every year Iowa and Iowa state is going to be a good game this is a rivalry that typically is a close contest and a very emotional and very wellplayed game in terms of the passion in which both teams plays the passion in which these fan bases cheer for their teams and once again we find these teams in similar positions where they are looking to have successful years and they are looking to build some momentum with this game both teams come to the game one and0 and they come in with very different experiences in their first week Iowa State struggled to put away North Dakota though they won 21 to three it felt like the defense really had things under control for the most part and it never really felt like this game was in question Iowa had kind of a similar slow start and figured things out in the second half and W 140 to nothing against Illinois State I think that they're going to be you kind of throw the things out and you throw those games out honestly win these two play because how close it's going to be the line is Iowa at two and a half and it says a lot about what these teams can do to each other and what we should expect in terms of a back and forth battle now Iowa has a commanding lead in this series 47 to 23 but that doesn't mean that Iowa State isn't capable of getting the win here the big question for each side I think first for Iowa State is can you win the battle in the trenches I think that Iowa state has a number of talented players with a lot of potential but going against Iowa's offensive line is a different Challenge and Iowa is very much a physical team that wants to run the football and getting the The Trenches figured out is going to be a big question for that defense on the flip side I think that Iowa has really good defensive lineman and Iowa State's offensive line is in that same boat and that's going to be the big I'm not questioning Iowa State's Talent they have plenty of talent it's just that Iowa is very good on both sides of the football as well that's where the To Me the Edge is going to be if you are physical and you are slowing down Iowa's offense defensively for Iowa State you're in good hands on the flip side if you're dominating and getting the Run established and finding balance for this offense Iowa State feels like they're going to be a really good team in this game but also in 2024 for Iowa I think you have to question how do you contain Iowa State's Playmakers this passing attack wasn't exactly explosive last week as much as we'd like to see but Iowa state has plenty of players that are going to make your life difficult if you're not careful and this is an Iowa team that obviously is still trying to replace Cooper deine but you have plenty of players coming back that can make that happen which makes the matchup the watch so interesting because you have Iowa State's wide receivers guys like Jaylen and wild that are going to be really fun to watch and they go against Iowa defensive bass and what you can do against that Iowa State group of wide receivers Again part of it starts up front it starts in the trenches but also keep an eye on that matchup that's going to be a really fun one to watch downfield and I I think that really plays a huge role in determining who ultimately wins this game now the players to watch for Iowa I think that you have to look at this offense and everybody's going to talk about oh the the Iowa offense needs to figure things out and and I get that and it's I think Iowa fans are just honestly sick of hearing about the offensive struggles but I think if you get this group in a Groove you're feeling pretty good about what you can do it's again I Iowa fans aren't a bilious to the fact that this is not going to be one of the best offenses in college football but you have a new offensive coordinator and you have players that can make plays Kad Mamer is obviously going to be under the spotlight everyone is going to talk about him and what he can do for this offense his performance really dictates what Iowa's going to do but I think that at his Peak he can be a good quarterback I think that he can be one of those guys that just distributes the ball and makes the smart throw and that's what they need this is a an offense that wants to be physical running the football they're not going to change that identity just because they have a new offensive coordinator they want to run the football Caleb Johnson showed that that he can be a good back for them and if they can find some balance with the passing attack that makes them a really fun team to watch especially with the schedule that they have on the defensive side of the ball everybody's got to pay attention to Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson as well as the defensive line the linebackers and Higgins and Jackson those are two guys that are going to be really fun to watch in this game because of what they're going to be asked to do this is not a a similar offense that you're facing uh to yours so you're going to have to figure out what Iowa state is trying to do offensively where they're trying to move Playmakers what kind of different formations they're running and what keys you can read from there Higgins and Jackson if you're going to ask two linebackers and figure that out those are two guys I feel pretty good about Aaron Graves is someone who had a good game last week and he will play a big role in helping stop the run this week as well for Iowa State I think everything starts upfront but also Rocko Beck has to be good I don't think he's going to have a monster game where he's throwing for 300 yards but he needs to be efficient now it's definitely possible with the talent he has at wide receiver and the skill position talent to go over 300 yards and have a big game but he needs to be efficient Iowa's defense is so well coached and they have so much talent that if you are not careful it's going to be a long game so Roco Beck at worse just needs to be efficient we talked about Jaylen noell you have a number of playmakers that can get the job done moving the ball down the field it's just a matter of who's going to step up again you may not have a ton of opportunities but you need to capitalize on them when you do on the defensive side of the ball it's going to be a physical matchup for them but you also have to be disciplined this is a very different type of matchup for Iowa State and honestly it's going to help them face a couple of the Big 12 teams that they they will face this year but it's also Iowa this is not a new team to them it's a game for a reason and you're going to see them quite a bit so everything starts up front guys like Tyler Tyler rendum is going to play a big role the defense is going to play that unique system that they play and the safeties will also be part of both frer is a big body that can play obviously deep down field but he's also physical enough to play near the line of scrimmage that will play a big role in how Iowa State can slow down this Iowa rushian Attack again IA wants to run the football there's no secret to that it's not new information and Iowa state knows this they just have to execute finding ways to stop the run is going to be a big key and I think the biggest thing for Iowa state is last week was not inspiring I think winning 21 to3 against North Dakota now North Dakota is a solid FCS team but your Iowa State you should have played better and that's really what's hanging me up right now Iowa obviously has it own shortcomings but it feels like right now Iowa is the better team they've obviously had a good success run a successful run I should say in this series and it feels like that continues but Iowa State definitely has the talent to pull out the win and if you will pull out the upset so stay tuned for this one it's going to be fun as usual it's G to probably be lowc scoring and we'll see which team can figure out their strengths and also solve some of their concerns they have from week one