IOWA CITY, Iowa — Rarely does the annual Cy-Hawk game lack for off-field drama, and this year, there are multiple elements that will be in play at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday.

First, the embers of a gambling investigation continue to flicker for both the Iowa and Iowa State football teams. Six football players from Iowa State and five from Iowa either were booted from their teams or suspended for violating NCAA gambling rules. Both teams won their season openers, but the challenge grows for both clubs this week.

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Second, former President Donald Trump will attend the game as a guest of former Iowa tight end Matt Whitaker and former Iowa State receiver Jack Whitver. Whitaker served as acting attorney general in the former president’s cabinet while Whitver is the Iowa Senate Majority Leader.

It’s hardly unusual for potential presidential candidates to stump at the Cy-Hawk game, especially in the autumn before the Iowa Caucuses. Trump previously appeared at Jack Trice Stadium before the 2015 Cy-Hawk game and thousands of supporters waited for him at a tailgate outside the stadium. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was supposed to attend that day but he instead met with supporters off-site. The Iowa Caucuses for the Republican Party are scheduled for Jan. 15, 2024.

Candidates rarely require extra security at the stadiums, but current and former high-ranked officials have a different entourage, including the Secret Service. That creates some logistical challenges for the host school on a day when perhaps 30,000 extra fans attend tailgates without entering the game. As of Tuesday afternoon, nothing had changed for Iowa State’s gameday management, according to department spokesman Nick Joos.

But it does provide an added distraction for the football programs.

“Great,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz deadpanned. “There will be about 60,000 other people, too, so that’s great.

“It’s election year in Iowa.”

As far as the gambling probe, Iowa is without three players with varying suspensions. The Hawkeyes are appealing defensive tackle Noah Shannon’s season-long suspension. Shannon was not charged with an aggravated misdemeanor, unlike 15 other athletes combined from both schools.

Ferentz and Iowa State coach Matt Campbell did not discuss the probe with one another this offseason.

“We’re both in our worlds,” Ferentz said. “A lot of respect for him, certainly, and their program.”

Rivalry component

Except for 2020, the Hawkeyes and Cyclones have played annually since 1977. The last two times they played at Jack Trice Stadium, ESPN’s College GameDay aired live outside the stadium’s south side.

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Iowa has won the last five games in Ames, including a 27-17 victory in a top-10 duel two years ago. The Cyclones returned the favor last year with a 10-7 win at Kinnick Stadium. It was Iowa State’s first Cy-Hawk victory for Campbell and the first for the program since 2014. Those facts were not lost upon Iowa players.

“You grow up watching this game as a kid and in my town at least, this is a game where you get everybody over to the house, everybody in town, your friends and you all watch this game together,” said Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean, who is from western Iowa. “I think being from Iowa means a little more.”

“Being from Ames, it means a lot to me,” said Iowa defensive end and captain Joe Evans. “I have a lot of buddies that I would get text messages from this week, and they’re talking trash to me. But I just try to stay off my phone as much as possible. But the game means a lot to me and just hoping to go out there and get a win.”

The Cy-Hawk may have challenges remaining in place with conference realignment. The contract runs through 2027, but with both the Big Ten and Big 12 expanding to 18 teams, the leagues could expand their schedules. Should that take place, it could force clause 11, which ends the series without payment for damages.

“I think time will tell,” Campbell said. “Obviously, I’m a huge proponent of the game, just because I think it’s so great for our state. I think it’s a great test for both teams in the early part of the football season. It’s a very unique rivalry game, too. You get two teams that are so close that are in two different conferences and you play that game at the beginning of the season rather than the end of the season.”

Nobody has participated in more Cy-Hawk games than Ferentz. This is his 24th as head coach and he coached Iowa’s offensive line against the Cyclones from 1981-89.

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“It’s a big game in our state for good reason,” Ferentz said. “It’s a good thing for the state certainly, but with it comes a lot of intensity. It’s going to be a great environment on Saturday.”

New Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara played more than three quarters with an injured right quad on Saturday and made a quality first appearance. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. But his limitations did alter Iowa’s play calling and impacted the Hawkeyes in a short-yardage situation.

The Hawkeyes traditionally call for a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 but late in the first quarter, McNamara handed off instead. Running back Leshon Williams was stopped short at the Utah State 29-yard line.

“I don’t think I’m sharing too much about our playbook,” Ferentz said. “I guess anybody who saw it Saturday, we probably would have done it on fourth-and-1 and quick gone out there and snapped the ball. But, yeah, it’s really not on the menu right now.”

“I don’t think I’m at 100 percent, but I definitely am trying to get as close as I possibly can,” said McNamara, who was wearing a full-length sleeve over his right leg.

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Schematically, it rules out some bootleg and rollout options for McNamara. It also could be difficult for him to scramble.

“You’re benefiting from experience (with McNamara), but you’re not benefiting from that play for sure,” Ferentz said. “We’re not going to have him bootleg and the Chuck Long play from ’85. Probably won’t pull that one.”

Still, Iowa State sees what McNamara brings to the Iowa offense.

“I think at the quarterback position, obviously the respect factor that you have for a young man that has had the success in college football that Cade’s had, you can tell (he’s) very smart, very intelligent, the people, his players believe in him,” Campbell said. “I think that’s exuded off the videotape.”

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Punting is winning

Iowa punter Tory Taylor didn’t play in the Cy-Hawk in his first season when COVID-19 shelved the rivalry in 2020. But in the two seasons he has participated, the series has grown on the native Australian.

“I can really just remember, I guess how humble and modest their fans are out there,” Taylor said. “It’s a pretty nice place to play. It’s not like there are 8-year-olds hanging over the fence, giving you the rude finger or anything like that. So excited to go back there and enjoy such a pleasant environment.

“All jokes aside, it’s probably my favorite game of the year. My favorite game that I’ve probably ever played was at Iowa State a couple of years ago. It was obviously a big matchup — which it is every year — every game is pretty big. But that was a fun game.”

In 2021, Taylor was instrumental in handing the Hawkeyes a 27-17 win by averaging 51.1 yards on eight punts. He parked five of them inside the 20-yard line (6, 9, 10, 13, 20).

Saturday could make for a punting festival. With Taylor, the Hawkeyes have a first-team All-American in 2022. The Cyclones counter with Tyler Perkins, who averaged 53.6 yards on his eight punts, including a long of 70 yards on Saturday against Northern Iowa.

(Top photo: Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)