Oct 19, 2024; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Darien Porter (10) and Iowa State Cyclones defensive lineman J.R. Singleton (58) celebrate during their game with the UCF Knights at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images
AMES — Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell spent almost three minutes answering the question in detail.
It hinged on the phrase “competitive endurance” — a term he didn’t coin, but one that’s come to frame each of his nine seasons while leading the program.
Some of his teams have possessed that elusive quality. Some haven’t. But the 2024 Cyclones (7-0, 4-0) seem to fully embody the concept as they prepare to face Texas Tech (5-3, 3-2) in Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. Big 12 matchup (ESPN) at a likely sold-out Jack Trice Stadium.
“I think the reality of having enough humility to first and foremost know that, man, there’s a lot going on,” said Campbell, whose 11th-ranked team seeks its first 8-0 start in program history. “There’s a lot challenging these young people right now, and challenging our coaches and everybody else. And I think having the ability to kind of take a step back and a sense of, man, let’s treat the person first before we attack the team, and attack this week’s game. If we don’t think about it in those steps, then I think we misstep. And believe me, as the leader, I’ve misstepped plenty of times because you’re so excited about the result, but the reality of it is, if those things aren’t aligned, you’ve got no shot.”
That’s where leadership comes in — at every level of Campbell’s program. Winners don’t chase individual accolades. They revel in the success of their teammates, which in turn, enhances their own. And in an age where the transfer portal, NIL money, and the latest, greatest thing apparently reigns supreme, ISU’s managed to “stay the course,” and now finds itself on the precipice of history.
“You’ve got to have that competitive endurance to get to where you want to be,” sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht said. “Especially if you want to go undefeated and potentially be in the Big 12 championship. If you don’t have that, you can’t get there.”
But what is it exactly? That’s hard to pin down precisely. It applies to the minutiae of life as well as the crossroads moments where success meets failure, and one snaking fork forms the thin wavy line of demarcation. It’s also what the Cyclones must provide on Saturday against a Red Raiders team smarting from two straight losses, but talented enough to turn that competitive endurance into a 60-minute-span of collective exhaustion.
“What team do we become in November?” Campbell said. “We’ve done a lot of firsts here that haven’t been done and that’s all awesome. But the reality of it is, you’re defined by how you finish, and what you do to finish this thing out.”
The Cyclones have gone 4-0 in November just once during Campbell’s tenure. That came amid COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and led to a first-ever Big 12 title game appearance and first-ever New Year’s Six Bowl win. ISU went 2-2 in November the following season and matched that .500 mark in the month in 2023 — proving that “competitive endurance” must be earned, not merely sought.
“We’ve got big games coming,” said Campbell, whose team has attained bowl eligibility for the seventh time in his nine seasons. “Our kids have done a great job of putting ourselves in position to play important games in November, and we’re gonna have to demand to get ourselves better, and I think that’s the great challenge in front of this team right now.”
It’s also a challenge they fully plan to meet, even as injuries pile up and the stakes spiral upward.
“I think our senior leadership has been great,” said senior cornerback Darien Porter, who holds the third-best coverage grade nationally at his position (89.7) according to PFF College. “But it takes a lot (from) our young guys, too, to accept that leadership. A lot of credit to (them), but (as) seniors, we wanted to change how Iowa State football has been historically. We wanted to be different and do something different around here. It took a lot of responsibility for us, but a lot of the guys have fallen in, doing what they have to do.”
