The Big 12 released the 2025 football schedules Tuesday for all 16 teams. Here is an early look at how the defending Big 12 runner-up Iowa State’s schedule stacks up.
Week 0: vs. Kansas State (Ireland)
There is no tune-up game for Iowa State in 2025, as it opens up its schedule with rival Kansas State. This game not only kicks off the season for the Cyclones but also the entire college football season with it being the first game of Week 0.
Farmageddon always seems to deliver, but with this game being at a neutral site in Ireland, and the first game of the season, it has the potential to be an all-time classic.
Both teams are going into the 2025 season with hopes of winning the Big 12, so this game will have massive implications for both sides. One team will be able to make a big statement in a stand-alone game in front of a massive audience, while the other will find itself behind the eight ball before week one even kicks off.
Week 1: vs. South Dakota
This is the typical early-season game against a Midwest FCS opponent that Cyclone fans have become accustomed to. In 2024, it was North Dakota who made the trip to Jack Trice Stadium. The Fighting Hawks put together a respectable performance, but Iowa State took care of business in a 21-3 victory.
South Dakota was a good team at the FCS level in 2024. The Coyotes went 10-2 in the regular season and made it all the way to the FCS semifinals, with their only losses coming to Wisconsin and South Dakota State in the regular season, and Montana State in the playoffs.
Iowa State will be expected to win this game handily, but should not take South Dakota lightly.
Week 2: vs. Iowa
The Cy-Hawk matchup is always one of the games that’s circled on the schedule and that won’t be any different in 2025.
In 2024, after trailing by 13 at halftime, the Cyclones were able to pull off a miraculous comeback which was capped off by a game-winning 54-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker Kyle Konrardy on the road in Kinnick Stadium.
Conventional wisdom would say that the home team would have the advantage in such a heated rivalry like this one, but the road team has won each of the last five matchups. The bad news for Cyclone fans is that Iowa State hasn’t beaten Iowa in Jack Trice Stadium since 2011, something it’ll be desperate to change.
Week 3: at Arkansas State
It’s not often that power conference programs will go on the road to play a group of five opponents, but it is something that many teams in the Big 12 have adopted in recent seasons. Notably, in 2023, when Iowa State went on the road to play Ohio and lost 10-7 in a shocking result.
Despite Iowa State’s 52-7 blowout win over Arkansas State in 2024, it should not overlook a road game against the Red Wolves. The Cyclones can not afford a repeat of the infamous Ohio game.
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: vs. Arizona
Iowa State did not have Arizona on its schedule in 2024, which was its first season as a member of the Big 12. The two programs have met six times with Arizona holding the 4-1-1 advantage in the series, though the last meeting was back in 1968.
This will be a matchup that most Iowa State fans will be seeing for the first time, which is something that doesn’t happen too often in college football.
Arizona is coming off a very disappointing 2024 season. At one point, the Wildcats were thought to be among the favorites to win the Big 12, but they stumbled to a 4-8 record and finished 14th in the Big 12.
On paper, the Wildcats don’t seem to be a Big 12 contender in 2025, but we learned last year that early predictions mean absolutely nothing in the Big 12.
Week 6: at Cincinnati
Since joining the Big 12 in 2023, Cincinnati has been on Iowa State’s schedule every season.
The Cyclones have gotten the better of the Bearcats in each of the matchups, winning the first game 30-10 on the road and winning the second game 34-17 at home last season.
Cincinnati has struggled since joining the Big 12, finishing 3-9 and 5-7 in its last two seasons, including a last-place finish in the Big 12 in 2023.
Road games are never easy, but the Cyclones have shown that they have the Bearcats’ number and will look to beat them for the third straight season.
Week 7: at Colorado
This will be the first matchup between the two programs since Colorado re-joined the Big 12 in 2024, but this series goes way back.
Iowa State and Colorado first met all the way back in 1946, a game that Colorado won 13-7. The two teams would meet again every single season until 2010, when the Buffaloes left for the Pac-12, giving Colorado the series 49-15-1.
Colorado was a big surprise in 2024, going 9-4 and finishing fourth in the Big 12 in its first season back in the conference.
Losing soon-to-be first-round draft picks Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter is no doubt a big blow for the Buffaloes, but head coach Deion Sanders has shown the ability to get talent on his roster. This should be a very interesting game out in Boulder.
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: vs. BYU
This game will be the Cyclones’ first game back in Jack Trice Stadium after three weeks away, and it has the chance to be a big one.
In 2024, BYU, along with Colorado, finished tied atop of the Big 12 with a 7-2 conference record but missed out on playing in the title game because of tiebreakers.
BYU was a surprise team in 2024, but that will not be the case heading into 2025. The Cougars will be returning most of their key pieces from the 2024 team and are one of the favorites in the Big 12.
This game has the chance to have massive implications for the Big 12 title race, and with it being Iowa State’s homecoming, the atmosphere should be electric.
Week 10: vs. Arizona State
This is the game that everyone will have circled. A rematch of the 2024 Big 12 Championship game that saw the Cyclones get dominated by Arizona State in a 45-19 defeat.
Luckily for Iowa State, Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, who had 208 total yards and three touchdowns the last time these teams met, will not be playing in this game after graduating and entering the NFL Draft.
Despite losing Skattebo, Arizona State should still be one of the Big 12’s top teams and should have a legitimate shot of going back to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship game.
The Cyclones will be hungry for revenge and will be backed by 61,500 fans who want revenge just as badly, which could make for an amazing atmosphere.
Week 11: at TCU
Iowa State and TCU had played 12 straight seasons after the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2012 but broke that streak by not playing each other in 2024.
The series has been very even since TCU joined the conference, with each team winning six out of the 12 matchups.
TCU has been up and down in recent years. After making the National Championship game in Sonny Dykes’ first season as head coach, the Horned Frogs followed that up with a 5-7 record in 2023. The Horned Frogs bounced back last season, however, going 9-4 with a win in the New Mexico Bowl.
This has the potential to be a very tough game for the Cyclones, who will be going on the road to Fort Worth after coming off what is expected to be two very competitive games at home against BYU and Arizona State.
Week 12: Bye
Week 13: vs. Kansas
No team was more up and down in 2024 than Kansas. The Jayhawks started the season 2-6 before rattling off three straight ranked wins over Iowa State, BYU and Colorado. Then, with one final win needed to make a bowl game, the Jayhawks laid an egg, losing 45-17 to Baylor.
Kansas isn’t exactly considered an early favorite in the Big 12, but it has been a thorn in the side of Iowa State in recent years. The Jayhawks have won three straight in the series after the Cyclones took the previous seven.
This will be Iowa State’s senior day game and the senior class will be looking to avenge the three losses they have suffered at the hands of the Jayhawks.
Week 14: at Oklahoma State
2024 was just the second time in the last 20 seasons that Iowa State and Oklahoma State didn’t face off.
The Cyclones won 34-27 in the last matchup in 2023, but a lot has changed since then. In 2024, Iowa State went on to have arguably its best season in program history, while Oklahoma State had one of its worst seasons in recent history after going 3-9 overall and 0-9 in the Big 12.
It’s hard to imagine that a program like Oklahoma State would have another season of that caliber, but nothing points to the Cowboys being one of the conference’s top teams either.
No matter how good the 2025 version of Oklahoma State is, this game has the potential to make or break the Cyclones season.
