Good Cop: Noah LaBlanc

Iowa State is set to face off against South Dakota at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on Fox. The team returns home after a 24-21 upset victory in Dublin, Ireland, over No. 17 Kansas State. The national spotlight was on the Cyclones for the week’s zero-ranked matchup, and they rose to the occasion. This week, on national television once again, the Cyclones will have another chance to show what they can do.

After a deluge of rain led to a somewhat sloppy first half from both teams, the Iowa State offense turned it on in the second half. Redshirt junior quarterback Rocco Becht led the offense with 183 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. 

The biggest perceived concern for the Cyclones going into the season was the gap at receiver after the superstar duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel left for the NFL after the 2024 season. Those concerns were quelled to an extent by a receiver room that performed well in the opener, highlighted by spectacular touchdown receptions for redshirt freshman Dominic Overby and sophomore Brett Eskildsen. 

Barring a few blown coverages in the fourth quarter, the defense looked to be at the top of its game after a 2024 campaign plagued by injuries. If the defense can remain healthy, and newcomers can step in to fill the holes left by league-bound players like J.R. Singleton, defensive coordinator Jon Heacock’s squad has the potential to be one of the best in the Big 12. 

All signs point to another successful year for the Cyclones, but they cannot look past South Dakota. The Coyotes are a top-tier FCS program and will kick off their season Saturday looking to follow up an 11-3 run in 2024. In the regular season, they put up a good fight against a Power Four opponent in Wisconsin before ultimately losing 27-13. They proceeded to finish third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference at 7-1, with their only conference loss being to No. 3 South Dakota State in a 20-17 overtime thriller. They ran through two rounds of the FCS playoffs before being stopped in the semifinal by Montana State, who lost to South Dakota State in the FCS Championship. When all was said and done, South Dakota’s only blemishes were a loss to a Big 10 team and the winner and runner-up in FCS.

The Coyotes will certainly enter the 2025 campaign with a chip on their shoulder, and a win against the ranked Cyclones would start their season with a bang, but I have Iowa State taking them out and rolling into the annual Cy-Hawk matchup with a 2-0 record.

Score Prediction: No. 22 Iowa State 31, South Dakota 13

Bad Cop: John Kirkpatrick

No. 22 Iowa State kicked off college football with the first win of the season in a 24-21 win over rival No. 17 Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday. The Cyclones’ next opponent is South Dakota. While it should be an easy win on paper, Iowa State will need to keep its foot on the gas and keep the same focus and mindset it brought against the Wildcats.

Farmageddon in Dublin wasn’t the prettiest win, but Iowa State got it done amid the sloppy conditions. However, two fumbles are still two fumbles, rain or shine. The most costly was a toss play to junior running back Abu Sama III at the one-yard line.

The play call was a head-scratcher and eliminated the previous fumble made by Kansas State. It was a missed scoring opportunity that could’ve put the Cyclones up early. Instead, it was erased by one slippery toss.

Redshirt junior quarterback Rocco Becht played well despite the poor conditions; however, he took an uncharacteristic number of sacks. Becht never took more than three in a game last year, but in Dublin, he took four. In the second half, Becht was able to dial up his pocket escapability that Cyclone fans have come to know. He’ll need to utilize that more to avoid costly sacks against the Coyotes on Saturday.

The Cyclone defense let up two big touchdowns in the fourth quarter. One was broken coverage, as Wildcat wide receiver Jayce Brown was able to slip past the secondary and waltz into the endzone for a 37-yard touchdown.

The second big play was a 65-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Jerand Bradley. Redshirt freshman safety Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman was focused on Brown, and when he saw Bradley zip down the sideline, he tried to undercut the pass instead of following him deep, leaving Bradley with a clear path to the endzone. Mistakes like these will need to be ironed out now. Otherwise, South Dakota will carve out the defense with big plays.

Iowa State will need to be keyed on the former Cyclone, now South Dakota, quarterback Aidan Bouman. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder is one of the Coyotes’ most decorated passers in program history. Last season, he threw for 2,959 yards with 19 touchdowns to only four interceptions. Bouman brings a level of poise and leadership that any team should take seriously, especially if they can rip it like Bouman.

If South Dakota is able to pull off an upset of this magnitude, it would be a major blow to a Cyclone team looking to compete for the Big 12 Championship. If the Cyclones can’t fix the mistakes they made from Week 0 to Week 1, the Coyotes will have no problem exploiting them, as they look to pounce on an unsuspecting Iowa State team.

Score Prediction: South Dakota 21, No. 22 Iowa State 20