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It's the Wednesday of Cy-Hawk week, which means the trash talking between Iowa and Iowa State fans has reached a fever pitch. 

Both fanbases are trying to do anything and everything to ignite a social media war from the other, and the constant hate never makes you forget a football game is taking place inside Kinnick Stadium on Saturday (6:30 p.m., NBC). 

Rivalry aspects aside, there's still an actual football game to preview. It's going to be a completely different Iowa State squad on the field, but what are some of the top Cyclones you should keep an eye on? We've got our list here. 

QB Jaylen Raynor 

The obvious place to start is at quarterback. Star quarterback Rocco Becht was one of many players to follow Matt Campbell to Penn State, so new head coach Jimmy Rogers had to find his new signal caller in the transfer portal. The search yielded Arkansas State transfer Jaylen Raynor, who coincidentally made headlines in Iowa after throwing for 222 yards in a narrow loss against Iowa State last season. 

Raynor's first game as the Cyclones' quarterback wasn't a great one through the air (he completed just 50% of his passes), but he did show off the dual-threat ability Phil Parker will certainly be trying to stop, rushing for a pair of touchdowns in the 38-10 victory over Southeast Missouri State. 

RB Cameron Pettaway 

Aiden Flora is currently the lead back for Iowa State, but a name to watch alongside him is Bowling Green transfer Cameron Pettaway. Pettaway only tallied 10 yards on eight carries last weekend, but he's got the talent to be a player in this offense in 2026. The 5-foot-10 Pettaway was the MAC Freshman of the Year after compiling 365 yards at Bowling Green last season. 

The Cyclones struggled to get anything going on the ground against SEMO last weekend (only 108 yards), but Pettaway is going to need to step up if they want to have any chance of winning this game. 

DE Isaac Terrell

Anchoring Iowa State's pass rush is Isaac Terrell. Kirk Ferentz didn't specifically mention Terrell's name during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, but did call the defensive end "a really good football player." 

You only need to watch Terrell play for a few minutes to figure out why. He only recorded three tackles in the SEMO victory, but all three of them were sacks – including one forced fumble as well. Terrell is one of several players on this Cyclone defense that has followed Rogers across his three head coaching jobs – South Dakota State, Washington State, and now here in Ames – and that experience gives Iowa State an immediate defensive threat. 

Terrell will have a tough time going up against Iowa's standout offensive line, but he's certainly a name to watch. 

LB Sullivan Schlimgen 

Though not as experienced as Terrell, Schlimgen is also one of the stars of this defense. The second-year tallied a team-high nine tackles (one sack) in Week 1 and is another Washington State holdover. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native collected 49 tackles for the Cougars last season, including nine against an Ole Miss team that was one win away from playing for a national championship. 

K Kyle Konrardy 

Iowa fans will know this name very well. We've already mentioned Konrardy in our five fast facts, but he has to be on this list because of his history of making clutch field goals against the Hawkeyes. Konrardy has beaten Iowa with a 54-yard field goal in each of the last two years, and he may just do it again in 2026 if given the chance. 

Konrardy hasn't made major headlines outside of the Cy-Hawk game, but he's got a powerful and accurate leg. He kicked a career-high 63-yard field goal against South Dakota last season and was 14-for-18 overall. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io

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