The Iowa State Cyclones have always been a lovable underdog, but in the years under Matt Campbell, they managed to turn more heads as one that was actually worth taking seriously…yet all good things must come to an end eventually.
Since Campbell pulled his little sneak-attack move by booking it to Penn State, the Cyclones have looked like a shell of their former selves, and hold what is perhaps the lowest morale heading into this upcoming season—and to be honest? I get why.
Look at things logically for a moment: Iowa State football is unsightly on a good year until some random coach comes along. Now that coach is gone. Barring a defiance of the odds, wouldn’t most people assume that things would return to “the norm” in Ames? I could see myself doing so, yet in this particular instance, I’m going to put blame more on the schedule than anything else.
The following games headline Iowa State’s 2026 slate as being amongst its toughest: at Iowa, Utah, at BYU, at Arizona, Cincinnati. All well-coached, all coming off of winning campaigns, with those first three finishing as some of the hottest in the nation.
Now, with all of that said, are any of these teams what I would call “great?” No, not exactly, but are they above the paygrade of an ISU that’s lost much of its 2025 personnel and hired outside (from a much-smaller school, no less)? You bet.
Mind you, those are just the headlining obstacles; that list didn't even include the several of what I like to call the “gray” games which, in Iowa State’s case, would have to be West Virginia, Oklahoma State, at Baylor, at UCF, and Kansas State.
To summarize what makes these guys blurry, WVU is inconsistent with an unpredictable peak while being in an especially hard spot on the calendar, OK State has undergone a complete overhaul of its own, Baylor and UCF are road opponents, and K-State is a rival with a new head coach, yet superior QB play. How many wins can you see the Cyclones getting from that bunch? How many of those potential wins are you confident in? Do you have two different answers there? Yeah, me too.
Over the decade leading up to Matt Campbell’s arrival, Iowa State football amassed five records of 3-9 or worse, along with just a single positive one (7-6). If you don’t see a long-term return to that kind of low, I can’t say I blame you. What I can say, however, is that 2026 just might go wrong enough to feel like it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google