Head coach: Matt Campbell, 10th season (64-51; 99-66 career)

2024 season: 11-3, 7-2 Big 12; lost to Arizona State, 45-19, in Big 12 title game; beat Miami, 42-41, in Pop-Tarts Bowl

Series with CU: Buffs lead 49-15-1

Matchup with the Buffs: Saturday, Oct. 11 (TBA), at Folsom Field in Boulder

5 Guys to Watch

LB Caleb Bacon: Suffered a season-ending injury in the 2024 opener, but he’s back and may be ISU’s best defender. Former walk-on earned a scholarship after a stellar 2023 season. Playing as a reserve that year, he was second on team with 60 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

QB Rocco Becht: One of the better quarterbacks in the country, Becht completed 59.4% of his passes for 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions last year. He also ran for 318 yards and eight touchdowns. Over the course of the past two years, he’s thrown for 6,625 yards, 48 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

S Jeremiah Cooper: Finished the 2024 season with 48 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention. He was first-team All-Big 12 in 2023, when he had 45 tackles, five interceptions and 10 pass breakups.

RB Carson Hansen: Became the lead back in 2024 and rushed for 752 yards and 13 touchdowns, while averaging 5.0 yards per carry. He caught just 13 passes, but two of them went for touchdowns.

CB Jontez Williams: He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last year after recording 46 tackles, four interceptions and five pass breakups.

Good to know

• CU and Iowa State played each other every year from 1946-2010, but they haven’t met since a 34-14 Buffs’ win on Nov. 13, 2010. From 1948-2010, they were rivals in the Big 7/Big Eight/Big12.

• From 1979-99, Iowa State posted 17 losing seasons and played in no bowl games. Since 2000, the Cyclones have had 12 winning seasons and 15 bowl appearances.

• Former Colorado receiver Chase Sowell is a projected starter for the Cyclones. Sowell played the 2022 season at CU, catching two passes for 23 yards as a freshman. During the past two years, he was one of the top playmakers at East Carolina, catching a combined 81 passes for 1,300 yards and four touchdowns. His younger brother, Hunter, is a defensive back at Iowa State.

• Iowa State will have a lot of travel miles racked up by the time it gets to Boulder. The Cyclones will play Kansas State on Aug. 23 in Dublin, Ireland. They’ll also have a trip to Arkansas State on Sept. 13 and a trip to Cincinnati on Oct. 4 before heading to Boulder a week later.

• Kicker Kyle Konrardy is back. He went 21-of-28 on field goals with a long of 54 yards. He also went 46-of-48 on extra points.

Portal movement

The Cyclones lost 16 players to the portal, but there weren’t many significant losses. Three productive defenders have moved on, however: linebackers Jacob Ellis (Colorado State) and Jack Sadowsky V (Northwestern), and defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim (Texas A&M). Eight players were signed in the portal and most should make an impact. Sowell (East Carolina) and Xavier Townsend (UCF) are projected starters at receiver. Defensive end Vontroy Malone (Tulsa) and cornerback Tre Bell (Lindenwood) are possible starters on defense. Tackle Austin Barrett (Indiana) and defensive end Tamatoa McDonough (Yale) could also make an impact.