Iowa State Football: 2018 Game-by-game predictions

2017 was a watershed season for Matt Campbell and Iowa State football. The big question is: was it a fluke, or are the Cyclones here to stay?

There are many words that can be used to describe the 2017 season for Iowa State: improbable, unlikely, unexpected, etc. But, for Matt Campbell, there is one word that he would likely use: progress. 2017 was a watershed year for the Cyclones under Campbell’s reign, following a 2016 where Iowa State finished 3-9 (could’ve very easily finished 6-6), the Cyclones rolled to an 8-5 record and a Liberty Bowl win against Memphis.

Iowa State was a very senior-laden team across the board, with stars such as Allen Lazard, Joel Lanning, Marchie Murdock, Kamari Cotton-Moya, and J.D. Waggoner. With those players gone, there will need to be some leadership shoes to fill, and players such as Willie Harvey, David Montgomery and Kyle Kempt are next line to keep this winning train rolling for Matt Campbell’s program.

Expectations have been elevated for Cyclone fans as the 2018 season draws near, but a temporary sidetrack due to the Urban Meyer investigation and Matt Campbell’s possible connection to Ohio State connection has many in Ames nervous. However, it is still guaranteed at least through this season that Campbell is on the sidelines and other Big 12 schools will have to prepare extra for the Cyclones. This is how I envision the season going down.