Cyclones or Hawkeyes - Who you got?

It may still be 100 degrees outside but Football season is well underway. Hopes of an undefeated season have been dashed for both the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes within one week which has a lot in-state football fans troubled. The good news for fans this weekend is that either the Hawkeyes or the Cyclones are guaranteed a victory. The odds-makers in Vegas have their black & gold tinted glasses on favoring the Hawkeyes to beat Iowa State in Ames by 3 points.

If history is any indication the game will be a close one with the winner being determined within the last few minutes of the game. The last 2 meetings in this rivalry were decided by 3 points with the Cyclones coming out on top both times. The Cyclones however have lost a large portion of their defense from last years team and are looking to rebuild in Paul Rhoads 5th year as the head coach.

The Hawkeyes have played two uninspiring games so far this season, losing to Northern Illinois at home and beating the Missouri State Bears by a lackluster 14 points. Growing pains have been evident in the Hawkeyes’ second year under Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis. Davis, the former coach of the high-powered Texas offense with Vince Young has begun to implement a more wide-open offensive system in Iowa city. The changes have been met with mixed reviews with the Hawkeyes becoming more aggressive on offense, but looking lost at times in the passing game. Progress was evident from game one to game two this season, but looks to have room for improvement before it is ready for Prime Time in the B1G.

The Iowa State Cyclones have made great strides under Paul Rhoads, appeasing fans with an upset victory nearly every year he has been at the helm. The overall record of the Cyclones under coach Rhoads has been a mediocre 7-6 at best in his first season. But Cyclone fans have welcomed the coach back to Central Iowa with open arms despite the lack of true success in Ames. Ticket sales are at an all-time high in Ames and has restarted talk of a South End Zone project to expand Jack Trice Stadium.  All this positive momentum came to a direct halt when Iowa State dropped its first week game to in-state rival Northern Iowa. Lets be clear, the Panthers are a solid 1-AA football team but in no way is it excusable for a team with aspirations to finish in the top-half of a BCS conference to lose to a 1-AA foe, just ask Michigan.

So with each team sleep-walking its way through the first couple weeks of the college football season, it becomes tough to imagine either of these teams getting to play post-season football without a win in this game. This makes the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry game more intense for the two teams as it may be the biggest game they play this year and possibly a spring board to a winning season and Bowl Game. The two teams seem fairly evenly matched with the slight advantage going to Iowa who has tougher Offensive & Defensive lines compared to the inexperience on the Cyclone sidelines.

Despite Iowa’s edge in talent, I predict Iowa State channeling the energy from the Jack Trice Stadium fan base and winning a squeaker 24-21.

Who do you got in the big game??