2020 Iowa State Cyclones football team


The 2020 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University as a member of Big 12 Conference during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Matt Campbell, the Cyclones compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 8–1 in conference play, placing first in the Big 12. Iowa State advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game. In their first conference title game appearance, the Cyclones lost to [2020 2020 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]. Iowa State earned the program's first bid to a New Year's Six bowl game. The Cyclones defeated Oregon in Fiesta Bowl. The team played home games at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
Breece Hall became the first unanimous All-American in school history.

Schedule

Iowa State released its 2020 schedule on October 22, 2019. On July 9, 2020, it was announced that the Big Ten Conference would only play games against conference teams, leading to the cancellation of the September 12 game between Iowa State and Iowa. The Cyclones added Ball State to the schedule to replace in-state rival Iowa. On August 6, 2020, Iowa State's game against UNLV was canceled and rescheduled for the 2030 season. The Cyclones announced a reconfigured schedule on August 12, 2020, with the addition of Louisiana as their non-conference opponent.

Preseason

Spring game

The Cyclones announced they would cancel spring practice in March and April 2020 and would not hold a spring game due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seating plans

On May 26, 2020, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard announced that single-game tickets would not be sold for Iowa State football games for the 2020 season and that only the 30,000 season ticket holders would be permitted to attend games, as a result of the pandemic.

Big 12 media days

The Big 12 media days were held on July 21–22, 2020 in a virtual format due to the pandemic. In the Big 12 preseason media poll, Iowa State was picked to finish fourth in the conference.

Game summaries

Vs. Louisiana

StatisticsLAISU
First downs1418
Total yards272303
Rushes/yards35–11836–158
Passing yards154145
Passing: Comp–Att–Int13–21–016–35–1
Time of possession27:4132:19

At TCU

StatisticsISUTCU
First downs1427
Total yards423498
Rushes/yards28–21244–99
Passing yards211399
Passing: Comp–Att–Int18–23–027–40–1
Time of possession26:5833:02

Vs. No. 18 Oklahoma

StatisticsOKLAISU
First downs2223
Total yards414417
Rushes/yards33–11431–135
Passing yards300282
Passing: Comp–Att–Int25–36–113–25–0
Time of possession33:3426:26

Vs. Texas Tech

StatisticsTTUISU
First downs1529
Total yards270516
Rushes/yards22–5843–214
Passing yards212302
Passing: Comp–Att–Int23–34–032–43–0
Time of possession19:0940:41

At No. 6 Oklahoma State

StatisticsISUOKST
First downs1824
Total yards389461
Rushes/yards227226
Passing yards162235
Passing: Comp–Att–Int19–34–120–29–2
Time of possession29:5630:04

At Kansas

StatisticsISUKAN
First downs2615
Total yards552240
Rushes/yards35–25834–73
Passing yards294167
Passing: Comp–Att–Int25–36–118–33–1
Time of possession31:1328:47

Vs. Baylor

StatisticsBAYISU
First downs1723
Total yards366362
Rushes/yards27–7141–198
Passing yards295164
Passing: Comp–Att–Int22–33–0215–24–3
Time of possession26:5533:05

Vs. Kansas State

StatisticsKSUISU
First downs926
Total yards149539
Rushes/yards28–7344–240
Passing yards76299
Passing: Comp–Att–Int9–19–119–25–0
Time of possession23:0536:55

At No. 17 Texas

StatisticsISUTEX
First downs2521
Total yards433448
Rushes/yards33-12135-145
Passing yards312303
Passing: Comp–Att–Int25–36–018–30–0
Time of possession32:5727:03

Vs. West Virginia

StatisticsWVUISU
First downs1626
Total yards263483
Rushes/yards25-5444-236
Passing yards209247
Passing: Comp–Att–Int21-41-020-23-0
Time of possession28:0931:51

Vs. No. 10 Oklahoma—Big 12 Championship game

StatisticsOUISU
First downs2020
Total yards392435
Rushes/yards120113
Passing yards272322
Passing: Comp–Att–Int22-34-027-40-3
Time of possession27:4832:12

Vs. No. 25 Oregon—Fiesta Bowl

StatisticsUOISU
First downs1725
Total yards312384
Rushes/yards86228
Passing yards226156
Passing: Comp–Att–Int21-28-120-29-0
Time of possession17:1242:48

Awards and honors

Iowa State led all Big 12 schools with nine All-Big 12 first team players.
Hall was a unanimous selection.
PlayerAward
Matt CampbellChuck Neinas Big 12 Coach of the Year
AP Big 12 Coach of the Year
Breece HallBig 12 Offensive Player of the Year
AP Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
Mike RoseBig 12 Defensive Player of the Year
AP Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Xavier HutchinsonBig 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year
Isheem YoungBig 12 Defensive Co-Freshman of the Year

Honorable Mention for Individual Big 12 Awards: JaQuan Bailey, Latrell Bankston, Colin Newell, Darrell Simmons and Rory Walling.
PlayerAwardDate Awarded
JaQuan BaileyBig 12 Defensive Player of the WeekSeptember 28, 2020
Breece HallBig 12 Offensive Player of the WeekOctober 5, 2020
Breece HallBig 12 Offensive Player of the WeekOctober 26, 2020
Breece HallBig 12 Offensive Player of the WeekNovember 9, 2020
Mike RoseBig 12 Defensive Player of the WeekNovember 9, 2020
Latrell BankstonBig 12 Defensive Player of the WeekNovember 30, 2020
Brock PurdyBig 12 Offensive Player of the WeekDecember 7, 2020

TV ratings

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

Players drafted into the NFL

4119Kene NwangwuRBMinnesota Vikings