Hawkdub Game Thoughts - Iowa State Better Than Expected…? 9/16/2026 - I finally got around to rewatching the game after being pretty frustrated in the stands on Saturday night. I was pretty disappointed in person with how the Iowa offensive line performed. After watching the game I feel a little better, but came away slightly impressed with Iowa State. It got my mind thinking about how good/bad is Iowa State? I think most fans and media get caught up in how things were 10-15 years ago, where if a team lost it’s entire team to transfer, said team would be completely devastated. I’m not sure that is the entire case anymore. I had AI do a search on both Iowa and Iowa State’s rosters and fond that the starting 23 (both teams show 12 on their offensive depth chart) players on the depth chart. The Cyclone players have a cumulative 503 games played compared to the Hawkeyes 439 games played. 109 of Iowa State’s games played came from their 4 defensive lineman. These numbers also don’t include Iowa State’s all world kicker in Kyle Konrardy, who has a ton of experience, in comparison to any one of Iowa’s special teams unit. I think those numbers are telling. 15 years ago, with a mass exodus of players like Iowa State had in the off season, the new coach would be starting completely over. See Matt Campbell and the 2016 game against the Hawks. In this case Jimmy Rodgers was able to take an NFL free agency approach to his start at Iowa State. Granted those guys all haven’t played together, but the experience and composure they showed given the atmosphere was impressive. Maybe a good comparison is the 2025/26 Iowa basketball team. After Fran McCafferey left, the Iowa roster was left with Cooper Koch. Luckily with the new transfer rules, coach Ben McCullom was able to bring in many of his Drake players as well as some other transfers with experience that shortened the turnaround time. I’m not saying Iowa State will be good, and do a similar elite 8 run in football, but I am saying maybe we need to reevaluate this game in a couple months after seeing what Iowa State actually is as a team. They might be better than we think….