I’ve never been in the Iowa State locker room, but we know for a fact that (1) Campbell had a clock counting down to the Iowa game in the off-season, and (2) it may or may not have been a separate clock dedicated entirely to Iowa, considering an Iowa State insider said that is in fact what happened.
I don’t disagree that it is just a motivational tactic, but don’t try to tell me that Campbell cares about every conference game more than he does the Iowa game (not directed at you in particular). I haven’t seen any evidence of a “Beat Texas Tech” or “Beat West Virginia” clock running in the off-season.