Iowa State enters the 2026 season amid a full roster reset following Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State, with zero returning starters and over 50 players entering the transfer portal. New head coach Jimmy Rogers, in his first year after one season at Washington State, has assembled a largely transfer-based unit featuring quarterback Jaylen Raynor and standout running back Aiden Flora. The Cyclones sit at 3-2 through early October, with wins over Southeast Missouri State, Bowling Green, and West Virginia offset by narrow losses to Iowa and Utah. Their remaining Big 12 schedule includes road tests at BYU, Arizona, Baylor, and UCF plus home dates against Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, and Kansas State, creating a narrow path to bowl eligibility that explains the market’s conservative win-total pricing around the 4.5-to-5.5 range.