Iowa vs. Iowa State rivalry takes on greater importance in expanded College Football Playoff era

In every way, the Iowa vs. Iowa State rivalry is one of the ugliest games in college football . Last season, the teams combined for 12 punts and neither crossed 300 yards of offense. Iowa State had a chance to tie the game last year with 83 seconds left but to no avail. The year prior, Iowa missed a game-tying field goal as time expired. The last six matchups have been decided by 10 or fewer points. Over that time period, half were decided by three or fewer points.

The Cy-Hawk can be an ugly mess, but it's also emblematic of the best college football has to offer. At a time where people fret about the regular season meaning less in the expanded College Football Playoff era, Iowa vs. Iowa State -- Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS, CBSSports.com , CBS Sports App (Free) -- is a reminder that regular-season games are actually more important than ever.

These two schools are separated by only 130 miles in America's 31st biggest state. They're programs built to drag their opponents to hell with dominant defense and ball-control offense. At a time when college football is changing rapidly, the Cy-Hawk Trophy is a perfect example of what the sport needs to preserve.

"I think people want to watch rivalry football games and great games," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. "I think that's what this game has certainly stood for over the test of time. I think that's what makes this game really special. The more you look at what you watch, everyone is tuning into the big games and games that mean a lot with a lot on the line."

Iowa and Iowa State first played in 1894, but Iowa coach Ossie Solem essentially ended the first run of the rivalry after dodging calls to schedule the next matchup. Forty years later, cooler heads prevailed and the modern Cy-Hawk Trophy was born in 1977. Outside of the pandemic season in 2020, these two teams have played every year since.

Campbell has led Iowa State to its greatest period of success in program history. Yet, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has dominated the rivalry anyway. Since Campbell's breakout second season (2017), he is 1-6 against Ferentz. In all other games over that stretch, Iowa State is 50-33 with six winning Big 12 records in seven years.

In this new era, games like the Cy-Hawk are substantially more important. The rivalry marks a marquee test for both programs, each of whom hope to compete for a CFP bid. For the first time, the rivalry game could have a major impact on the College Football Playoff race as the winner has a decent shot at competing for an at-large bid. For the loser, the path becomes far more difficult ... but hope is still alive.

Take Iowa, for example. The Hawkeyes have only one game remaining against a ranked opponent -- on the road against Ohio State . If Iowa wins all the rest, it could set up an 11-2 season with two losses to playoff-bound Ohio State. That's certainly enough to get in the field. A 10-3 season after dropping to Iowa State? That team gets left out.

The stakes may be even higher for the Big 12. If Iowa State beats an Iowa team that could finish top 15 in the country, it will dramatically help the conference's chase for an at-large bid. A win over Iowa could set up an 8-0 start heading into a stretch of three ranked opponents in the final four games. Whether for Iowa State or an opponent, the credibility of beating a top Big Ten opponent is impossible to replicate.

Outside of a top-10 matchup in 2021, Iowa vs. Iowa State hasn't carried national implications in a long while. Iowa hasn't won a conference championship in 20 years or an outright crown since 1985. Iowa State hasn't won a conference title of any type since 1912. The expanded College Football Playoff means the nation has to pay attention to this game. Every time Iowa punter Rhys Dakin or Iowa State punter Tyler Perkins boom another punt, the stakes grow even higher.

Perhaps just as important, though, is that Iowa vs. Iowa State should be a fantastic football game. Iowa State comes into Kinnick Stadium with one of its best teams ever after leading the nation in returning production. The Cyclones have had solid receivers come through the program, but the combination of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel might be the best combo on one roster, at least since 2017. The defense, meanwhile, remains stout with safety Jeremiah Cooper -- returning as an All-America candidate -- leading the way.

"They've been good on defense all the way through and they've been good on offense, too," Ferentz said. "They've changed subtly, but they've got an identity and a system that works really well for them. I think that's why they've been so successful. They run the ball, control the ball."

Iowa is up for the challenge again, however. Linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson combine for one of the top duos in the country. More importantly, freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee and running back Kamari Moulton helped pace a 40-0 win over Illinois State , which ranks as the best performance by the Iowa offense -- in essentially every metric -- in a year. Iowa State will determine immediately whether this improvement was real.

College football is at its best when hated rivalry games have major stakes for the season. The Cy-Hawk Trophy stands as the first example of just how much the expanded College Football Playoff will supercharge that dynamic.