Iowa State Football: Matt Campbell should have won Coach of the Year

Iowa State Football: 3 reasons Matt Campbell should have won Coach of the Year

AMES, IA - NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Matt Campbell of the Iowa State Cyclones looks down at the ground as he leave the field after losing 49-42 to the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Jack Trice Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Ames, Iowa. The Oklahoma State Cowboys won 49-42 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

2 of 4

3. Defeated the best the Big 12 has to offer

The Sooners lost only one game this year. That loss came to the Clones, at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. Iowa State pulled off what ended up being one of the biggest upsets of the year.

Despite the loss to Iowa State, the Sooners still finished the regular season with a No. 2 ranking, and a spot in the College Football Playoff field. And, Iowa State continued that momentum from the win over the Sooners in the following weeks, with a four game winning streak.

The end to the season was not as kind as that middle stretch that got the Clones bowl eligible. Yet, the four game win streak over the Sooners, Frogs, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Kansas Jayhawks, will go down among the best memories since Iowa State joined the Big 12.

Campbell deserves a lot of credit in not being afraid of the top dogs in the conference, and posing tough challenges even in losses in Big 12 play. You could argue that Iowa State should have won both the Oklahoma State and Kansas State contests.

Home/Iowa State Cyclones