Iowa State’s Matt Campbell poised to reemerge as hot coaching commodity after comeback win over Iowa

Matt Campbell could feel the game slipping away. 

The Iowa State coach had come oh-so-close so many times against in-state rival Iowa only to come up short all but once. In Campbell’s last three losses to Kirk Ferentz’s Iowa, the total combined margin was 18 points.  

Down 19-7 in the third quarter, Campbell felt his team teetering on the edge. One more mistake, one more missed opportunity and that might be all it’d take to push the Cyclones over. Campbell’s own frustration eventually teetered over the edge as he raged against an assistant for a special teams miscue.

But Iowa State never fell off the edge. 

Instead, the Cyclones scored the next 13 points to stun No. 21 Iowa 20-19 on a successful 54-yard Kyle Konrardy field goal with six seconds left in the game. Quarterback Rocco Becht came up huge late and jumpstarted the team’s comeback efforts with a 75-yard touchdown pass. 

“Quite honestly, our kids’ poise was probably better than their head coach’s poise at times,” Campbell said after the game. “Our kids’ poise and mentality to just stay in there and keep playing was incredible.” 

The Cy-Hawk game had been a House of Horrors for Campbell. Finally beating Iowa gives Campbell the marquee win he desperately needed to make both himself and his program nationally relevant again. Campbell had already proven he could elevate Iowa State beyond its perceived place in the college football pecking order, but the program had slipped in recent years as the reality of how challenging it is to consistently win in Ames, Iowa, became clear. An 11-14 record in his two previous seasons knocked Campbell from his perch as one of the nation’s top names to consider for prominent job openings. 

Don’t be surprised to see a win over Iowa propel Campbell back on those lists, especially with a more than manageable six-game stretch coming up that could see Iowa State 8-0 and ranked headed into a game against Kansas. As CBS Sports noted before Saturday’s game, the industry still holds Campbell in high regard. 

“He probably stayed a year too long, but if he won eight or nine games this year, hell yeah he’d be a hot commodity again,” one industry source told CBS Sports. “He can’t go 6-6 or 7-5. That doesn’t really move the needle. If he wins nine games, he’s right back on everybody’s radar.”

Another source said about beating Iowa: “It’s OK, here we go. You get a lot of momentum.” 

Of the top jobs that could open up this season — Florida, Baylor, Arkansas — none is a perfect fit for Campbell, according to industry sources. Campbell has been very picky in the past when weighing job opportunities and is content to stay in a comfortable position rather than jump to a place that isn’t the right fit. Campbell has been waiting on a top Midwest job that comes with a realistic path to win big (think a Notre Dame or Michigan type), but the timing hasn’t worked out in the past. There’s no obvious option there expected to open up as of now, according to industry sources, but you never know what could pop up once the dominoes start falling. What happened last season after Nick Saban’s retirement decision is a good example.

There will be plenty of time to debate Campbell’s potential options come coaching search season. For now, Campbell is focused on what he can do in Ames this season after a thrilling win over Iowa. After a challenging last two seasons, Iowa State’s future looks promising. 

“I’m going to just say this respectfully, our goal is not to win one game,” Campbell said. “I’ve been here for nine years and I probably tick our fanbase off. I’m not trying to win one game; I’m trying to win them all. The reality of it is we haven’t won a championship here. 

“We’re trying to create a championship mentality and we’ve been damn close here.”