After holding out for so long and retaining the geographical in-state rivalry, the Cy-Hawk game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones could be the latest casualty of the ever-changing world of college football that we live in.
The College Football Playoff is destined for a 24-team bracket as soon as 2027, but that isn't the only change that is coming. There are talks of scheduling agreements between conferences on the way, as we see in college basketball with the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, that could end the Cy-Hawk game.
With the 24-team College Football Playoff, there is more room for error in the regular season. Teams can lose two, three, sometimes maybe even four games, depending on who the losses are to, and potentially still have a shot at the field. That mess is a conversation for another day, believe me...
That wiggle room has opened the door for teams to play some new regular-season matchups, which appears to be coming by way of a scheduling agreement between the Big Ten and SEC.
With the Big Ten and SEC already playing nine-game conference schedules, this would put these teams with 10 Power Four games on their schedules, leaving only two weekends left over for scheduling other opponents.
If this scheduling agreement comes to fruition, teams only have two open weeks left to work with. A lot of programs around the country use these open weeks to schedule FCS or Group of Six programs to use as "tune-up games," for lack of a better term.
It comes down to one question: Do the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones really want to play a schedule that contains 11 Power Four games? That is asking a lot of these programs in a sport that is seeing the season continue to last longer and longer.
Your options are likely Week 1 and Week 3. I have to imagine a Big Ten and SEC scheduling agreement would fall into Week 2. It would give teams a week to work out things in their opener, and I don't foresee teams agreeing to play these matchups right before conference play begins.
So, that means the annual Week 2 Cy-Hawk game has to move if it wants to survive. Do these teams agree to put this much on the line in the season opener? Boy. That's a big-time ask from these teams. I personally don't see it happening.
Do Iowa and Iowa State agree to keep the matchup but move it to Week 3, essentially starting a 10-game Power Four run? That's just as much to ask, if not more.
With a 9-3 record very likely being enough to make the 24-team College Football Playoff bracket in the future, my gut tells me the Cy-Hawk get put on pause, while Iowa and Iowa State keep their Week 1 and Week 3 games against Group of Six or FCS teams, as much as it hurts to say.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa as Iowa Football: Cy-Hawk Rivalry Could Be Casualty of 24-Team CFP, Big Ten-SEC Agreement .
