No. 11 BYU vs. Iowa State: Game Day Preview Plus Score Prediction
Oct 25, 2025, 12:01 AM
AMES, Iowa – Could BYU vs Iowa State be an upset spot to watch on the week nine college football schedule?
The undefeated and 11th-ranked Cougars sure hope not. BYU enters the matchup against Iowa State with a perfect 7-0 record and a 4-0 mark in Big 12 play.
Despite being one of only six undefeated teams remaining in college football this season, many prognosticators see BYU as the underdog in this matchup.
It’s a similar spot BYU was in last year, when they traveled to UCF in the final week of October as a road underdog. BYU won that game by double figures.
Today’s game is the sixth meeting all-time between these Big 12 foes.
Iowa State leads the all-time series 5-0, with the last meeting being a 45-13 Cyclones victory in Provo in 2023, the first matchup between the two as Big 12 programs.
The two head coaches in this matchup are some of the most respected in the game in BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
Earlier this week, Campbell said he would love for his son to one day play for Kalani Sitake. It was a similar comment he shared about Sitake when they last played in 2023.
Both Campbell and Sitake are in their 10th seasons and have been highly successful at their respective programs.
No. 11 BYU vs. Iowa State
Location: Jack Trice Stadium
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. (MDT)/2:30 p.m. (CDT)
TV: FOX
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM) — Extended pregame begins at 10 a.m.
Three Game Day Thoughts
1. Find a way to grind it out
There has been a lot of talk about a post-Utah letdown. Even BYU head coach Kalani Sitake acknowledged that he and his sports scientists on the staff, such as Dr. Skylar Mayne, identified this week as a spot on the calendar to work to prevent any sort of letdown.
BYU is in a better position this year to avoid the letdown it had last season. For one, after the Utah game this year, they went to bed at a reasonable time. Last year, most players didn’t get to bed until 6 a.m. after that win over the Utes.
Regardless, it’s a tough spot after a rivalry to go to the second biggest stadium in the Big 12, where it will be a homecoming and a sold-out crowd.
So with all of the intangibles laid out, just find a way to grind it out.
Sure, style points seem to still matter in this sport if you’re in the Big 12. But it’s hard to expect those in this game. So just find a way to get a victory and advance to a bye week where you can rest for the final stretch run of the season.
2. BYU’s ground attack has to continue playing at a high level
BYU junior running back LJ Martin has been outstanding this season. Martin is the fifth leading rusher in college football entering this week.
He has to come up with another big performance for BYU to escape Ames with a win.
Look for Martin to be around 22 carries or more against a Cyclones defense that is giving up 200 yards per game on the ground during their two-game losing streak.
Then, if Bear Bachmeier can continue to pick up positive yardage up the middle in the quarterback run game, BYU has the makings to put together some methodical drives and take control of this game.
It all starts up front with the offensive line, which is trending up, especially center Bruce Mitchell. Mitchell had the best game of his BYU career in the win over Utah.
3. Special teams could decide this game
There’s a lot of talk about Iowa State’s kicking situation this week. The Cyclones are hoping to get their star kicker, Kyle Konrardy, back from injury this week.
Konrardy is 7-of-9 on field goal attempts this season, and has made both of his field goal attempts from longer than 50 yards, including a 63-yarder against South Dakota.
BYU’s Will Ferrin is 13-of-16 on field goals this season.
In a game where drives could stall out, it could be won by the kicking units.
Two BYU vs Iowa State Questions
1. How does Bear Bachmeier follow up on his memorable performance from a week ago?
There’s a Bear on the loose! What a great call last week from FOX’s Jason Benetti. That 22-yard touchdown run by Bachmeier and BYU’s win has the nation finally realizing that this freshman signal-caller is good.
Will the national attention serve as a distraction for the young signal-caller? Bachmeier is who Sitake believes defines the “hungry and humble” mindset that the 10th-year head coach wants from his players.
So far, he’s passed every test with flying colors while maintaining poise.
One area to improve this week is getting the completion percentage to around 65%. Last week, Bachmeier was below 60% in the win over the Utes.
This could be a matchup where Bachmeier has more success through the air, with the Cyclones being thin in the secondary after losing two of their stars to injuries.
On the opposite sideline, Iowa State’s Rocco Becht is one of the best signal-callers in the league. He had a pedestrian performance through the air two weeks ago in the upset loss at Colorado. One would think a bounce-back is in store for Becht, but BYU’s defense has been dialed in all year.
2. Will Iowa State play with an edge that says their season is on the line?
Iowa State already has two losses in Big 12 play. If you get to a third loss, you’re probably going to be eliminated from reaching Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game, a spot the Cyclones were in last year.
🏟️🔜 pic.twitter.com/FZYGyJONqL
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) October 22, 2025
Coming out of a bye week and in a homecoming spot, you would think this is going to be a game where Iowa State plays with a lot of energy.
One Score Prediction for BYU vs Iowa State
Iowa State jumps out to an early lead, but BYU storms back to take the lead. The offense has a balanced attack, but LJ Martin and Bear Bachmeier lead it on the ground.
Score Prediction: BYU 27, Iowa State 21
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
