Here is everything you need to know about the Cyclones game on Saturday in our Iowa State vs. Iowa preview.
Broadcast Info
Date: September 9th, 2017 | 11:00 A.M. CT | Jack Trice Stadium
TV: ESPN 2
Radio: IMG Sports Networks/ Sirius XM Chanel 200
Key Players
Iowa
QB Nate Stanley
Nate Stanley went 8 of 15 with 125 yards and 3 touchdown passes in his debut as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes. Not a bad start right? Well, not everything was just fine and dandy for the sophomore signal caller. Nate ended u putting the ball on the ground 3 times and lost 2 of them as well as throwing an interception. He has got some nice arm talent but taking care of the football will be key, especially for his first true road game as a starter.
RB Akrum Wadley
You are looking at the heartbeat of this offense with Akrum Wadley. He ran for over a 1,000 yards last season and had 24 carries last week in a win over Wyoming. Akrum is the bell cow of this offense and whatever the Hawkeyes do offensively on Saturday will run through Akrum Wadley. Look for him to get around 20 touches again this week.
LB Josey Jewell
Josey led the team in tackles last year and is the leader of this tough defense. He most certainly let his presence be felt last week with an outstanding performance earning him Big 10 defensive player of the week. In the victory over Wyoming, Jewell had 14 tackles and 2 sacks. Josey is easily one of the best linebackers in the Big 10 and maybe even the entire country.
Iowa State
QB Jacob Park
The time has now come for Jacob Park to be the leader of this football team now that he is the full-time starter in 2017. Jacob had a nice opening weekend last week against UNI completing 27 of his 35 attempts for 271 yards and 2 scores. He was pretty-consistent last week but considering his longest completion only went for 24 yards, I would expect him to show off that arm a bit more this Saturday and take some shots downfield.
WR Hakeem Butler
It would be easy to put receiver Allen Lazard but I think the Hawkeyes are going to be doubling him up quite a bit in coverage. This should leave more space to work with for Hakeem Butler who stands at 6’6. Hakeem presents plenty of matchup problems for opposing defenses and with the focus on Allen Lazard, Hakeem could be in for a big day in Ames.
LB Joel Lanning
The new quarterback turned linebacker had 7 tackles last week which was third on the team against UNI. While he did look ok in his debut, few tests for Joel will be as big as this one on Saturday. Iowa will probably try to run the ball as much as possible and I could imagine who they will be trying to key on. The Hawkeyes will surely test to see just how well Joel Lanning can play linebacker and run the ball between the tackles plenty. The question is will Joel Lanning be physical enough to help stop it?
Key Storylines
Iowa State Passing Attack
I don’t think there is any doubt that the Hawkeyes rush defense is stout. They see the run every week in the Big 10 and are more than prepared in that aspect of the game. I know its Wyoming but last week they held them to 59 yards rushing on 30 carries. They also held highly touted Wyoming QB Josh Allen to 174 yards passing and also grabbed 2 interceptions. Iowa may not face another WR group like the Cyclones have all season long. The Hawkeyes will have their hands full trying to stop all-Big 12 WR Allen Lazard along with Hakeem Butler (One of my key players), Trevor Ryen and Deshaunte Jones. Success on the ground will be hard to come by for Mike Warren and David Montgomery so this game will probably rest on the arm of Jacob Park. This should be an exciting matchup to watch on Saturday.
Iowa State Defensive Front
The Iowa offense is pretty simple, they are going to try to wear your defense out by trying to be more physical up front running the football. Every now and then they will take a shot downfield but the Iowa State secondary should be just fine in this game. The question is will the Cyclones be able to match the intensity up front to force Iowa QB Nate Stanley to win the game by throwing the football in his first road game as a starter?
Prediction
Iowa State 27, Iowa 24
Iowa State is able to find some success through the air scoring early and Iowa doesn’t have enough fire power on offense to pull off the comeback. Iowa will rush for 150 plus but Jacob Park will throw a few touchdown passes of his own. This one will come to the wire and the Iowa State defense makes a stop on the final drive to seal the victory for Matt Campbell. Cyclones pull off the upset in a rocking Jack Trice Stadium to win the CY-Hawk trophy for the first time in three years.
