Iowa State·Big 12

2020 — The Top-10 Year

Iowa State finished 2020 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.

Record 9-3
Final result Bowl season Won the Fiesta Bowl
AP final #8 post-bowls
SP+ +5.5 last-week
Era —
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
L vs Louisi 14-31 W @ TCU 37-34 W vs Okla 37-30 W vs Texa Tec 31-15 L @ Okla St 21-24 W @ Kansas 52-22 W vs Baylor 38-31 W vs Kans Sta 45-0 W @ Texas 23-20 W vs West Vir 42-6 L vs Okla 21-27 W vs Oregon 34-17 Bowl

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2020.

Defining moments
The statement

The 2020 season's largest margin: Iowa State 45, Kansas State 0. A 45-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Iowa State 14, Louisiana 31. A 17-point margin the season is remembered by.

The postseason

The season's last act: Iowa State beat Oregon 34-17 in the postseason.

"Go Clones"
— Iowa State fanbase voice · 2020· synthesized
What it meant

2020 is a middle chapter for Iowa State — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.