Randy Peterson
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October 22, 2025
Iowa State-centric social media lit up like a Christmas tree early Tuesday afternoon, when Santa dropped off a couple big-time presents.
Inside Box No. 1: Kyle Konrardy is expected to return for Saturday’s Homecoming game against Big 12 leader and unbeaten BYU Saturday afternoon at Jack Trice Stadium.
And Gift No. 2: Carson Hansen also is likely to play when the 10th-ranked Cougars come to town for the first time since 1974.
If anyone needs early gifts like that, it’s Cyclones football, which won its first five games, trended toward what was shaping up to be another record-setting season, and then . . .
Konrardy got hurt. Hansen got hurt.
As quickly as Iowa State was knocking on Top 10’s door, it lost consecutive games.
No one’s saying Saturday’s game would have been a battle of 7-0 teams, if the Cyclones had their two stars on the field and not on the sidelines during the losses. What we’re saying, is that with them, disappointments at Colorado and at Cincinnati would have been a lot more interesting.
Without them, however, Matt Campbell’s team played below average, lost two one-possession games, punted from places on the field they’ve been known to kick field goals or rush for first downs -- and combined to go just 6-for-28 on third-down conversions.
So you see why the injury-related updates Campbell dropped on reporters during Tuesday’s weekly press conference, was like Christmas had arrived a couple months early.
“You're going to have adversity,” he said. “You're going to have tough days. In our world here, that's just how we're going to live. How we respond to it, defines who we become.”
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THE RED ZONE
First down: Texas Tech is asking students to stop flipping Tortilla’s onto the football field. The Wisconsin athletics director, like many others throughout major college football, is asking fans to increase contributions to NIL initiatives. Meanwhile, universities are paying gigantic buyouts to fire coaches that don’t win enough big games. Makes you appreciate what we have right here with our Big Two State of Iowa football programs.
Second down: I assume you caught what one-time Penn State five-star recruit Kemon Spell said this week after de-committing. “I want to be in a winning program, to be honest," Spell told On3. "They can’t win big games, and that’s something I want to do.”
Third down: Kansas State maybe dodged a financial bullet a few years ago, when basketball coach Jerome Tang accused Iowa State of spying on timeout huddles at Hilton Coliseum. The conference, just last week, fined Kansas $25,000 for alleging a pocket-knife was thrown from the Texas Tech fan section during a game in Lubbock. That was proven wrong, and the Big 12 made a very public statement about the Jayhawks fine, saying “Kansas has been fined for disparaging comments about the conference and a member institution, and an inaccurate statement regarding a pocket knife by head coach Lance Leipold.” As far as I know, the Cats didn’t pay for the inaccurate and disparaging basketball allegation.
Fourth down: Multiple FBS coaches have been in-season victims of high-stakes NIL money that boosters legally pay players -- and the outta-this-world expectations that go along with it. Who’s next? And if you’re a coach already in the $5 million annual salary range, why would want to even coach at one of those dozen or so schools where deep-pockets boosters run the program? Ego, I guess.
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The Iowa Everywhere staff gives their best shot at predicting top local interest weekend games. And for those who care, our three-week straight-up score is: Williams 35-13, Peterson 35-13, Hassel 33-15, 32-16, Downs 32-16, Brend 32-16, Van Winkle 31-17. For entertainment purposes only. Of course.
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BYU at IOWA STATE
Randy Peterson: Iowa State needs as much offensive firepower as it can muster against statistically the nation’s No. 18 overall defense. With a healthy Hansen and Konrardy, maybe the Cyclones will return to the third-down success they had when both were healthy. Iowa State’s defense is, what it is, to steal from a cliché. It continues to be very good. Devise a successful plan against the Big 12’s top rusher and a running quarterback who wears jersey No. 47, and Cy gets back to winning. Iowa State 31, BYU 30.
Chris Williams: Every indication says that this is the perfect spot for Iowa State to bounce back from a two-game losing streak. I expect the offense to be rested and efficient. Slowing down BYU’s rushing game is a big concern. Iowa State 24, BYU 20
Chris Hassel: Iowa State gets healthy and gets right with a huge home win. I think they pull away by double digits. Iowa State 31, BYU 20
Andrew Downs: Iowa State will be healthier and will play better than they did before the bye, but BYU is rolling and will stay unbeaten. The wrong team is favored. BYU 31, Iowa State 28.
Matt Van Winkle: Rest will be good for the banged up Cyclones. Especially Rocco Becht who just hasn’t looked quite right since Arizona. BYU is having another special season and that continues on Saturday. Bear Bachmeier runs wild. BYU 27, Iowa State 24
Jake Brend: This is it. This is the game that flip the narrative of the season back in the right direction. I expect the (most likely) return of Kyle Konrady to be a big boost for the offense, leading to a loose Rocco Becht having a good bounce back game at home. BYU will put up points but Iowa State will do just enough to make the soldout Jack Trice Stadium crowd happy. Iowa State 31, BYU 27.
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MINNESOTA at IOWA
Randy Peterson: Coming off their biggest win in the past four seasons, last week at home against Penn State, the Hawkeyes are on a roll. They’ve lost just twice – once to a Konrardy field goal with just more than a minute to play, and by five points against second-ranked Indiana. Grono is quarterbacking like the coaches anticipated. Iowa 37, Minnesota 17
Chris Williams: I mean, Iowa is clearly the pick here but it’s pretty rare for this game to not be close. Minnesota is catching Iowa at a good time coming off of an emotional win over Penn State. Iowa 24, Minnesota 17
Chris Hassel: Both teams coming off their biggest wins of the season but Iowa is at home and Ferentz owns Fleck. Purdue ran all over Minnesota so I expect Iowa to do the same. Iowa 27, Minnesota 17
Andrew Downs: Two things Kirk Ferentz loves: punting and beating PJ Fleck. We’ll see both Saturday. Iowa will run the ball well, Mark Gronowski won’t throw for 100 yards, and the defense will finally get that Pick-6. Iowa 27, Minnesota 17.
Matt Van Winkle: Minnesota was really impressive against Nebraska. But Iowa is playing with a ton of momentum after last week. This game will be much closer than the 8.5 point spread, but the Hawks retain the pig. Iowa 20, Minnesota 17
Jake Brend: Am I dumb for taking the overrated PJ Fleck over Kirk Ferentz? Probably. This is a tough spot for both of these teams, both coming off of monumental wins. To me, that makes me expect weird stuff to go down. The weirdest outcome would be Fleck ending Iowa’s playoff hopes. Minnesota 23, Iowa 17
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KANSAS STATE at KANSAS
Randy Peterson: Kansas State 31, Kansas 24
Chris Williams: Kansas State 31, Kansas 30
Chris Hassel: Kansas State 30, Kansas 29
Andrew Downs: Kansas State 35, Kansas 34
Matt Van Winkle: Kansas 31, Kansas State 27
Jake Brend: Kansas State 41, Kansas 34
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BAYLOR at CINCINNATI
Randy Peterson: Baylor 34, Cincinnati 31
Chris Williams: Baylor 35, Cincinnati 31
Chris Hassel: Baylor 27, Cincinnati 24
Andrew Downs: Cincinnati 38, Baylor 31
Matt Van Winkle: Cincinnati 34, Baylor 28
Jake Brend: Cincinnati 38, Baylor 37
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ILLINOIS at WASHINGTON
Randy Peterson: Washington 29, Illinois 24
Chris Williams: Washington 27, Illinois 21
Chris Hassel: Washington 23, Illinois 17
Andrew Downs: Illinois 27, Washington 20
Matt Van Winkle: Washington 27, Illinois 21
Jake Brend: Washington 34, Illinois 24
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UCLA at INDIANA
Randy Peterson: Indiana 45, UCLA 30
Chris Williams: Indiana 45, UCLA 14
Chris Hassel: Indiana 30, UCLA 10
Andrew Downs: Indiana 42, UCLA 27
Matt Van Winkle: Indiana 31, UCLA 14
Jake Brend: Indiana 42, UCLA 17
(Columnist Randy Peterson, a past Iowa Sportswriter of the Year winner, can be reached at randypete4846@gmail.com or at any Okoboji-area beverage/food establishment between the hours of open and close.)