By Mark Pszonak
Now in his ninth season as head coach at Iowa State, even most casual college football fans are aware of Matt Campbell’s talents. However, what he is accomplishing this season in Ames deserves more attention, as he has the Cyclones on the verge of a historic season.
After their hard-fought 38-35 victory over UCF, Iowa State is now 7-0 and ranked #10 nationally. This is coming off a season when the Cyclones finished 7-6, lost to Memphis in the Liberty Bowl and entered this season unranked and picked by the media to finish 6th in the Big 12.
To better understand what Coach Campbell has accomplished at Iowa State you need to look at the school’s football history. With the Cyclones already being bowl eligible this season, this will be their seventh bowl game in Campbell’s nine seasons. Without Coach Campbell, the Cyclones played in 12 bowl games in 120 years.
Iowa State has never been an easy place to win, even with Coach Campbell’s recent successes. And no matter what they have recently accomplished on the field or will accomplish this season, the Iowa Hawkeyes will remain the top team in the state. But this just makes Coach Campbell’s accomplishments even more impressive.
He has managed to bring this success to Ames without any high school recruiting advantages, without a winning history and with minimal usage of the transfer portal. Coach Campbell has done most of this by recruiting his type of player and then developing them during their years in Ames. And at the same time, the Cyclones have been able to keep most of their top players from entering the transfer portal, which is an impressive feat nowadays.
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Taking a quick look at some of Iowa State’s top players this season, QB Rocco Becht and CB Jontez Williams were three-stars from Florida, WR Jaylin Noel was a three-star from Missouri, RB Carson Hansen was a three-star from Minnesota, S Malik Verdon was a three-star from Ohio and S Beau Freyler was a three-star from Colorado. None were highly recruited, and none are from Iowa. And when the Cyclones do add players from the portal, they do so modestly but successfully. WR Jayden Higgins (Eastern Kentucky) has totaled 98 receptions for 1,546 yards and 12 touchdowns in 20 games, while Jaylon Jackson (Eastern Michigan) has become an important part of the rushing attack this season.
The Cyclones have home games remaining against Texas Tech and Cincinnati, plus trips to Kansas and Utah, before the season finale in Ames against #16 Kansas State. On paper there is a very good chance the Cyclones will be undefeated going into the game against the Wildcats, but the Big 12 has been crazy and unpredictable this season so assumptions shouldn’t be made.
Whatever happens in the next six weeks, Iowa State fans should cherish this season and opportunity. There is no reason that every Iowa State fan shouldn’t be dreaming of a run to the National Championship, but to again put in context, the Cyclones have never even had a 10-win season. NEVER. And they’ve only had three 9-win seasons: 2020 with Coach Campbell, 2000 with Coach Dan McCarney and my personal favorite, 1906 with Coach A.W. Ristine.
So, while a run to the National Championship should be the goal, the Cyclones have an opportunity for plenty of other memorable moments during the next couple of months. And those opportunities are only realistic because of Coach Campbell.
