Iowa

Big 12 football power rankings: Iowa State on top entering final game of season

Published

1 year ago

December 3, 2024

Big 12 football power rankings: Iowa State on top entering final game of season

Thanks to a three-game win streak to end the year, the Iowa State football team finds itself headed to Dallas for the Big 12 Conference championship game.

Awaiting the Cyclones (10-2) will be red-hot Arizona State (10-2), who has also caught fire as the temperatures after dropped.

But where do both ISU and ASU fit in according to the Big 12 power rankings? Glad you asked, as we have compiled just that information for your reading pleasure.

Final Regular Season Big 12 Power Rankings

1. Iowa State (10-2)

2. Arizona State (10-2)

3. Colorado (9-3)

4. Kansas State (8-4)

5. BYU (10-2)

6. Baylor (8-4)

7. TCU (8-4)

8. Texas Tech (8-4)

9. Kansas (5-7)

10. West Virginia (6-6)

11. Cincinnati (5-7)

12. Utah (5-7

13. UCF (4-8)

14. Houston (4-8)

15. Arizona (4-8)

16. Oklahoma State (3-9)

The Cyclones showed their resilience, recovering from a two-game losing skid that could have ended the year for most teams. Instead, Matt Campbell got his team regrouped and refocused, winning the last three to secure the first-ever 10-win season in program history.

Iowa State is playing in the conference championship game for just the second time ever, as they lost to Oklahoma back in 2020.

With a healthy mix of passing and running the football, the Cyclones are equipped to handle any weather or defense. Speaking of that, Iowa State has a defensive of its own that buckles down inside the red zone.

It is honestly hard to not make a case for the Buffaloes and Deion Sanders as not only the best team in the Big 12, but the best option to compete in the College Football Playoff.

Led by likely Heisman winner Travis Hunter, Colorado is explosive on offense with Shedeur Sanders firing the pigskin all over the field. The defense, though, has been the issue for the Buffaloes, which is surprising considering who their head coach is.

If you were to match Colorado up against Iowa State, Arizona State or BYU on any given week, the odds would likely favor the Buffaloes. But they were unable to get the job done when they needed to the most, and will watch from their homes this weekend.

* Keys to victory for Iowa State vs. Arizona State

* Iowa State climbs the latest Coaches Poll Top 25

* Rocco Becht credits 2023 loss with driving Iowa State

* How to watch Iowa State vs. Arizona State for Big 12 title

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Iowa

Pat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star

Published

10 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Pat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star

Audi Crooks and Iowa State women’s basketball are officially sweeping the nation.

On Tuesday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN, the Cyclones’ star and NCAA women’s basketball scoring leader garnered significant praise from the former-NFL-punter-turned-media-personality.

“I’m a huge fan of the way she operates. Huge fan,” McAfee said. “She just gets buckets. That’s literally all she does.

“Did I know anything about Iowa State’s women’s basketball team ever? Nope. But Audi Crooks highlights pop up on my (algorithm), and I say, ‘Boys, immediately, I’m making a song, we’re making a highlight,’ because people are trying to take shots at Audi right now.”

The song and video McAfee referenced was posted on his social media and played on his show before his monologue about Crooks. It features a stylish edit of Crooks points accompanied by what appears to be an AI-generated song with the chorus of, “You’re about to get cooked, by Audi Crooks.”

The “shots” at Crooks that McAfee mentioned refer to a TikTok posted by ESPN with the caption, “Baylor exposed Audi Crooks on defense,” which came in ISU’s first loss of the season on Jan. 4.

Audi Crooks stats

2025-26 season (14 games): 29.1 points (NCAA leader), 6.7 rebounds, 71% shooting
2024-25 season: 23.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 60.5% shooting
2023-24 season: 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 57.7% shooting

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Iowa

Iowa women’s basketball, Chit-Chat Wright sick, Kylie Feuerbach update

Published

22 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Iowa women’s basketball, Chit-Chat Wright sick, Kylie Feuerbach update

Hawk Central report
| Des Moines Register

Iowa women’s basketball was lacking some of its vocal leadership on Monday at Northwestern.

Part of that was the fact that Hawkeyes senior Kylie Feuerbach is still sidelined with an ankle injury. Another part was the fact that Chit-Chat Wright was not feeling great.

“No excuse, but Chat’s really sick,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said after the Hawkeyes’ 67-58 victory. “She didn’t have the flu game like (Michael) Jordan. But she’s really sick, like fever. And I think that just threw her. She was really not vocal tonight. So we were kinda searching, because Chat had been coming (as a leader).”

Wright fought through it and played 34 minutes, scoring 12 points and dishing out seven assists.

Jensen confirmed that Feuerbach remains day-to-day. She hasn’t played since getting hurt Dec. 20 vs. UConn.

“I think (our leadership tonight) was by committee,” Jensen said. “It just wasn’t the same person every time. … It’ll be nice to get Kylie back in that lineup.”

Feuerbach, the team’s best perimeter defender, has missed Iowa’s last three games. Jensen said she is pleased overall with how her team has played defensively in Feuerbach’s absence.

“(Against Northwestern) it was more an ‘us’ problem offensively,” Jensen said. “Our defense held. … We turned the ball over 20 times.”

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Iowa

Two killed in Dubuque after bar fight escalates into police shooting

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Two killed in Dubuque after bar fight escalates into police shooting

Two people are dead after a Dubuque bar fight escalated, with one man shooting another and then being killed by police.

An officer with the Dubuque Police Department was outside the Odd Fellows bar just before 1 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, when he witnessed a physical altercation, according to a news release from the Dubuque Police Department.

As the officer exited the patrol vehicle, an adult man allegedly used a handgun to shoot one of the people involved in the fight. The officer fired at the offender, who then ran into the bar.

The victim who was shot first was provided medical treatment by officers at the scene and then transported to MercyOne Hospital in Dubuque.

The offender was treated by police officers inside the bar and then transported to UnityPoint Finley Hospital.

Both were later pronounced dead.

The names of those involved are not being released at this time pending notification of family members.

The incident is being investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The officer involved was not injured and has been placed on critical incident leave in accordance with the department’s policies.

Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.

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