Jack Trice Stadium - Ames, Iowa
Kickoff: Saturday, 4:45 p.m. ET
Line: Iowa -3, Total: 51

In-state rivals try to stay unbeaten in the early season when Iowa makes the short trip to Iowa State on Saturday afternoon.

Both schools opened their seasons with convincing victories last week, as the Hawkeyes rolled past FCS Illinois State 31-14 while the Cyclones dispatched Northern Iowa 31-7. Iowa's offense was nicely balanced with 221 passing yards and 201 rushing yards, but ISU's offense thrived mostly through the air with 233 yards, as the ground game struggled to 32 carries for 77 yards (2.4 YPC). Although the Hawkeyes have a leg up in this rivalry since 1992 (13-10 SU), the Cyclones hold the 14-9 ATS advantage during the timeframe. The last four meetings in this series have been decided by a total of 15 points, including last season's 20-17 ISU road win. The Cyclones trailed 14-3 at half, but came roaring back and outscored their opponents 17-3 in the final two quarters. Although Iowa State is 3-0 ATS after an SU win in the past three seasons, home teams where the line is +3 to -3 after playing a home game are just 57-107 ATS (35%) in the past five seasons. Iowa is in better shape from an injury standpoint, as TE George Kittle (undisclosed, questionable) is the only player listed with an ailment, while the Cyclones have TE Cole Anderson (knee) out, LB Brian Mills (undisclosed) questionable and OL Daniel Burton (knee) and DL Trent Taylor (disciplinary) both probable.

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Iowa QB C.J. Beathard had a strong opener, completing 15-of-24 passes (63%) for 211 yards (8.8 YPA), 1 TD and 0 INT. His favorite target was junior WR Matt VandeBerg, who caught a team-high six passes for 59 yards. Senior RB Jordan Canzeri tallied four receptions for a team-best 90 yards. Junior RB LeShun Daniels Jr. was the big ground gainer, as he rumbled for 123 yards on 26 carries (4.7 YPC). The defense was also fierce last week, holding Illinois State to 231 total yards and just 1.2 yards per carry. However, the Hawkeyes will be tested much more this week, as the Cyclones have plenty of offensive weapons to use.

Iowa State didn't score in the first 15 minutes of its season opener, but produced 31 points in the final three quarters thanks in large part to QB Sam B. Richardson. The senior completed 21-of-29 passes for 233 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT and spread the wealth with multiple completions to six different players. Junior WR Dondre Daley was the team leader with 70 yards on four receptions with senior WR Quenton Bundrage hauling in a team-high five catches. The ground game was very inefficient though, as sophomore RB Tyler Brown was the only player to rush for even 20 yards, finishing with 68 yards on 11 carries. The Iowa State defense played very well, holding UNI to 4.4 yards per pass and 3.1 yards per rush. The unit also collected two takeaways, which is key considering that the past seven matchups in this Iowa-ISU series have involved at least three total turnovers.