AMES, Iowa — More than 25,000 people expect to flood Iowa City’s Ped Mall, the Coralville Strip and open lots all day Saturday without stepping foot inside Kinnick Stadium.
The Cy-Hawk battle captivates supporters of both Iowa and Iowa State to where the week-long buildup culminates with the state’s largest one-day party on game day. Like every other fall, this year’s edition was sold out before the general public had a chance to buy single-game tickets. An event unofficially christened as the state’s Super Bowl, the Cy-Hawk matters whether both teams are ranked in the top 10 and hosting ESPN’s “College GameDay” (like in 2021) or they’re striving to reach bowl status.
Yet this year, the annual rivalry carries importance beyond bragging rights and the traveling trophy. Both teams are 1-0. Iowa, which competes in the Big Ten, is ranked No. 21 while Iowa State is receiving votes. The Hawkeyes are considered a College Football Playoff at-large contender. The Cyclones have that possibility, too, along with Big 12 championship potential. Should the teams achieve their postseason goals, this result will carry weight with the CFP selection committee. Even if they fall short, the outcome could impact their conference’s at-large resumes.
“This feels like it’s worth so much more,” said CBS analyst Gary Danielson, who will call the game with Brad Nessler. “This data point will be huge for both of those teams. I don’t suspect that either one of them will go undefeated. So this data point is almost like an ending data point that we might be looking at between Notre Dame and USC at the end of the year. I think this has that feel, that people will look back to this game and say, ‘This is the determining factor that could be between these two teams.’”
The big picture is a topic Iowa State coach Matt Campbell doesn’t want to entertain, at least not right now.
“This game I think just means so much in in general to the state of Iowa and both universities, both fan bases, both alumni groups, and it’s really hard to think global on a week like this,” Campbell said. “It’s the second game of the football season. You’re still really early.”
With the old Bowl Championship Series or when the CFP consisted of four teams, the Cy-Hawk became an automatic eliminator. In 2002, Iowa State rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat Iowa 36-31 and hand the Hawkeyes their only regular-season defeat. Iowa finished Big Ten play unbeaten and tied with Ohio State but was ranked No. 3 in the human polls due to the loss to Iowa State. The second-ranked Buckeyes played for the BCS championship.
Kirk Ferentz is 6-1 vs. Matt Campbell in Cy-Hawk battles. (Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)
In 2021, one season after winning the Fiesta Bowl, Iowa State entered the Cy-Hawk ranked No. 9 with playmakers like quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Breece Hall. Iowa was ranked No. 10 and featured one of the nation’s top defenses. The Hawkeyes’ 27-17 victory vaulted them to a 6-0 start, they were ranked as high as No. 2 that year. Iowa State finished a disappointing 7-6.
This year, the outcome could help determine an at-large bid, even if it doesn’t involve either team. If, for instance, the final CFP spot comes down to Nebraska and Kansas State, the Iowa-Iowa State result provides a data point that helps the winning side. Perhaps it’s not the only factor, but it’s part of the analysis.
“I love competitive games of consequence,” Daniels said. “In the SEC, I just did 18 years — 15 games a year — and I’ll bet we didn’t do 25 games that didn’t have national championship consequences. Now, I don’t say that with this game, but I do think this game has Playoff consequences, and that’s good enough.”
Once the only in-state rivalry pitting teams from different major conferences, the Cy-Hawk is fueled by a mixture of friendly wagers and modest hate. Each campus’ fraternities and sororities display large derogatory signs about the other, and one rarely can scroll through a social media platform in the state without encountering some level of trash talk. Particularly in the Des Moines area, every office building, school, church or neighborhood includes a mix of fans of both teams. Families often are divided as are relationships of all kinds.
Much of the tailgate-only crowd consists of students who attended high school with friends at the other university. At a school that ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in Princeton Review’s annual party school rankings from 2012 through 2016, it’s obvious what kind of lather will brew in Iowa City, especially with a projected high of 69 degrees and no rain.
“There’s always a buzz,” Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins said. “Sure, the guys on campus, they probably get more excited for the game than we do with all the signs and stuff you’ll see on social media.”
The anticipation flows on the field, too. There are several cases of high school teammates competing against one another. The most extreme example involves Iowa State running back Abu Sama III and Iowa starting safety Xavier Nwankpa, who are among six players (four Cyclones, two Hawkeyes) in this game from Des Moines-area powerhouse Southeast Polk High School.
For those who have competed at the opposite stadium, they understand the reception they will receive, too. At Kinnick, the sidelines are located only seven yards from the playing field. Iowa State defensive lineman J.R. Singleton, who described the atmosphere as “motivating,” said the players understand the ramifications but that cannot be the focus.
“If you look at the big picture of things, that’s when you miss a detail that you really need to hone into that week,” Singleton said. “I just focus on the team that’s at hand, the schematics that they do, how their O-line plays, what their QB does best, and really just go from there. And then after that week, you take a deep breath.”
The flashpoints in this nonconference series have raged since its inaugural meeting in 1894. After their 1934 matchup, the Hawkeyes declined to schedule another game with the Cyclones until the 1970s when Iowa athletics director Forest Evashevski agreed to a four-year contract. Then Evashevski left and Iowa’s Board in Control of Athletics attempted to void the deal. ISU countered, which brought in Regents and state elected officials. Ultimately, an independent arbiter ruled the contract was valid. The rivalry was renewed in 1977, and they have played annually except in 2020. They have a contract through 2027.
The Hawkeyes won 15 straight from 1983-97 before Iowa State rattled off five in a row. Over the last 20 years, the sides have chirped at one another about billboards, contract length, ticket prices and gate receipts. There was a major run-in with the Iowa Marching Band and Iowa State fans in 2019 that led to visiting bands staying home. In addition, several items were stolen from Iowa’s locker room in 2013 at Iowa State — by an Iowa fan.
They did come together in 2011 when the schools opted for a new traveling trophy to replace an amateur version put together by the Des Moines Athletic Club in 1977. Iowa Corn gained series sponsorship in 2011 and the fan bases universally mocked its farm family trophy creation. Iowa Corn scrapped its design and the teams played for an interim trophy that year. In 2012, the fans voted in the current symbol of victory.
“It’s a rivalry game. Certainly, it’s been intense for a long time,” said Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, who coached in the series as an assistant from 1981-89 and as head coach from 1999 onward. “But bottom line is it’s a good game for our state. It’s good for everybody if they’re involved in football and like football.
“It’s probably a little bit underappreciated outside of our state in terms of the intensity of the rivalry and the way the players go after it each and every time.”
The Cy-Hawk might carry a lower profile than other rivalries, but its importance on the national scene is at an all-time high.
(Top photo of Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht in the Sept. 9, 2023, Cy-Hawk against Iowa: Nirmalendu Majumdar / Ames Tribune / USA Today)
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Publish date : 2024-09-04 22:00:00
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