Iowa State players react to their College Football 26 overall ratings
Iowa State football players Dom Orange, Rocco Becht, Jeremiah Cooper, Tyler Miller and Jontez Williams reacted to their overall ratings on CFB 26.
- EA Sports College Football 26 simulations predict Iowa State will likely win the 2025 Cy-Hawk game.
- Seven simulated games were played on varsity difficulty at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.
- The Iowa State Cyclones won six of the seven simulated matchups against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Is the Cy-Hawk Trophy staying in Ames this year following the Iowa State vs. Iowa football rivalry game? Well, according to EA Sports, the Cyclones are the favorite.
EA Sports College Football 26 opened its early-access window on July 7 for those who pre-ordered. The standard edition of the popular college football video games releases on July 10 for $69.99.
Upon the game’s release, we simulated the Cy-Hawk rivalry matchup seven times to determine which team consistently came out on top. Each simulation was conducted with five-minute quarters and played in exhibition mode on varsity difficulty (difficulty levels include freshman, varsity, All-American and Heisman). All games took place at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, the site of the 2025 Cy-Hawk game.
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Simulation 1
The game opens with a shot of Iowa State‘s mascot, Cy, pumping up the crowd before cutting to fans in the stadium and players from both teams running out of their respective tunnels.
Iowa State kicks off to Iowa first, with the Hawkeyes starting their drive at their 18-yard line. Jesse Palmer, David Pollack and Rece Davis are on the call for today’s game. As Iowa’s offense takes the field, the user can hear Davis discussing Iowa State’s comeback during the 2024 Cy-Hawk matchup and the late-game heroics of Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht and the game-winning field goal by Iowa State’s Kyle Konrardy.
On 3rd-and-11, Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski finds receiver Jacob Gill on a 23-yard gain. Gill, a senior from Raleigh, North Carolina, picked up the first down after lining up as a running back in the backfield.
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A few plays later, it’s 3rd-and-9 and Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester elects to run a trick play. Gronowski catches the snap and tosses it to receiver Kaden Wetjen, who goes to pass the ball himself but instead gets tackled in the backfield by ISU’s Myles Mendeszoon. A punt from Rhys Dakin sets up the Cyclones offense at their 15-yard line.
Iowa State’s first drive results in a three-and-out after two straight run stops by Iowa’s defense and a deflection on third down after Brecht tried to go deep to Xavier Townsend. Iowa’s offense gets the ball back, and after two unsuccessful plays garnered zero yards, it’s 3rd-and-10. Gronowski readies to pass, and after having all day in the pocket thanks to Iowa’s offensive line, tosses a deep ball to Gill that gets intercepted by Jamison Patton just as the first quarter comes to an end.
Iowa State’s offense opens the second quarter with a 15-yard pickup from Becht to tight end Benjamin Brahmer on a slant across the middle. Later, a screen pass to running back Abu Sama on 2nd-and-4 picks up 13 yards and puts the Cyclones in the red zone.
As Iowa State attempts to score the first points of the game, commentator Davis discusses the history of the Cy-Hawk rivalry. The conversation then switches to Iowa State’s historic 2024 season and its culmination in a Pop-Tarts Bowl win over Miami (Davis and Pollack debate which Pop-Tart flavors are the best. Seriously.)
Running back Carson Hansen scores the first points for Iowa State on a 1-yard dive into the end zone. Konrardy’s extra point makes it 7-0 with 1:40 left in the second quarter. Iowa’s offense then manages to get it down to the Iowa State 40-yard line.
With 40 seconds left, Iowa elects to go for the same trick play to Wetjen again, but he gets tackled by ISU’s Kooper Ebel. On 2nd-and-15, Gronowski snaps it as time expires and tries to make some heroics running up the middle for a 20-yard pickup but gets stopped well before the end zone.
Heading into halftime, Iowa State leads Iowa, 7-0.
Second half
Iowa State opens the second half with a short 3-yard hitch to one of its tight ends. Next, ISU declined an offside penalty on Iowa defensive back TJ Hall after picking up 13 yards on an in-route pass to Xavier Townsend. Iowa State then punted after three straight runs fell short of the first down marker.
Iowa gets the ball on its 19-yard line. The Hawkeyes’ first drive of the second half starts poorly — Gronowski is sacked for a 9-yard loss by ISU edge rusher Ikenna Ezeogu, and on 2nd-and-19, a big pass play is wiped out by an illegal man downfield penalty on lineman Kade Piper. Two plays later, it’s 3rd-and-24 and ISU’s Zamir Hawk sacks Gronowski in the Hawkeyes’ end zone for a safety.
The Cyclones lead 9-0 with 1:35 left in the 3rd quarter.
Iowa and Iowa State both trade possessions, going 3-and-out before Iowa gets the ball back to start the fourth quarter. On 3rd-and-6, Iowa gets the first down with a curl pass to Wetjen, 1st-and-10 with 4:40 remaining. Fast forward a few plays, and it’s 4th-and-inches in Iowa State territory.
Iowa surprises the Cyclones with a pass play. Gronowski scrambles, escapes pressure and runs it 10-15 yards down to the goal line. On 1st-and-goal from the 1, Kamari Moulton dives in for the touchdown. The PAT from Iowa’s Drew Stevens cuts the Hawkeyes’ deficit to 9-7 with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a return to their own 16-yard line, ISU loses two yards on first down. On 2nd-and-12, Becht scrambles left but is sacked by Iowa’s Ethan Hurkett. Iowa calls a timeout with 1:48 left. Facing 3rd-and-20 deep in ISU’s own territory, Becht narrowly avoids a game-tying safety in their end zone and completes a clutch 28-yard pass to tight end Benjamin Brahmer for a first down.
The Hawkeyes ran out of timeouts and Becht kneeled out for the remainder of the contest. Iowa State wins it 9-7.
That was the first simulation, but what was the outcome of the six other Cy-Hawk games the Des Moines Register ran on EA SPORTS College Football 26?
- Simulation 2: 20-17, ISU
- Simulation 3: 24-8, ISU
- Simulation 4: 13-10, ISU
- Simulation 5: 21-10, IOWA
- Simulation 6: 30-27, ISU
- Simulation 7: 23-6, ISU
Out of the seven EA Sports College Football 26 simulations, Iowa State won six times. Come back to this article following the actual 2025 Cy-Hawk game to see if the simulation was able to successfully predict the outcome of the game.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
