You couldn't have drawn up a typical script for the 2026 Cy-Hawk Game. 

No. 21 Iowa entered this matchup as a heavy favorite, but underdog Iowa State held its own. Both teams played the field position battle for almost the entire second half, but at the end of the day, someone had to win the football game. 

That team was the Hawkeyes. It didn't look likely 

Iowa's offense didn't muster a ton of explosive plays on this night, but it didn't matter. The Hawkeyes have been on the wrong side of a game-winning field goal for the last two meetings against Iowa State, but that wasn't the case in 2026. 

Both teams played the field position game, but the rushing attack mustered enough yards to get Iowa in field goal position. With 19 seconds to play, the walk-on from Bettendorf drilled a 42-yard field goal to win the game. It's certainly an incredible story, as Buhr missed his first two kicks as a Hawkeye last weekend. 

Iowa is usually one of the most disciplined teams in the country, but there were uncharacteristic penalties early in the game that prevented the Hawkeyes from building an early lead. Iowa committed two false starts on its opening drive to delay any chance of a fast touchdown strike, but the worst came on the next drive. 

The Hawkeyes had a 4th and 1 from the Iowa State 40, and Kirk Ferentz opted to keep his offense on the field. Iowa was nearly automatic in these kinds of situations last year, but Mark Gronowski is no longer the quarterback. Though Hank Brown is 6-foot-4, Iowa State had no problem turning him away and spoiling a scoring opportunity. 

Brown had plenty of success finding Diaz on the outside against Northern Illinois, but Iowa State made sure to take that away in this one. Diaz did make a leaping catch on the sideline on the Hawkeyes' second possession, but he had to navigate through a crowd of white jerseys to do so. Brown continued to stare down Diaz and Reece Vander Zee, but it didn't work. 

Iowa has the benefit of having a loaded tight end room that can make plays over the middle or even using the speedy Diaz on a crossing route, but the lone play over the middle until the latter half of the second quarter was a nine-yard reception by running back Kamari Moulton on 3rd down. 

The key word there was until the latter half of the second quarter. Kinnick Stadium was dead silent after Jaylen Raynor's four-yard touchdown pass gave Iowa State a 10-0 lead, but that's when Tim Lester decided to open up the playbook. Brown dropped a beautiful 56-yard bomb to Diaz on the deep post and scored a rushing touchdown (the second of his career) three plays later to give the Hawkeyes a much-needed touchdown. 

Kinnick Stadium came back to life after that, and Iowa's defense fed off the momentum by forcing a three-and-out. The Hawkeye offense had just under four minutes to tie or take the lead, and though they stalled out in Iowa State territory, Caden Buhr's 45-yard field goal attempt was good to tie the game at 10 heading into the break. 

The Hawkeyes' run game managed just 42 yards, but it was Brown and the passing attack (11/17, 139 yards) that carried Iowa in the first half and set up an exciting second. 

No matter what happened in the end, the most logical conclusion one could make from this game was that Iowa State won the battle in the trenches on this night, and really even every phase of the game. The Cy-Hawk Game is always usually decided down low, and the new-look Cyclones had every answer for Iowa in this one. The Hawkeyes couldn't muster much on the ground, which forced them to heavily rely on Brown and the passing game. 

Iowa also tried to go with an empty set and run a Brown quarterback draw at times, but that too was snuffed out. Jimmy Rogers' teams are known for their physicality up front, and it's already showing in Ames. 

Iowa returns to action next Saturday for another in-state matchup at Kinnick Stadium, this time against the Northern Iowa Panthers. UNI is 1-1 on the season after dispatching Drake earlier today.