What Happens When Iowa State Beats Iowa in Football?

Rivalry games are nearly always close. Saturday's Cy-Hawk game between Iowa and Iowa State is no different. Just like last year in Iowa City, the game came down to a field goal, and just like last year, that field goal would give Iowa State another hard-fought victory over its in-state rivals. Iowa State appears headed for another strong season under head coach Matt Campbell. But what lies ahead for Iowa? History is not on the Hawkeye's side.

I went back and looked at the last six times Iowa State beat Iowa in football, and how that loss affected the rest of Iowa's football season. The results are mediocre at best, which is a word tossed around a lot lately when talking about Kirk Ferentz's Iowa program.

2024: Iowa State 20 Iowa 19

Last year's Cy-Hawk loss at Kinnick Stadium saw Iowa as the ranked team. The #21 Hawkeyes lost on a last-second field goal that stunned Iowa fans. The Hawkeyes would finish the year 8-5, 6-3 in the Big Ten. They would go on to lose the Music City Bowl to Missouri.

2022: Iowa State 10 Iowa 7

Iowa would rebound from this low-scoring rivalry game to again finish 8-5, 5-4 in the Big Ten. They would top Kentucky 21-0 in the Music City Bowl.

2014: Iowa State 20 Iowa 17

After losing to the Cyclones, Iowa would go .500 in the Big Ten and finish at 7-6 overall. They would lose to Tennessee in the Taxslayer Bowl.

2012: Iowa State 9 Iowa 6

After losing a field goal shootout, Iowa would stumble home to a 4-8 record and no bowl game appearance.

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2011: Iowa State 44 Iowa 41 (3 OT)

After losing a triple overtime thriller, Iowa put together another 7-6 campaign. They lost to Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl.

2007: Iowa State 15 Iowa 13

Iowa went .500 on the year, finishing 6-6 with no bowl game for the Hawkeyes.

Can Iowa rebound after this latest loss to the Cyclones? Absolutely. But if history is any indication, this isn't going to be the year some Iowa fans were hoping. New quarterback Mark Gronowski was supposed to lead Iowa into Big Ten title contention. Some were even mentioning Iowa as a dark-horse playoff team!

The team with the best chance of reaching the College Football Playoff now resides in Ames.