2018 Iowa State Cyclones football team


The 2018 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University as a member of Big 12 Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by third-year head coach Matt Campbell, the Cyclones compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 6–3 in conference play, placing third in the Big 12. Iowa State was invited to the Alamo Bowl, where the Cyclones lost to Washington State. The team played home games at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
The six conference wins were the most in a season in program history

Schedule

Iowa State announced their 2018 football schedule on October 26, 2017. The schedule consisted of seven home games and five away games in the regular season.
Originally, Iowa State planned to play [2018 2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team|South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team|South Dakota State] on September 1 to open the season, however, the game was canceled shortly after kickoff due to bad weather. Iowa State was to host [2018 2018 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team|Incarnate Word Cardinals football team|Incarnate Word] on December 1, but Incarnate Word was not able to play after qualifying for the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. Incarnate Word was replaced with [2018 2018 Drake Bulldogs football team|Drake Bulldogs football team|Drake].

Preseason

Big 12 media poll

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

Game summaries

Game 5: at Oklahoma State Cowboys

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 9: Baylor Bears

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 11: Kansas State Wildcats

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

The Cyclones were scheduled to take on the Incarnate Word Cardinals as a replacement for their cancelled South Dakota State game from Week 1, however, the Cardinals qualified for the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, requiring a different opponent.

Awards and honors

PlayerAward
Matt CampbellChuck Neinas Big 12 Coach of the Year

Statistics

Scoring

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

TV ratings

All totals via Sports Media Watch. Streaming numbers not included. † - Data not available.

Players drafted into the NFL

373David MontgomeryRBChicago Bears
4103Hakeem ButlerWRArizona Cardinals