The start of a new football season brings more challenges than usual for Iowa State.
Coach Matt Campbell left the program at the end of last year to take over at Penn State. New coach Jimmy Rogers has no returning starters on offense or defense.
The Cyclones will aim for a quick start on Saturday when they host FCS opponent Southeast Missouri State in Ames.
Rogers, who guided South Dakota State to the 2023 FCS championship and spent last season at Washington State, was asked what a successful season opener would look like.
“Will we be perfect? We won’t be; I don’t expect them to be,” Rogers said. “But I know the guys are ready to cut it loose and play somebody else.”
One bit of good news for Iowa State, which went 8-4 last year but declined a bowl bid because of a lack of healthy players amid its coaching transition, is that its quarterback brings loads of experience to his new team.
Jaylen Raynor brings 36 career starts with him from Arkansas State. Last year, Raynor completed 66.5% of his passes for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns while running for seven more scores.
While the Cyclones are a work in progress, so are the Redhawks. Unlike Iowa State, though, they have already played a game. Most FCS schools used Week Zero to open the season and Southeast Missouri State was no exception, edging Indiana State 23-21 on Aug. 29 on a 45-yard field goal by Justin Keller with 7:04 remaining in the game.
Braylen Ragland completed 26 of 36 passes for 274 yards and a score to overcome the lack of a running game. The Redhawks managed just 53 yards on 30 attempts.
The Redhawks have been picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference under 13th-year coach Tom Matukewicz.
“I just want us to be proud of ourselves,” he said. “We’re not an outcome-based program; we’re a process-based program.”
Iowa State toppled the RedHawks 42-10 four years ago in the teams’ only previous meeting.