Iowa State Cyclones

Big 12 · Ames, IA

As ofWeek 6
Rank#46
Rating1528.80
Vs preseason+7.53

2026 weekly history

Rank and rating after each published week. New rows appear automatically as weekly snapshots are published.

Preseason501521.270.00—
Week 1541513.05-8.22-8.22
Week 2491521.86+0.59+8.81
Week 3411541.74+20.47+19.88
Week 4461537.57+16.30-4.17
Week 5481530.23+8.96-7.34
Week 6461528.80+7.53-1.43

Why this preseason rating?

Every team starts at 1500 (national average), then gains or loses points from four measurable categories. See how the formula works →

1500.00
+26.55
+0.75
-24.70
+18.67
1521.27

Underlying data

Raw inputs from CFDB used to build the preseason rating. Each metric is standardized nationally before contributing to the score. Read the full methodology →

Prior strength (2025)

1629
9.6
9.9

Roster quality (2026)

669.55
203.31

Returning production

2.9%

Transfer portal

48 (avg 0.851)
48 (avg 0.87)
0.00

Game-by-game audit

Each completed game updates this team's rating using opponent strength, home-field advantage, and how the result compared to expectation. For every game below you can see the rating at kickoff, the opponent's rating, the model's expected margin, the actual scoreboard margin, the gap between those two, and the exact rating points gained or lost. Ratings and game-audit tables for each published week are linked above that week's results.

vs Southeast Missouri State — 38-10home
Poll rank before
#50
Rating before
1521.27
Opponent rating
1294.60
Expected margin
+37.88
Actual margin
+28.00
vs expectation
-9.88
Rating change
-8.21
Poll rank after
#54
vs Iowa — 13-16away
Poll rank before
#58
Rating before
1513.05
Opponent rating
1578.27
Expected margin
-13.60
Actual margin
-3.00
vs expectation
+10.60
Rating change
+8.81
Poll rank after
#49
vs Bowling Green — 55-7home
Poll rank before
#49
Rating before
1521.86
Opponent rating
1386.96
Expected margin
+24.08
Actual margin
+48.00
vs expectation
+23.92
Rating change
+19.88
Poll rank after
#41
vs Utah — 17-31home
Poll rank before
#41
Rating before
1541.74
Opponent rating
1626.60
Expected margin
-8.97
Actual margin
-14.00
vs expectation
-5.03
Rating change
-4.18
Poll rank after
#46
vs West Virginia — 45-42home
Poll rank before
#46
Rating before
1537.57
Opponent rating
1484.16
Expected margin
+11.82
Actual margin
+3.00
vs expectation
-8.82
Rating change
-7.33
Poll rank after
#48
vs BYU — 10-24away
Poll rank before
#48
Rating before
1530.23
Opponent rating
1586.68
Expected margin
-12.28
Actual margin
-14.00
vs expectation
-1.72
Rating change
-1.43
Poll rank after
#46