After winning six consecutive Cy-Hawk games from 2015-2021, Iowa football has hit a big rut against its in-state rival.
Iowa State ended an eight-year victory drought in 2022 and has continued the momentum since, claiming additional wins in 2024 and 2025.
When the two teams tee the ball up on Sept. 12 this season, it will be 1,099 days since the Hawkeyes' last triumph over the Cyclones (that 2023 win was vacated, but still).
Iowa will be heavily favored to reclaim the Cy-Hawk Trophy in 2026, but there's another barrier it needs to cross if it wants to shift the rivalry back in its favor - defeating Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium.
The Hawkeyes own a hefty 25-15 edge at home in the rivalry's 72-year history, but winning at Kinnick has been a big struggle in recent years. Iowa is just 2-4 in Iowa City since 2010, including two straight losses.
The most recent Hawkeye victory at Kinnick came in 2018, when Iowa squeaked out an ugly win. It's a game that most of you are probably trying to forget by this point, but for the sake of context, let's go back eight years to revisit this matchup.
The Rundown
The circumstances leading up to this game were unusual. Iowa State was supposed to begin its season against South Dakota State, but that contest in Ames was cancelled after a 2 1/2 hour lightning delay struck during the first quarter. That meant the Cyclones would be forced to open their season in Iowa City.
Iowa State orchestrated a 13-play, 66-yard opening drive to take an early 3-0 lead, but the rest of its drives would look like this: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs, punt, punt, fumble.
One would think Iowa, which already had a full game under its belt, would've cruised to victory, but the Hawkeyes instead followed up with an equally-anemic offensive performance.
Kicker Miguel Recinos missed two field goals, but Iowa still held a slim 6-3 lead in the fourth quarter. The game came down to which offense could break through for a touchdown, and the Hawkeyes were the team to do that.
Quarterback Nate Stanley and Co. couldn't get anything going all day, but when Stanley needed to make a throw, he did, finding Brandon Smith for 30 yards on 3rd and 4 to set up Mekhi Sargent's game-sealing touchdown on the next play.
A.J. Epenesa ended any chance of an Iowa State comeback by stripping the ball away from backup quarterback Zeb Noland, and that was that. Iowa cruised into the sunset with a 13-3 victory, capping a undefeated stretch against the Cyclones for its senior class.
Stanley completed 16 of his 28 passing attempts for 166 yards with no scores, but avoided a back-breaking turnover. The Hawkeyes tallied just 105 yards on the ground (271 total yards), with Toren Young's 68 yards good enough to be the leading rusher.
Both teams would go on to have successful seasons. Iowa State started 1-3, but some backup named Brock Purdy took over and led it to a program-best six Big 12 victories (8-5 overall).
Iowa raced out to a 6-1 start and was poised to contend for a Big Ten West title, but a string of three consecutive losses in late October ended those hopes, forcing the Hawkeyes to settle for another 8-4 season.
It did end on a high note, though, as Iowa secured a dramatic 27-22 triumph over Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl to finish 9-4 overall and No. 25 in the final AP poll.
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
