2020 Iowa State Cyclones football team explained

Year:	2020
Team:	Iowa State Cyclones
Sport:	football
Conference:	Big 12 Conference
Short Conf:	Big 12
Record:	9–3
Conf Record:	8–1
Coachrank:	9
Aprank:	9
Head Coach:	Matt Campbell
Hc Year:	5th
Off Coach:	Tom Manning
Oc Year:	4th
Off Scheme:	Pro spread
Def Coach:	Jon Heacock
Dc Year:	5th
Def Scheme:	3-high safety^[1]
Stadium:	Jack Trice Stadium
Champion:	Fiesta Bowl champion
Conf Champ:	Big 12 Championship Game
Conf Champ Result:	L 21–27 vs. Oklahoma
Bowl Result:	W 34–17 vs. Oregon

The 2020 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cyclones competed as members of the Big 12 Conference and were led by fifth-year head coach Matt Campbell. They played their home games at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. Breece Hall became the first unanimous all-American in school history.After starting the season with a loss to Louisiana, Iowa State won eight out of nine Big 12 Conference games, finishing the season with the best record in the Big 12 and earning a spot in the program's first ever Big 12 Championship Game. Despite falling to Oklahoma, Iowa State was given a bid to the Fiesta Bowl, the Cyclones first ever appearance in a New Year's Six Bowl Game, where they defeated the Oregon Ducks, and due to the COVID 19 shortened season, became one of only eleven teams in the nation to have at least nine wins.

Preseason

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 COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

Big 12 media Days

The Big 12 media days were held on July 21–22, 2020 in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Big 12 media poll

Big 12 media poll^[4]
1	Oklahoma	80
2	Oklahoma State	6
3	Texas	4
4	Iowa State
5	Baylor
6	TCU
7	Kansas State
8	West Virginia
9	Texas Tech
10	Kansas

Schedule

Spring game

The Cyclones announced they would cancel spring practice in March and April 2020 and would not hold a spring game.^[5]

Spring practices were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regular season

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.^[6] The Cyclones added Ball State to the schedule to replace in-state rival Iowa.^[7] On August 6, 2020, Iowa State's game against UNLV was canceled and rescheduled for the 2030 season.^[8] The Cyclones announced a reconfigured schedule on August 12, 2020, with the addition of Louisiana as their non-conference opponent. On December 5, after Oklahoma State and Kansas State lost their respective games, Iowa State officially clinched a spot in their very first Big 12 Championship Game.^[9]

Schedule Source:^[10]

Coaching staff

	Head coach	5th	Toledo (HC)
	DC	5th	Toledo (DC)
Tom Manning	OC/TE	4th	Indianapolis Colts (TE)
	WR	3rd	Illinois (offensive analyst)
	Passing game coordinator/QB	5th	Ferrum (OC)
	Defensive passing game coordinator/SAF	5th	Toledo (CB)
Eli Rasheed	DL	5th	Toledo (DL)
	AHC/LB	5th	Toledo (LB)
Jeff Myers	OL	5th	Toledo (graduate assistant)
Matt Caponi	CB	2nd	West Virginia (DB)
Mick McCall	RB	1st	Northwestern (OC/QB)

source:^[11]

Game summaries

Vs. Louisiana

Statistics	LA	ISU
First downs	14	18
Total yards	272	303
Rushes/yards	35–118	36–158
Passing yards	154	145
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	13–21–0	16–35–1
Time of possession	27:41	32:19

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana	Passing		13–21, 154 yds, 1 TD
Rushing		14 CAR, 49 yds, 1 TD
Receiving	Peter LeBlanc	5 REC, 82 yds, 1 TD
Iowa State	Passing		16–35, 145 yds, 1 INT
Rushing		20 CAR, 103 yds, 1 TD
Receiving		4 REC, 43 yds

At TCU

Statistics	ISU	TCU
First downs	14	27
Total yards	423	498
Rushes/yards	28–212	44–99
Passing yards	211	399
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18–23–0	27–40–1
Time of possession	26:58	33:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	18–23, 211 yds, TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	18 CAR, 154 yds, 3 TD
Receiving	Landen Akers	2 REC, 60 yds
TCU	Passing	Max Duggan	16–19, 241 yds, 3 TD, INT
Rushing	Emari Demercado	8 CAR, 39 yds
Receiving	Taye Barber	5 REC, 82 yds, TD

Vs. No. 18 Oklahoma

Statistics	OKLA	ISU
First downs	22	23
Total yards	414	417
Rushes/yards	33–114	31–135
Passing yards	300	282
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–36–1	13–25–0
Time of possession	33:34	26:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma	Passing	Spencer Rattler	25–36, 300 yds, 2 TD, INT
Rushing	Seth McGowan	12 car, 47 yds
Receiving		5 car, 74 yds
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	12–24, 254 yds, TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	28 car, 139 yds, 2 TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	3 rec, 83 yds, TD

Vs. Texas Tech

Statistics	TTU	ISU
First downs	15	29
Total yards	270	516
Rushes/yards	22–58	43–214
Passing yards	212	302
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	23–34–0	32–43–0
Time of possession	19:09	40:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas Tech	Passing	Henry Colombi	10–12, 115 yds, TD
Rushing	Xavier White	7 car, 21 yds
Receiving	Erik Ezukanma	5 rec, 61 yds, TD
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	32–43, 302 yds, 2 TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	27 car, 135 yds, 2 TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	9 rec, 77 yds

At No. 6 Oklahoma State

Statistics	ISU	OKST
First downs	18	24
Total yards	389	461
Rushes/yards	227	226
Passing yards	162	235
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19–34–1	20–29–2
Time of possession	29:56	30:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	19–34, 162 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Breece Hall	20 CAR, 185 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	8 REC, 68 YDS, 1 TD
Oklahoma State	Passing		20–29, 235 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing		25 CAR, 139 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving		5 REC, 76 YDS

At Kansas

Statistics	ISU	KAN
First downs	26	15
Total yards	552	240
Rushes/yards	35–258	34–73
Passing yards	294	167
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–36–1	18–33–1
Time of possession	31:13	28:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	23–34, 239 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Breece Hall	21 CAR, 185 YDS, 2 TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	5 REC, 87 YDS, 1 TD
Kansas	Passing		16–29, 165 YDS, 1 INT
Rushing	Jalon Daniels	16 CAR, 36 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving		5 REC, 66 YDS

Vs. Baylor

Statistics	BAY	ISU
First downs	17	23
Total yards	366	362
Rushes/yards	27–71	41–198
Passing yards	295	164
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–33–02	15–24–3
Time of possession	26:55	33:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Baylor	Passing	Charlie Brewer	22–33, 295 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Charlie Brewer	10 car, 29 yds
Receiving	R.J. Sneed	6 rec, 93 yds, TD
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	32–43, 302 yds, 2 TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	27 car, 135 yds, 2 TD
Receiving	Charlie Kolar	3 rec, 45 yds, TD

Vs. Kansas State

Statistics	KSU	ISU
First downs	9	26
Total yards	149	539
Rushes/yards	28–73	44–240
Passing yards	76	299
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	9–19–1	19–25–0
Time of possession	23:05	36:55

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing	Nick Ast	6–10, 44 yds
Rushing	Deuce Vaughn	7 car, 44 yds
Receiving	Chabastin Taylor	2 rec, 37 yds
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	16–20, 236 yds, 3 TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	15 car, 135 yds, 2 TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	6 rec, 111 yds, TD

At No. 17 Texas

Statistics	ISU	TEX
First downs	25	21
Total yards	433	448
Rushes/yards	33-121	35-145
Passing yards	312	303
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–36–0	18–30–0
Time of possession	32:57	27:03

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	25–36, 312 YDS, TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	20 CAR, 91 YDS, TD
Receiving	Charlie Kolar	6 REC, 131 YDS
Texas	Passing		17–29, 298 YDS, TD
Rushing	Sam Ehlinger	15 CAR, 65 YDS, TD
Receiving		5 REC, 142 YDS

Vs. West Virginia

Statistics	WVU	ISU
First downs	16	26
Total yards	263	483
Rushes/yards	25-54	44-236
Passing yards	209	247
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	21-41-0	20-23-0
Time of possession	28:09	31:51

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Virginia	Passing		21–44, 209 YDS
Rushing		14 CAR, 48 YDS
Receiving		5 REC, 79 YDS
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	20–23, 247 YDS, 3 TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	22 CAR, 97 YDS, TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	8 REC, 89 YDS

Vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship game)

Statistics	OU	ISU
First downs	20	20
Total yards	392	435
Rushes/yards	120	113
Passing yards	272	322
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22-34-0	27-40-3
Time of possession	27:48	32:12

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma	Passing	Spencer Rattler	22–27, 272 YDS, 1 TD
Rushing		18 CAR, 97 YDS
Receiving		7 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	27–40, 322 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing	Breece Hall	23 CAR, 79 YDS, 2 TD
Receiving	Xavier Hutchinson	10 REC, 114 YDS

Vs. No. 25 Oregon (Fiesta Bowl)

Statistics	UO	ISU
First downs	17	25
Total yards	312	384
Rushes/yards	86	228
Passing yards	226	156
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	21-28-1	20-29-0
Time of possession	17:12	42:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oregon	Passing		12–19, 147 YDS
Rushing		8 CAR, 52 YDS
Receiving		4 REC, 41 YDS
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	20–29, 156 YDS, 1 TD
Rushing	Breece Hall	34 CAR, 136 YDS, 2 TD
Receiving	Charlie Kolar	5 REC, 53 YDS, 1 TD

Awards and honors

All-American Honors
Player	Selection
Offense
Breece Hall	(AFCA, AP, Athletic, CBS, ESPN, FWAA, Phil Steele, TSN, USAT, WCFF)
Defense
JaQuan Bailey	(FWAA, Phil Steele)
Mike Rose	(Athletic, Phil Steele, USAT)

Iowa State led all Big 12 schools with nine All-Big 12 first team players.^[12] ^[13]

All-Big 12
Player	Selection
Offense
Brock Purdy	Coaches-1; Media-2
	Coaches-1; Media-1
Xavier Hutchinson	Coaches-1; Media-2
Charlie Kolar	Coaches-1; Media-1
Colin Newell	Coaches-1; Media-2
Chase Allen	Coaches-2
Derek Schweiger	Coaches-2; Media-2
Darrell Simmons	Coaches-HM
Dylan Soehner	Coaches-HM
Defense
JaQuan Bailey	Coaches-1; Media-1
Will McDonald IV	Coaches-1
Mike Rose	Coaches-1; Media-1
Greg Eisworth	Coaches-1; Media-2
Jake Hummel	Coaches-HM
Anthony Johnson Jr.	Coaches-HM
Tayvonn Kyle	Coaches-HM
Isaiah Lee	Coaches-HM
Eyioma Uwazurike	Coaches-HM
Lawrence White	Coaches-HM
Special Teams
Kene Nwangwu	Coaches-HM

Hall was a unanimous selection.

Individual Awards
Player	Award
	Chuck Neinas Big 12 Coach of the Year AP Big 12 Coach of the Year
Breece Hall	Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year AP Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
Mike Rose	Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year AP Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Xavier Hutchinson	Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year
Isheem Young	Big 12 Defensive Co-Freshman of the Year

Honorable Mention for Individual Big 12 Awards: JaQuan Bailey (Defensive Lineman of the Year), Latrell Bankston (Defensive Newcomer of the Year), Colin Newell (Offensive Lineman of the Year), Darrell Simmons (Offensive Freshman of the Year) and Rory Walling (Special Teams Player of the Year).

Weekly Awards
Player	Award	Date Awarded
JaQuan Bailey	Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week	September 28, 2020
Breece Hall	Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week	October 5, 2020
Breece Hall	Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week	October 26, 2020
Breece Hall	Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week	November 9, 2020
Mike Rose	Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week	November 9, 2020
Latrell Bankston	Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week	November 30, 2020
Brock Purdy	Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week	December 7, 2020

Players drafted into the NFL

TV ratings

!Opponent!Outlet!Viewers!Rating
Louisiana	ESPN	1.68M	1.0
@ TCU	FS1	346K	0.19
Oklahoma	ABC	3.71M	2.1
Texas Tech	ABC	1.38M	0.9
@ Oklahoma State	FOX	2.81M	1.6
@ Kansas	FS1	247K	0.14
Baylor	FS1	487K	0.28
Kansas State	FOX	1.98M	1.15
@ Texas	ABC	3.57M	2.1
West Virginia	ESPN	1.22M	0.7
vs. Oklahoma	ABC	2.99M	1.8
vs. Oregon	ESPN	6.68M	3.8

All totals via Sports Media Watch.^[14] Streaming numbers not included. † - Data not available.

Notes and References

Web site: . Acosta . Joseph . The 3-safety defense and why it helps stop RPO offenses, explained . December 28, 2022 . December 23, 2023.
Web site: Aless . Mike . Iowa State allowing only season-ticket holders at 2020 home games . theScore.com . May 26, 2020 . May 26, 2020.
Web site: Rittenberg . Adam . Big 12 football media days going virtual due to coronavirus . ESPN.com . 6 May 2020 . ESPN, Inc. . 9 May 2020.
Web site: Oklahoma Tops Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll . big12sports.com.
Web site: Iowa State Announces Spring Football Schedule . cyclones.com . Iowa State University . 4 February 2020.
"Big Ten Statement on 2020–21 Fall Season". Big Ten Conference. July 9, 2020.
Web site: Iowa State replaces Iowa with Ball State on schedule as Big 12 aims to play 12-game season in 2020. CBSSPORTS.com . July 28, 2020.
Web site: Kelley . Kevin . 2020 UNLV at Iowa State football game rescheduled to 2030 . FBSchedules.com . 11 August 2020 . 6 August 2020.
Web site: Iowa State Finalizes 2020 Football Schedule. 2020-08-12. Iowa State University Athletics. en.
Web site: Iowa State Cyclones Schedule 2020 . ESPN.com . ESPN, Inc. . 8 August 2020.
Web site: 2020 Football Coaching Staff. Iowa State University. 4 February 2020.
Web site: 2020 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced. 2020-12-18. big12sports.com. en.
Web site: AP All-Big 12: Iowa State players and coach win top awards.
Web site: Paulsen . College Football TV Ratings . 2022-07-09 . Sports Media Watch . en-US.