2018 Iowa State Cyclones football team


The 2018 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Competing as a member of the Big 12 Conference, the team played its home games at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. They were led by third-year head coach Matt Campbell. They finished the season 8-5, 6-3 in the Big 12, the most conference wins in a season. They finished third in the Big 12, behind #4 Oklahoma and #14 Texas. They were invited to the Alamo Bowl where they lost to #13 Washington State.

Previous season and offseason

The 2017 Iowa State Cyclones football team finished 7–5 in the regular season and 5–4 in Big 12 play giving them a fourth-place finish in conference standings. They had wins over non conference opponents UNI and Akron and conference opponents #3 Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Tech, #4 TCU, and Baylor. Allen Lazard, Kamari Cotton-Moya, and David Montgomery received first team All-Big 12 honors and Jake Campos, Chase Allen, Joel Lanning, Brian Peavy, and JD Waggoner received second team All-Big 12 honors. Matt Campbell was also named Big 12 Coach of the Year. Additionally, Joel Lanning was named a first team All-American.

Departures

2018 recruiting class

Incoming transfers

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
Chuck Bednarik AwardBrian PeavyCBSR
Maxwell AwardDavid MontgomeryRBJR
Davey O'Brien AwardKyle KemptQBSR
Doak Walker AwardDavid MontgomeryRBJR
John Mackey AwardChase AllenTESO
Bronko Nagurski TrophyRay LimaDLJR
Outland TrophyRay LimaDLJR
Ted Hendricks AwardJaQuan BaileyDEJR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardKyle KemptQBSR
Manning AwardKyle KemptQBSR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardHakeem ButlerWRJR

Big 12 media poll

The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018 with the Cyclones predicted to finish in seventh place.
Media poll

Schedule

Iowa State announced their 2018 football schedule on October 26, 2017. The 2018 schedule consisted of seven home games and five away games in the regular season. The Cyclones hosted Big 12 foes Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Kansas State and travel to TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Texas. For their non-conference schedule the Cyclones hosted Drake and Akron as well as traveling to in–state rival Iowa.
Originally, Iowa State planned to play South Dakota State on September 1 to open the season, however, the game was cancelled shortly after kickoff due to bad weather. Iowa State was to host Incarnate Word on December 1, however, Incarnate Word was not able to play after qualifying for the FCS playoffs. They replaced Incarnate Word with Drake.

Personnel

Roster

Returning starters

Returning offensive starters

Returning defensive starters

Returning special teams starters

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Game 1: at Iowa Hawkeyes

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
22–432017L 41–44OT

Game 2: Oklahoma Sooners

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
6–74–22017W 38–31

Game 3: Akron Zips

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
1–02017W 41–14

Game 4: at TCU Horned Frogs

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
2–72017W 14–7

Game 5: at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
18–31–32017L 42–49

Iowa State's Freshman Brock Purdy replaced Zeb Noland at quarterback and passed 18-for-23 for 318 yards and produced four touchdowns. He then ran for another 84 yards and another score. The final score was a loss for the Cowboys at 48-42.

Game 6: West Virginia Mountaineers

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
1–52017L 16–20

Game 7: Texas Tech Red Raiders

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
5–112017W 31–13

Game 8: at Kansas Jayhawks

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
41–50–62017W 45–0

Game 9: Baylor Bears

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
7–92017W 23–13

At the beginning of the second half, Baylor's Chris Miller got a flag for a late hit against Iowa State running back David Montgomery, pushing him into a Gatorade cooler, escalating tensions. Later, Baylor linebacker Greg Roberts threw a punch at Montgomery and he responded with another punch. Both were ejected from the second half of the game and Montgomery was ejected from the first half of the Texas game the following week.

Game 10: at Texas Longhorns

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
2–132017L 7–17

Game 11: Kansas State Wildcats

Overall RecordLast MeetingResult
49–48–42017L 19–20

After a slow start, Kansas State held a solid lead for most of the game. Kansas State had racked up a 17 point lead with only 12 minutes remaining in the game. From there, Iowa State's Mike Rose grabbed a loose ball for a touchdown and the Cyclones controlled the game to rally with 21 unanswered points. The final score was an Iowa State victory, 41-38. The Cyclones broke the 9 year losing streak against the Wildcats. This game was also the last game Kansas State coach Bill Snyder coached before retiring.

Game 12: Drake Bulldogs

Game 13: Washington State Cougars

Statistics

Scoring

;Scores against non-conference opponents
;Scores against the Big 12
;Scores against all opponents

Rankings

Awards and honors

PlayerAwardDate Awarded
Brock PurdyBig 12 Newcomer of the WeekOctober 8, 2018
Braxton LewisBig 12 Defensive Player of the WeekOctober 8, 2018
Brock PurdyBig 12 Newcomer of the WeekOctober 15, 2018
JaQuan BaileyBig 12 Co-Defensive Player of the WeekOctober 15, 2018
Marcel Spears Jr.Big 12 Defensive Player of the WeekOctober 29, 2018
Brock PurdyBig 12 Newcomer of the WeekNovember 5, 2018

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
373David MontgomeryRBChicago Bears
4103Hakeem ButlerWRArizona Cardinals