Iowa
Iowa State Cyclones Will Face Challenging Task Against BYU Cougars
The Iowa State Cyclones are riding high following two massive wins against the Kansas Jayhawks and the Houston Cougars. Each of these victories has helped solidify them as a contender, but they will have another tough game on Saturday night.
As the regular season starts to wind down, the Big 12 has been hit hard by injuries of late. However, this is still considered one of the best conferences in the nation with multiple teams that could win a National Championship.
For the Cyclones, their upcoming matchup on Saturday night against the BYU Cougars will be a great challenge. Despite Iowa State being one of the best teams in the country with just three losses, all of those defeats have come on the road.
The Cougars have an excellent fanbase, and it will be rocking on Saturday night. For Iowa State, they will undoubtedly be trying to prove they can win marquee road games, but this will be a tall task.
Head coach T.J. Otzelberger recently spoke with William Seals of On3 about the BYU offense and their star freshman AJ Dybantsa.
“They’re a prolific offensive team. I mean, (AJ) Dybantsa, there’s not a good answer for how to guard him. It’s not a one-person job. His free-throw numbers are off the charts. His ability to create his own shot, score the basketball is at such a high, high level.”
Stopping Dybantsa Will Be a Challenge
As one of the best freshmen in the nation, Dybantsa is going to challenge the Iowa State defense in this game. The talented scorer is going to be one of the first picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, and he has helped lead the Cougars to a special season.
For the Cyclones, stopping him will be their top priority on defense, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to use multiple defenders on him. Likely getting a bulk of the load will be their own freshman, Killyan Toure.
The Iowa State freshman has been one of the best on-ball defenders in the nation this year, and he has the length and size to potentially slow down Dybantsa a bit. A player of his caliber is rarely completely stopped offensively but slowing him down and making him less efficient should be the goal.
Even though Richie Saunders is out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, this BYU team is still a threat at home. With a need for a win and one of the best homecourt advantages in the nation, the Cyclones will be tested in this one.
When it comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes 2026 football season, it doesn’t get much bigger than Ohio State coming to Kinnick Stadium.
No one knows at this stage where the Buckeyes will be come Oct. 3, but Iowa has a chance to make an early impression against a team that is no stranger to winning the big one.
Iowa’s B1G schedule couldn’t get off to a worse start as they head to Michigan and then welcome the Buckeyes to Kinnick.
Hopefully for Iowa’s sake, their first three games against Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa are enough to get them prepared. If not, things could get ugly.
ESPN Believes Ohio State is Iowa’s Biggest Opponent in 2026
The Michigan game will certainly be a test, but hosting the Buckeyes is a different animal. That gives the Hawkeyes an advantage like no other, and if there was ever a time to give OSU a run for their money, it’s in Iowa City on Oct. 3.
“The Hawkeyes haven’t faced Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium since 2017, when Nate Stanley threw five touchdowns as they stunned the Buckeyes 55-24. An early October win over Ohio State could propel Iowa into the Big Ten title and playoff conversations,” Jake Trotter wrote.
To put things into perspective, Indiana and Oregon were the other two teams that had the Buckeyes listed as their defining game in the 2026 season. Shockingly, Iowa was actually selected against a team, that being Minnesota. Seeing as that’s for the Floyd of Rosedale, it makes complete sense.
Iowa Can’t Let Regular Season Opportunities Go To Waste
Last year was seemingly the Hawkeyes’ first time to actually make the College Football Playoffs. They came up short as their losses to No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Indiana, No. 9 Oregon and No. 17 USC all added up. Sure, those were by a combined 15 points, but that doesn’t matter, as it’s bad enough that a three-loss team made the playoffs.
Iowa ended with a bang as they took down No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, 34-27. Now, all eyes are on either Jeremy Hecklinski or Hank Brown. One of those men will have a chance to make their first B1G start at the Big House in Michigan.
It doesn’t get any tougher than that, as Iowa is immediately putting their new QB into deep water. They’ll have three games prior to that to get up to speed, but other than that, it’s go time as OSU awaits after their trip to Michigan.
Don’t forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!
MANCHESTER, Iowa — The state of Iowa lost a titan of the prep coaching world this week. Former Kee High School baseball coach Gene Schultz died on Monday at the age of 80.
Schultz spent 45 seasons as the baseball coach at Kee, helping turn the program into an Iowa dynasty. He won 9 State championships (not counting 2 fall titles, which the IHSAA doesn’t recognize in the record books), and took the Hawks to 19 State tournaments, which is also the most in Iowa history.
His 1,754 wins are not only the most in Iowa history, but the most of any high school baseball coach in the country.
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