Matt Campbell has done a phenomenal job at Iowa State and it has resulted in a 6-3 record so far this season. While the season isn’t over, Campbell has already made a solid case to win a lot of coach of the year awards. Through nine games, here is why Matt Campbell should be the coach of they year.
Matt Campbell (desmoinesregister.com)
Immediately before Campbell, Paul Rhoads was the head coach at Iowa State. He had seven seasons to get something going and was unable to sustain success. Rhoads did have a couple of marquee wins, most notably when they helped keep Oklahoma State out of the BCS Championship running in 2011. Included in these wins was a victory in the Insight Bowl over Minnesota.
Rhoads was able to make three bowl games in his first four seasons, but then the Cyclones faded quickly. The last three seasons of Rhoads’ tenure resulted in a total of eight wins for Iowa State. He was never able to go .500 or better in conference and as a result, was fired. Winning consistently at Iowa State is a hard job and unfortunately coaches like Rhoads tend to wear out their welcome, before being let go.
The roster didn’t have much experienced talent on it, so Iowa State needed to find a coach who could do the most with what he started with, while recruiting well for the future. They chose the right man for the job in Matt Campbell.
Campbell was hired because of his success at Toledo. In four seasons (and a bowl game before his first full season) as the head coach of Toledo he won 35 games and only lost 15. Fortunately for the Cyclones, Campbell is starting to bring that type of feel to their program.
The lack of talent on the roster was apparent in Campbell’s first season. The Cyclones finished with a 3-9 record and it looked like more was in store for the future of Iowa State football. They did have two Big 12 wins and showed flashes of being a good football team against Texas Tech, when they won 66-10, but for the most point it was a long season.
This season Iowa State has had to endure a lot of adversity. They started off 2-2 with losses to Iowa and Texas. Then, their starting quarterback, Jacob Park, had to go on medical leave before their game against Oklahoma in Norman. It looked bleak for Iowa State who had to use unheralded Kyle Kempt and former quarterback turned linebacker Joel Lanning to run the offense. They were able to get the job done and upset the undefeated Sooners in Norman. That, in and of itself, is worth a lot. Add on the fact that Campbell worked this magic with a quarterback that had to walk on to play JUCO football and it is obvious what a great coaching job he did and is doing.
The Cyclones didn’t stop there. They won three straight games after that to improve their record to 6-2. This stretch included a home win over undefeated TCU. That marked two wins over top five teams in the same season. Although they lost their last game on the road against West Virginia, it has still been a miraculous season. They have three games left and are already bowl eligible. They can still make the Big 12 Championship, as it is a mess in the standings.
Iowa State should be able to finish out the season strong against Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State. Even if they don’t, Campbell has completely exceeded expectations in his second season in Ames. The big part of winning a coaching award is exceeding expectations and Campbell has already done that, with the potential to do more damage. The voters for these awards will not only remember that he is doing a good job at Iowa State, but that he is doing so with a backup quarterback.
If Cambell and the Cyclones can finish the season with another win or two, he will bring home multiple coach of they year awards.
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