunted defense, completing about 50% of his passes with an interception that was returned for a touchdown in a mostly routine Hawkeyes win after building a 20-3 lead. 

I believe Becht has improved vastly since this matchup, but I’m not sure I can trust him to win on the road just yet against an elite defense of Iowa. 

In games against opponents that were top 50 in yards per play last season – Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Iowa – the Cyclones averaged 14 points per game. 

I’m not sure what to make of the Hawkeyes offense just yet, but I’m circling the Iowa State team total under when that becomes available and am expecting a low scoring affair, as has become the norm in this rivalry matchup. 

PICK: UNDER 36

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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