College Football is back the Cyclones and Mildcats are kicking off the season, no, really, like it’s the first game of the year, from Ireland and there will be plenty of action as the rivalry returns from across the pond. While there will be plenty of players to keep an eye on as a fresh season arrives, here are my picks for THE guys to watch out for on the offensive side of the ball.
Iowa State
For the Cyclones, I understand the desire to watch the skill position guys. Despite losing arguably the top duo in college
football from last year in Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, the Cyclones have been able to elevate the play of most everyone who comes into that room, so I’m oddly confident in that room despite the “ORs” in the depth chart. The player to watch this week for Iowa State is whoever gets rolled out at Center. The interior offensive line is a mess in the depth chart with Dylan Barrett, Brendan Black, and Jim Bonifas all listed as potential starters for week zero and while it’s not the sexiest position to keep your eyes on, it’ll be an important one this week. Kansas State has a very good and especially deep defensive line this year and the line, particularly on the interior, will need to be sorted as we get to kickoff. The Cyclones will need those guys to step up, especially in trying to “establish the run” and not be forced into a one-dimensional offense immediately on Saturday.
Kansas State
There’s a lot of players for K-State that I could put here, but I think the biggest thing for me in how Iowa State wins this game is to slow down the run game, so I’ll go with Dylan Edwards. Edwards had a slow year for much of 2024 for the Mildcats before absolutely exploding in their bowl game against Rutgers when he had 196 yards and 2 scores on just 18 carries. K-State came back in the 2nd half to beat Rutgers 44-41 and Edwards sealed the deal with a 36-yard touchdown in the final five minutes. When the Cyclones have been able to win this game, it’s been largely due to their ability to slow down the run game, and I don’t see that changing this year.
