The “boring” style of Iowa football can contribute to victory

Boring football.

That's the plan for Saturday, at least for Iowa's defense. For the Hawkeyes, the road to a Cy Hawk victory starts with doing what they do best.

Chad Leistikow's Iowa-Iowa State prediction

Iowa State (1-0) at No. 21 Iowa (1-0)

Time, TV, Line: 2:30 p.m., CBS, Iowa with 3 points

Where Iowa State has the edge: Despite Cade McNamara's 251-yard, three-touchdown opening game for Iowa against Illinois State, the Cyclones have the edge when it comes to throwing the football. Becht has improved tremendously since his second career start against Iowa last year. An efficient, crisp passing game is one way to crack Phil Parker's fundamentally solid defense, and Iowa State is quite capable of doing that. Additionally, the Cyclones should be under less pressure in this game, and can rest easy knowing that the away team has won nine of the last 11 series meetings.

Why Iowa native Xavier Nwankpa is looking forward to the CyHawk game

“Growing up here, this is a really big game,” said the Hawkeyes strong safety.

Where Iowa has the edge: The return of tight end Luke Lachey, the re-emergence of running back Kaleb Johnson and the discovery of freshman receiver Reece Vander Zee give Iowa confidence that it can take advantage of Iowa State's depleted linebackers, either on passes over the middle (which McNamara showed to be a strength last week) or in the run game. Defensive tackles Yahya Black and Aaron Graves have the ability to block Iowa State's Abu Sama-focused run game and make the Cyclones one-dimensional. The Hawkeyes also have a proven big-legged kicker in Drew Stevens, while Iowa State's Kyle Konrardy has never attempted a college field goal. Special teams always play a role in this duel.