How Matt Campbell and Iowa State bounced back from their worst season together (The Athletic - Paywall)

[CoachHines3]

How Matt Campbell and Iowa State bounced back from their worst season together

Campbell knew standing pat wasn’t the answer after the Cyclones spiraled in 2022. Now they're chasing new heights for the program.

www.nytimes.com

Some quotes that stood out to me.


“Coach Campbell did a good job over the past few years getting rid of the ego and entitlement out of our locker room, not even on the roster, but on the coaching staff,” quarterback Rocco Becht said. “And fast forward to this year, I really do think we have a team that’s built correctly, built around the right people.”


But that’s when Campbell’s players noticed a change. The coach ceded some leadership responsibilities to his older players. The Cyclones beat Oklahoma State the next week, knocked off Kansas State to end the regular season and finished 7-6. Becht emerged as a reliable quarterback and was one of 19 returning starters in 2024.
“He has changed a little bit,” said Becht, now a redshirt sophomore. “Obviously, his mentality is the same. He’s always been a guy who wants to win, who wants to do it the right way. But I feel like what he’s changed, and not even just in himself, but for this team we’re not really a coach-driven team anymore. We’re a player-driven team, and I feel like he did a good job of transferring that over to us and leading us that way.”

 

[jsb]

The fact that the bad season was only 1 year, is frankly not talked about enough. It would have been so damn easy for it to turn into 2 or more seasons.

We are so, so lucky.

 

[jsb]

You also get the athletic articles if you have. NY Times subscription.

 

[Trice]

“Coach Campbell did a good job over the past few years getting rid of the ego and entitlement out of our locker room, not even on the roster, but on the coaching staff,” quarterback Rocco Becht said. “And fast forward to this year, I really do think we have a team that’s built correctly, built around the right people.”

Honestly the whole quote is a real stunner but the part in bold...wow.

 

[CoachHines3]

Honestly the whole quote is a real stunner but the part in bold...wow.

I thought so too

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

The fact that the bad season was only 1 year, is frankly not talked about enough. It would have been so damn easy for it to turn into 2 or more seasons.

We are so, so lucky.

I think the gambling thing kind of saved us from multi year mediocrity. Of course Campbell responded well and that's what really made the difference but I'm not sure it happens without that fiasco.

 

[Trice]

I thought so too

Threw 'em under the bus, then hopped in the driver's seat and backed the bus over 'em again for good measure lol

 

[jsb]

One thing that the article mentions that we don’t talk nearly enough about is that from 1989-2016, Iowa state had only ONE winning conference record. Campbell has had 6 from 2017-2023.

 

[CyDegen]

I know that was painful for Dochterman to write

 

[Cyclonsin]

Honestly the whole quote is a real stunner but the part in bold...wow.

I can't help but wonder which coach(es) that comment was aimed at... Myers? Langs? Manning?

 

[jsb]

Honestly the whole quote is a real stunner but the part in bold...wow.

It’s interesting. My guess is that he probably didn’t mean for it to sound like he was mostly talking about the coaches.

 

[keepngoal]

This site is funded by subscriptions and subverting a paywall isn't allowed. Share a few sentences or a small paragraph, not a way around someones income.

 

[jsb]

I think the gambling thing kind of saved us from multi year mediocrity. Of course Campbell responded well and that's what really made the difference but I'm not sure it happens without that fiasco.

Maybe. It’s hard to know. The turnaround last year was something special. But we lost a lot of good players.

 

[JEFF420]

This site is funded by subscriptions and subverting a paywall isn't allowed. Share a few sentences or a small paragraph, not a way around someones income.

lol ok boss

 

[CyDegen]

This site is funded by subscriptions and subverting a paywall isn't allowed. Share a few sentences or a small paragraph, not a way around someones income.

He posted the link to the original article and shared a few paragraphs. What more do you want???

 

[cayin]

The fact that the bad season was only 1 year, is frankly not talked about enough. It would have been so damn easy for it to turn into 2 or more seasons.

We are so, so lucky.

and so many of those games could have gone our way.

 

[keepngoal]

He posted the link to the original article and shared a few paragraphs. What more do you want???

I don't want more, the OP and the post are fine. What was cleaned up and the reason for the post were links to subvert their paywall. Take it easy champ.

 

[ISULibrarian]

Ok, so this is not subverting a paywall. The Des Moines Public Library offers free access to the New York Times and you can access it here: https://www.dmpl.org/databases/new-york-times. You will still need to create a New York Times account.

 

[nhclone]

I don't have an Athletic or NY Times sub and it let me read the whole thing anyways. The subscriber login thing didn't pop up until I had already finished reading.

 

[RedlineSi]

I have 4 free 30 day passes for The Athletic.

Anyone want one?