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Iowa State Football 2026 Schedule: Breakdown and Season Outlook
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- Iowa State Football 2026 Schedule: Breakdown and Season Outlook
Will the schedule work out to give new Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers a break in his first season?
Last year's Cyclone team had to start out in Ireland, got hot early, and hit a wall in the middle of the season before picking it back up again late. This year, the schedule is just manageable enough to do a little better.
The Good, the Bad, and Who Iowa State Misses in 2026
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout in the first half in the Iowa State and Iowa men's basketball Cy-Hawk series at Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Good
The Cyclones don't have to go to Ireland to start this season, and to the contrary, they don't leave Iowa until mid-October. Four of the last five games are against teams that didn't go bowling last season - okay, so Kansas State could've gone, but …
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The Bad
No, the road games aren't that awful, but there's a run of five in seven dates away from Ames before closing out against the Wildcats. Going to BYU and Arizona isn't a plus, and …
What Big 12 Teams Iowa State Will Miss
Arizona State, Colorado, Houston, Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech. It's a huge win to miss both Texas Tech and Arizona State, and not dealing with TCU isn't a bad deal, either.
Iowa State's Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026
Best Case: The midsection isn't a problem this year
Last year, the four-game losing streak in the middle of the season ended the great early run. This time around there should be a blip, but the Cyclones get hot late, own November with a from-game winning streak, or …
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Worst Case: The Cyclones don't win a road game until November
There are only three of them before the final month, but Iowa State loses to Iowa this year, drops the back-to-back dates against BYU and Arizona, and struggles in the road games at Baylor and UCF.
Iowa State Football 2026 Schedule
Sept 5 SE Missouri State
Sept 12 at Iowa
Sept 19 Bowling Green
Sept 26 Utah
Oct 3 West Virginia
Oct 10 at BYU
Oct 17 OPEN DATE
Oct 24 at Arizona
Oct 31 Oklahoma State
Nov 7 at Baylor
Nov 14 Cincinnati
Nov 21 at UCF
Nov 28 Kansas State
Games That Will Decide Iowa State's Season
1. At BYU, Oct. 10.Is Iowa State for real? This starts the run of road games over the second part of the season, and this should determine whether or not it's a player.
2. Utah, Sept. 26.It's a nasty Big 12 opener, but it's at home. Win it, and it'll be a major statement.
3. At Arizona, Oct. 24.How good will the Cyclones be after opening the Big 12 with Utah, West Virginia, and at BYU? This could be a turning point one way or another.
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Big 12 Schedule Analysis
Arizona
| Arizona State
| Baylor
| BYU
Cincinnati
| Colorado
| Houston
| Iowa State
Kansas
| Kansas State
| Oklahoma State
| TCU
Texas Tech
| UCF
| Utah
| West Virginia
Related: Kansas Football 2026 Schedule: Full Breakdown and Season Outlook
This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
