College Football

2024 Iowa State football predictions: Ranked No. 25 by RJ Young

Updated Aug. 12, 2024 10:36 a.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

Iowa State Cyclones Ranking: 25/134

[Check out RJ Young's ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 7th in Big 12 (+950 to win conference)
Teams ahead of them: Iowa (24), Arizona (23), Texas A&M (22), West Virginia (21), Kansas (20)
Teams behind them: Miami (26), Wisconsin (27), Kentucky (28), Arkansas (29), North Carolina State (30)

[Iowa State 2024 schedule]

RJ's take: When Matt Campbell is done in Ames, Iowa, I expect to hear about a statue of him being built in front of Jack Trice Stadium. In seven years, he produced a unanimous All-American in Breece Hall, won the program’s first major bowl game and has quadrupled the number eight-win seasons the program had from 1979 to 2016.

And this year he’s got 19 starters back, including quarterback Rocco Becht, who passed for 3,120 yards with 23 TDs and eight INTs, and wideout Jayden Higgins, who ranked second in the league in receiving yards with 983 on 53 catches.

Defensively, Jeremiah Cooper is the most underrated safety in the sport — All-Slept-On secondary selection. Last year he finished with five interceptions, had 15 passes defended, including 10 pass breakups.

Good luck with that, Big 12.

Iowa State Win Total Odds: Over 7.5 (-120) Under 7.5 (+100)

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