It is always nice when you can throw a catchy tagline on something like “Farmageddon” when it comes to Iowa State football playing Kansas State.

But regardless of what you call the game, you cannot deny the level of importance it has for Matt Campbell, his Cyclone players and Iowa State fans everywhere this season.

No. 17 Iowa State (9-2, 7-2) and Kansas State (8-3, 6-3) square off Saturday night inside what will be a jam-packed Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. With a win, the Cyclones will secure a spot in next Saturday’s Big 12 Conference title game. 

The Wildcats, meanwhile, can not only throw a wrench into those plans but also keep slim hope alive for a spot in the league championship. 

Ironically enough, Iowa State – or Kansas State for that matter – can really help generate money for the league with a win and another next week to advance to the College Football Playoff. Why that is ironic is both schools decided to really highlight the rivalry in the late 2000s as a way to do just that for each other.

Not known as a key game on the schedule, the decision was made to play back-to-back years in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. Fans and media called the contest “Farmageddon,” a reference to the agricultural roots of both universities. They will play again on a neutral site in 2025 from Dublin, Ireland, to kick off the season.

One of the longest continuous series in college football history, the Cyclones won the first meeting all the way back in 1917, 10-7. They also won the most recent, 42-35, last year, and lead the all-time series 53-50-4. 

But all Iowa State is focused on is the here and the now. They have had opportunities in the past to reach the Big 12 title game, only to see them slip through the cracks.

* Matt Campbell with hilarious response to understanding Big 12 tiebreakers

* Latest college football playoff rankings and where Iowa State stands

* How to watch Iowa State vs. Kansas State

* What Matt Campbell said after Iowa State’s win over Utah

* Three stars from Iowa State’s win over Utah

* Game recap, analysis, big plays from Iowa State at Utah

* Kansas lives up to Grim Reaper nickname, stuns Colorado

Voting has closed on another week of The Enquirer’s local college football players of the week award, and our readers selected a second-time winner.

In the Division I category, Malik Verdon takes home honors with more than 44% of the vote. There was no small school category this week, because Division II and Division III football entering playoffs caused a shortage of candidates.

Verdon was all over the field as No. 22 Iowa State survived a tough challenge from Utah to win 31-28 last Saturday. The Hamilton graduate led the Cyclones with 12 tackles and added a sack.

Verdon played two seasons at Moeller before transferring to Hamilton for his senior year. He leads Iowa State with 74 tackles, and he’s also recorded a sack, five passes defended, an interception and a forced fumble.

Previous winners

Previous winners from this season in the Division I category:

DB Josh Fussell, Northwestern (Lakota West)

DB Jaydan Mayes, Army (Fairfield)

LB Jaheim Thomas, Wisconsin (Princeton)

LB Joey Stemler, Ball State (Elder)

DB Malik Verdon, Iowa State (Hamilton)

LB Grant Lyons, Miami-Ohio (St. Xavier)

TE Max Klare, Purdue (St. Xavier)

RB Corey Kiner, Cincinnati (Roger Bacon)

LB Daniel Bolden, Toledo (Colerain)

Winners this season in the small school category:

RB Kai Smith, Wilmington College (Shroder)

RB Ty’aris Stevenson, Ashland (Withrow)

WR Eli Aston, Mount St. Joseph (East Central)

DL Brady Buller, Mount St. Joseph (Elder)

QB J.J. Miller, Wittenberg (Williamsburg)

QB Matthew Rueve, Findlay (St. Xavier)

QB J.J. Miller, Wittenberg (Williamsburg)

QB Tyler Prather, Mount St. Joseph (Colerain)

K Lucas Swierk, Wittenberg (Little Miami)

Want to nominate a player for a future week? Email jschmelzinger@gannett.com.

Iowa Hawkeyes legend Caitlin Clark has made a great transition from college basketball to the WNBA. She smashed through many WNBA records and also ended up winning the Rookie of the Year Award and was named the All-WNBA First Team.

Despite all of the outside pressure that she has faced, Clark has maintained her maturity and risen above all of the negative noise. She has simply focused on playing basketball and being a good teammate, which is something that Iowa fans know well.

Speaking of her teammates, one of them has spoken out with a very high opinion of Clark.

Lexie Hull recently appeared on the “She’s4Sports” podcast. In that interview, she dropped a quote full of praise for Clark and the way she has handled herself.

“It’s really awesome to get to know her as well, because, you know, she’s a great person, but you all have these expectations put on her and our team has put on her and fans have put on her. So to see her kind of be so mature in that transition, it’s been really awesome.”

As can be seen all over Clark’s social media feeds, her and Hull have become very good friends. The two are constantly around each other, even in the offseason.

All Hawkeyes fans could not be more excited about Clark and proud of her for the way she has made the jump to the WNBA.

During her rookie season, Clark ended up playing in 40 games, averaging 19.2 points per game to go along with 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. She shot 41.7 percent from the floor and knocked down 34.4 percent of her three-point attempts.

Clark is just 22 years old and has a very long future ahead of her in the WNBA. If her rookie season tells us anything, she could go down as one of the best WNBA players of all-time.

That would not surprise any Iowa fan, but there were many who thought Clark would be a bust.

Expect to see Clark come out even stronger in her second WNBA season. She wants to the best and her work ethic shows it. While she will continue dominating on the court, she will also continue being the amazing person off the court that she was with the Hawkeyes.

It’s good to see that all of the pressure and hype has not changed who Clark is away from the game.