The CFP was just a single win away last fall. One more step, and the Iowa State Cyclones might’ve cracked open the door to a level of success previously reserved for bluebloods. The 2024 Cyclones weren’t a fluke—they were physical, disciplined, and dangerous. Yet for all their gains on the field, the biggest revelation in Ames might’ve come off it, from the man still running the program nearly a decade later. In an era when every coach seems halfway out the door, Matt Campbell is still here. Not because he couldn’t leave—but because of what staying taught him.
“I probably would not have been able to answer that maybe a couple years ago,” Campbell said during a June 26 episode of Never Stop Getting Better podcast. “But I feel like me.” Then came the moment that changed his coaching lens for good. “One of the great gifts that happened in the coaching role was COVID hitting, right?” That might sound strange, but for Campbell, who became a head coach at just 32, it was the first time he actually had to stop. “COVID hits right around 40-41 years old and you feel like, holy smokes, like what is going on?”
Two days into lockdown, Matt Campbell looked across the room at his wife and their four children and said, “This is what goes on every day. I missed all of it.” The grind had been consuming—years of nonstop recruiting, long nights, game film, and pressure. “It gave me a little bit of time to reflect on like, now, what are you doing? What’s your life gonna be about?” That moment birthed three new guiding principles that now define his career: “Whatever decision I make, I don’t want to end up coaching everybody else’s kids and not be a great father and husband to my own.”
His second commitment? Culture. “Surround yourself with great people,” Campbell said. That starts in-house. His Iowa State tenure has been marked by rare coaching continuity in a sport that sheds coordinators like leaves in October. “We’ve been able to retain the core nucleus of our staff… I’ve had the same athletic director, [and] I’ve had the same president. I’ve been spoiled with that.” Continuity in Ames isn’t a byproduct—it’s a strategy. “A lot of the staff that came with me from Toledo… a lot of those young coaches have grown and went off to do great things, became great head coaches or are in the NFL.”
The third pillar of his post-COVID perspective goes deeper than wins. “Man, what are you going to stand for when this is all done?” Campbell asked. “They’re never gonna remember what games I won and what games I lost. But they’re gonna remember how you did it and how you made people feel.” In a sport often obsessed with trophies, he remains obsessed with transformation. “We can create a process where young men can be great fathers, great husbands, great leaders in life. That’s been something I’m really proud of.”
And that vision has produced results. Matt Campbell is already ISU’s winningest coach. He’s taken the Cyclones from national punchline to Fiesta Bowl champions and CFP contenders. Before landing in Ames, he won 35 games in four years at Toledo. A former All-American lineman at Mount Union, Campbell’s core belief in “attitude, effort, and precision” has stuck through 10 years, regardless of win totals.
NORMAN, OK – NOVEMBER 20: Head coach Matt Campbell talks with quarterback Brock Purdy #15 of the Iowa State Cyclones during a timeout in the fourth quarter at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooner won 28-21. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Last season, one more win—perhaps against Arizona State—would’ve put Iowa State firmly in the playoff mix alongside programs like SMU and Indiana. That’s how close this program has come to rewriting its own ceiling. But Campbell’s message is that no ceiling is higher than character. “There’s been a lot of great opportunities that have come,” he admitted. “But every time I’ve looked myself in the mirror, it’s like, man, our program stands for something right now.”
“Surround yourself with great people and at the end of the day, it’s all going to end. And the wins and the losses ain’t going to remember, but they’re going to remember how you made them clean and what you stood for along the way. Those are the things that I’ve really tried to do a great job [at] and never have I been perfect, but I tried to live by that mountain system,” Campbell added. They play for each other. We’re going to play as hard as we can. The Playoff might still come. The wins will fluctuate.
Matt Campbell & Iowa State’s window just opened
Just a year removed from nearly crashing the CFP party, Iowa State is right back in the national chatter. This time, they’re not sneaking up on anyone. FOX Sports’ Michael Cohen recently included the Cyclones in his list of 10 programs most likely to make their first-ever Playoff appearance in 2025. That’s no small nod, especially in the ever-expanding chaos of the new college football landscape.
For coach Matt Campbell and ISU, the new postseason format offers more than just a carrot on a stick. It presents a tangible path. Iowa State might not be built to land an At-Large bid most years, but the blueprint is clear: get to Dallas, win the Big 12 title game, and you’ve punched your ticket. That alone gives the program purpose and presence. String together a few of those playoff appearances? Suddenly, recruiting takes a turn. The conversation shifts from competitive to contending…
And 2025 might be the best shot yet. Iowa State returns its rising junior QB1, Rocco Becht, a steady and experienced leader. OC Taylor Mouser and defensive genius Jon Heacock are both back in Ames, ready to reload and refine. The Cyclones aren’t just hoping anymore.
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