Matt Campbell has delivered a miracle in Ames. Eleven wins. A Big 12 title shot. It’s Iowa State’s best season ever. And yet, just months after that historic high, the Cyclones are staring down what might be the most defining fork-in-the-road moment. That starts in Week 0 on August 23 in Dublin, Ireland. Call it Farmageddon – Emerald Isle Edition. But don’t let the tourist backdrop fool you. This is a game that could make or break the Cyclones’ season. And Kansas State folks aren’t downplaying it either.
Iowa State vs. Kansas State. In a spicy July 4 episode on Locked On Kansas State, Wildcats insider Christian Rauh dropped a blunt ultimatum. “If you beat Kansas State week 0, you might only have one loss in the conference and that’ll put you right back in battling for Dr. Pepper,” he said. “So, I really like your your shot for being in the Big 12 if you can get past Kansas State. Now, if that doesn’t happen, yeah, does the wheels fall off? Because that’s exactly where I’m worried about for Kansas State is the wheels fall off in week zero if they don’t start off strong.” And this isn’t just preseason banter. It’s reality.
Source: Imago
With a Big 12 as wide open as ever, Iowa State could go from title contenders to chasing bowl eligibility by Labor Day if they trip in Dublin. In the CFP era, only one team recovered from a Week 0 stumble to make the Playoffs, which is Clemson in 2024. That’s the stake for Matt Campbell here. The Cyclones’ 2025 slate starts with more landmines than cupcakes. After the K-State gauntlet, there’s South Dakota and then it’s Iowa in the Cy-Hawk bloodbath. Even with early easy games like Arkansas State, Arizona, and Cincinnati, they face a brutal late season schedule against Colorado, BYU, and Arizona State followed by TCU, Kansas, and Oklahoma State.
Offensively, it’s Rocco Becht’s show. But without his two top NFL-bound WRs, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, the pressure’s on. East Carolina transfer Chase Sowell is supposed to be the guy but the reality is Becht needs a lot of guys. Especially if Iowa State’s going to keep pace in a conference suddenly flush with offensive firepower. So, there’s practically zero margin for error. And as Matt Campbell’s trying to reload on the field, his athletic director may have just thrown a recruiting wrench into the machine.
Matt Campbell’s team faces culture clash with the NIL era
Coming to revenue-sharing, Iowa State is doing something different than most athletic departments. In a bold move tied to the new House v. NCAA settlement, Cyclone AD Jamie Pollard announced that every ISU athlete from football stars to swimmers will get an equal slice of the school’s $20.5 million player revenue share pool. It’s as democratic as college sports have ever been. The AD defended the approach, saying, “We just felt like that is part of our culture.”
But while culture sounds noble, this is a calculated gamble. The move’s already getting mixed reactions. On Locked In on Cyclones, ISU insider Nick Marovets laid it out saying, “I think it’s kind of undetermined at this point, but there’s one of two things that can happen: Either Iowa State flourishes and we start to see success across the board, more revenue, more growth… or it completely burns Iowa State. And there’s absolutely no positives, nobody wants to come play for Iowa State because they’re getting a smaller percentage of an already small payday compared to other schools.”
Matt Campbell’s fighting two fronts in 2025. One is on the field in a jam-packed Big 12, and off it with a money model that could either define or derail Iowa State’s future.
The post Matt Campbell Faces Kansas State Ultimatum as AD’s Move Sparks Iowa State Questions appeared first on EssentiallySports.
