2026 Game I: Iowa State versus SEMO preview
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Date: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020
Time: Noon CDT
Location: MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium, Ames
Capacity: 61,500
Line: Iowa State -30.5
Television: ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Shawn Kenney Analyst: Todd Doxzon
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network
Play-by-Play: John Walters Analyst: Eric Heft Sideline: Ryan Harklau
I feel like I have said this about 10 times already but the Jimmy Rogers era officially begins Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.
Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) opens the 2026 season against Southeast Missouri (1-0, 0-0 OVC) in what should serve as a first real look at what this rebuilt Cyclone roster is capable of under a new coaching staff.
Know your opponent
Do not sleep on SEMO walking through the door on Saturday. The Redhawks are picked second in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll and head coach Tom Matukewicz is in his 13th season running this program. This is not a team that shows up to collect a check and go home quietly.
That said SEMO is dealing with significant roster turnover of their own. Half of their roster is made up of newcomers and they return just eight starters, five on offense and three on defense. The experience they do return is concentrated on the offensive line where Jalen Nettles, Demoni Taylor, Sam Reynolds and Wilbert Phillips combined for 34 starts last season. That unit will be the one to watch on the defensive side for Iowa State.
Players to watch on the SEMO side include linebacker Cole Dutkovich, running back Khyair Spain and wide receiver Jobe Bryant. However the biggest news out of the SEMO camp heading into Saturday is that senior defensive linebacker McCoy Casey is no longer with the program. Casey was named a third team preseason FCS All-American and posted 61 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks in 2024 before a foot injury limited him to just four games in 2025. Losing a player of that caliber right before the season opener is a significant blow to a SEMO defense already navigating considerable roster turnover.
What Iowa State needs to establish
For Iowa State this game is about establishing an identity more than winning by a specific margin. Three things worth watching closely on Saturday:
Jaylen Raynor’s command of the offense. This is his first game in a Cyclone uniform and his first taste of live competition under a new system. The efficiency of the offense in the first half will tell you a lot about how quickly this group has come together under offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl.
The defensive line. Isaac Terrell and Caden Crawford are two of the most highly graded returning edge rushers in the Big 12 and Saturday is their first chance to show it against live competition. SEMO’s experienced offensive line creates an interesting early test for a defensive front with high expectations.
Turnover margin. Iowa State cannot afford to spot a motivated FCS program extra possessions in the opener. Clean football on both sides of the ball is the baseline expectation for a game like this.
The Outlook
Iowa State enters Saturday as a significant favorite (30.5 point favorites to be exact) but the real story is what this game reveals about the direction of this program heading into a much more difficult schedule in the weeks ahead.
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