The narratives that people are citing as reasons to cool on Campbell are 1) his comments in a presser this week about process/results, 2) 6-5 record in 2021 with an experienced team that won a NY6 bowl last year, and 3) record vs Iowa (0-5, they didn't play in 2020)
Let's start with the "Coach Speak" comments ...
The comments in the presser are coach speak to the media and that's that. Moreover, as many of you probably don't want to hear, the most important thing for a coach to establish is process and consistency within the program ... do that and the results tend to follow. I'm not going to say that winning and losing doesn't matter, but the reality is that Iowa State's probably been a bit on the unlucky side this year. In their 5 losses, they've lost by a total of 29 points and all 4 of their conference losses (all on the road) being by a TD or less. In some respects, their season this year reminds me a lot of the '88/'89 seasons for UW. In '88, UW was 6-5 and lost their 5 games by 15 points. In '89, UW was 8-4, lost 3 of the 4 games by a total of 13 points, and the other game was a loss to the national champion.
There's probably some PTSD from Jimmy talking in his pressers about being one play away, one call away, etc. and Grandpappy Race would just tell you winners win and losers lose and there's some truth to that. But if we're being honest here, I think most of us with a brain know that there's a difference between losing competitive games where you can point to a couple of items that swung the outcome and getting your ass blown out the way that Oregon did at Utah.
Campbell's lost 3 games in the last 5 years by more than 10 points:
2018: at Texas 24-10 ... this was the Texas team that beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl 2019: Notre Dame 33-9 ... Camping World Bowl with a ND team that was 11-2 2020: Louisiana 31-14 ... 1st game coming out of COVID and I'm willing to basically not pay too much attention to anything last year
When you factor in the fact that this is being done at Iowa State (which is a bottom 10 P5 job in the entire country to be honest) ... that's damn impressive
Let's talk about the record vs Iowa ...
If you really want to put a flag on Campbell, this would be the one that I would put out there as being valid. But here's the thing, after throwing out the first year as the initial part of the rebuild, the other 4 losses have been by a total of 24 points and included an OT loss and a 1 point loss. Another thing, in each of those 4 years by SRS Iowa has had the higher rated team ... so what we're really complaining about is the equivalent of the Cougs beating UW. Did not beating UW make Leach a bad coach? Iowa State has a number of challenges to start with ... then add to it that it's the clear #2 school in a state that isn't producing substantial CFB caliber talent?
In the end, I'll note that you want Campbell to perform better against his rival. If he was to get the UW job, a 5 game losing streak against Oregon isn't going to endear himself to anybody. But if this is the biggest red flag that you can find on somebody, then you should be in a full fledged praying Doog pose hoping that he's the choice.
2021 - What Happened?
I watch a lot of Big 12 football and in particular I've watched a lot of Iowa State because my affinity for Matt Campbell and what he has done at Iowa State is well known. To say that they've been snake bitten this year is an understatement. Against Baylor, they fell apart in special teams and failed to tie the game late in the 4th on a 2 point conversion. Against West Virginia, you're looking at arguably the most home cooked officiating game of the year. At Texas Tech they lose to a 62 yard FG. Against Oklahoma they get gashed early in the game for a long TD, have a strip fumble TD given up, and still have a chance to go tie/win the game at the end. It's seemed like one of those years that what could go wrong has gone wrong.
To the average outsider, the Big 12 race this year is a 3 way one with Okie Lite, Oklahoma, and Baylor ... but the in-conference numbers tell you that Iowa State is right there in that mix ...
Offensive Stats:
Yards per Carry = 4.97 (5th, Oklahoma 1st at 5.30) Yards per Pass Attempt = 7.93 (6th, TCU 1st at 9.25) Yards per Completion = 10.97 (8th, TCU 1st at 13.87) Completion % = 72.3% (1st) Yards per Offensive Play = 6.47 (3rd, Oklahoma 1st at 7.10) Points per Game = 33.1 (4th, Oklahoma 1st at 36.1) Plays per Turnover = 68 (2nd, Oklahoma St 1st at 87)
Defensive Stats:
Yards per Carry = 4.32 (5th, Oklahoma St 1st at 2.55) Yards per Pass Attempt = 7.44 (3rd, Oklahoma St 1st at 5.94) Yards per Completion = 11.91 (5th, Oklahoma St 1st at 10.91) Completion % = 62.5% (3rd, Oklahoma St 1st at 54.5%) Yards per Defensive Play = 5.70 (4th, Oklahoma St 1st at 4.13) Points per Game = 23.8 (4th, Oklahoma St 1st at 13.1) Plays per Turnover = 45 (3rd, Baylor 1st at 41)
Combined Stats:
Yards per Play Differential (Offense - Defense): 0.78 (4th, behind Oklahoma St, Oklahoma, Baylor) Scoring Differential: 9.4 (3rd, behind Oklahoma St and Baylor) Turnover Margin: +3 (T-2nd, 1 behind Oklahoma, tied with Oklahoma St and Baylor)
So basically, when you look at every major stat in the conference this year, Iowa St is an upper half team. The only area that Iowa State isn't is when it comes to explosive offensive plays ... which I'd be willing to bet you gets fixed with BETTER PLAYERS (which comes from moving from Iowa State to a better school).
Conclusion
Bottom line, you can see the improvement and leveling up of Iowa State under Campbell's tenure. Recruiting is where he levels up Iowa State from there and who knows where they end when all is said and done but they are Top 25 right now for the 2022 class and has players coming in from all over (Florida to Arizona). This class is a significant level up from prior classes stemming from that NY6 win over Oregon that validated what Campbell's been doing and opening doors. You give him the platform that he has at UW and you're going to get strong results.
There are a lot of similarities here to the best that Chris Petersen had. A big difference here is that Campbell is far more aggressive and operates with a perpetual chip on his shoulder. If anything, this year was a great lesson for him and his team of handling the attention and being the hunted instead of the hunters. There is absolutely nothing in Campbell's resume that doesn't suggest that he'll take lessons from this and be better for it going forward.
This would be an absolute home run hire for UW ... we should all be jumping up and down if Matt Campbell is the next UW Head Coach.
The narratives that people are citing as reasons to cool on Campbell are 1) his comments in a presser this week about process/results, 2) 6-5 record in 2021 with an experienced team that won a NY6 bowl last year, and 3) record vs Iowa (0-5, they didn't play in 2020)
Let's start with the "Coach Speak" comments ...
The comments in the presser are coach speak to the media and that's that. Moreover, as many of you probably don't want to hear, the most important thing for a coach to establish is process and consistency within the program ... do that and the results tend to follow. I'm not going to say that winning and losing doesn't matter, but the reality is that Iowa State's probably been a bit on the unlucky side this year. In their 5 losses, they've lost by a total of 29 points and all 4 of their conference losses (all on the road) being by a TD or less. In some respects, their season this year reminds me a lot of the '88/'89 seasons for UW. In '88, UW was 6-5 and lost their 5 games by 15 points. In '89, UW was 8-4, lost 3 of the 4 games by a total of 13 points, and the other game was a loss to the national champion.
There's probably some PTSD from Jimmy talking in his pressers about being one play away, one call away, etc. and Grandpappy Race would just tell you winners win and losers lose and there's some truth to that. But if we're being honest here, I think most of us with a brain know that there's a difference between losing competitive games where you can point to a couple of items that swung the outcome and getting your ass blown out the way that Oregon did at Utah.
Campbell's lost 3 games in the last 5 years by more than 10 points:
2018: at Texas 24-10 ... this was the Texas team that beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl 2019: Notre Dame 33-9 ... Camping World Bowl with a ND team that was 11-2 2020: Louisiana 31-14 ... 1st game coming out of COVID and I'm willing to basically not pay too much attention to anything last year
When you factor in the fact that this is being done at Iowa State (which is a bottom 10 P5 job in the entire country to be honest) ... that's damn impressive
Let's talk about the record vs Iowa ...
If you really want to put a flag on Campbell, this would be the one that I would put out there as being valid. But here's the thing, after throwing out the first year as the initial part of the rebuild, the other 4 losses have been by a total of 24 points and included an OT loss and a 1 point loss. Another thing, in each of those 4 years by SRS Iowa has had the higher rated team ... so what we're really complaining about is the equivalent of the Cougs beating UW. Did not beating UW make Leach a bad coach? Iowa State has a number of challenges to start with ... then add to it that it's the clear #2 school in a state that isn't producing substantial CFB caliber talent?
In the end, I'll note that you want Campbell to perform better against his rival. If he was to get the UW job, a 5 game losing streak against Oregon isn't going to endear himself to anybody. But if this is the biggest red flag that you can find on somebody, then you should be in a full fledged praying Doog pose hoping that he's the choice.
2021 - What Happened?
I watch a lot of Big 12 football and in particular I've watched a lot of Iowa State because my affinity for Matt Campbell and what he has done at Iowa State is well known. To say that they've been snake bitten this year is an understatement. Against Baylor, they fell apart in special teams and failed to tie the game late in the 4th on a 2 point conversion. Against West Virginia, you're looking at arguably the most home cooked officiating game of the year. At Texas Tech they lose to a 62 yard FG. Against Oklahoma they get gashed early in the game for a long TD, have a strip fumble TD given up, and still have a chance to go tie/win the game at the end. It's seemed like one of those years that what could go wrong has gone wrong.
To the average outsider, the Big 12 race this year is a 3 way one with Okie Lite, Oklahoma, and Baylor ... but the in-conference numbers tell you that Iowa State is right there in that mix ...
Offensive Stats:
Yards per Carry = 4.97 (5th, Oklahoma 1st at 5.30) Yards per Pass Attempt = 7.93 (6th, TCU 1st at 9.25) Yards per Completion = 10.97 (8th, TCU 1st at 13.87) Completion % = 72.3% (1st) Yards per Offensive Play = 6.47 (3rd, Oklahoma 1st at 7.10) Points per Game = 33.1 (4th, Oklahoma 1st at 36.1) Plays per Turnover = 68 (2nd, Oklahoma St 1st at 87)
Defensive Stats:
Yards per Carry = 4.32 (5th, Oklahoma St 1st at 2.55) Yards per Pass Attempt = 7.44 (3rd, Oklahoma St 1st at 5.94) Yards per Completion = 11.91 (5th, Oklahoma St 1st at 10.91) Completion % = 62.5% (3rd, Oklahoma St 1st at 54.5%) Yards per Defensive Play = 5.70 (4th, Oklahoma St 1st at 4.13) Points per Game = 23.8 (4th, Oklahoma St 1st at 13.1) Plays per Turnover = 45 (3rd, Baylor 1st at 41)
Combined Stats:
Yards per Play Differential (Offense - Defense): 0.78 (4th, behind Oklahoma St, Oklahoma, Baylor) Scoring Differential: 9.4 (3rd, behind Oklahoma St and Baylor) Turnover Margin: +3 (T-2nd, 1 behind Oklahoma, tied with Oklahoma St and Baylor)
So basically, when you look at every major stat in the conference this year, Iowa St is an upper half team. The only area that Iowa State isn't is when it comes to explosive offensive plays ... which I'd be willing to bet you gets fixed with BETTER PLAYERS (which comes from moving from Iowa State to a better school).
Conclusion
Bottom line, you can see the improvement and leveling up of Iowa State under Campbell's tenure. Recruiting is where he levels up Iowa State from there and who knows where they end when all is said and done but they are Top 25 right now for the 2022 class and has players coming in from all over (Florida to Arizona). This class is a significant level up from prior classes stemming from that NY6 win over Oregon that validated what Campbell's been doing and opening doors. You give him the platform that he has at UW and you're going to get strong results.
There are a lot of similarities here to the best that Chris Petersen had. A big difference here is that Campbell is far more aggressive and operates with a perpetual chip on his shoulder. If anything, this year was a great lesson for him and his team of handling the attention and being the hunted instead of the hunters. There is absolutely nothing in Campbell's resume that doesn't suggest that he'll take lessons from this and be better for it going forward.
This would be an absolute home run hire for UW ... we should all be jumping up and down if Matt Campbell is the next UW Head Coach.
The narratives that people are citing as reasons to cool on Campbell are 1) his comments in a presser this week about process/results, 2) 6-5 record in 2021 with an experienced team that won a NY6 bowl last year, and 3) record vs Iowa (0-5, they didn't play in 2020)
Let's start with the "Coach Speak" comments ...
The comments in the presser are coach speak to the media and that's that. Moreover, as many of you probably don't want to hear, the most important thing for a coach to establish is process and consistency within the program ... do that and the results tend to follow. I'm not going to say that winning and losing doesn't matter, but the reality is that Iowa State's probably been a bit on the unlucky side this year. In their 5 losses, they've lost by a total of 29 points and all 4 of their conference losses (all on the road) being by a TD or less. In some respects, their season this year reminds me a lot of the '88/'89 seasons for UW. In '88, UW was 6-5 and lost their 5 games by 15 points. In '89, UW was 8-4, lost 3 of the 4 games by a total of 13 points, and the other game was a loss to the national champion.
There's probably some PTSD from Jimmy talking in his pressers about being one play away, one call away, etc. and Grandpappy Race would just tell you winners win and losers lose and there's some truth to that. But if we're being honest here, I think most of us with a brain know that there's a difference between losing competitive games where you can point to a couple of items that swung the outcome and getting your ass blown out the way that Oregon did at Utah.
Campbell's lost 3 games in the last 5 years by more than 10 points:
2018: at Texas 24-10 ... this was the Texas team that beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl 2019: Notre Dame 33-9 ... Camping World Bowl with a ND team that was 11-2 2020: Louisiana 31-14 ... 1st game coming out of COVID and I'm willing to basically not pay too much attention to anything last year
When you factor in the fact that this is being done at Iowa State (which is a bottom 10 P5 job in the entire country to be honest) ... that's damn impressive
Let's talk about the record vs Iowa ...
If you really want to put a flag on Campbell, this would be the one that I would put out there as being valid. But here's the thing, after throwing out the first year as the initial part of the rebuild, the other 4 losses have been by a total of 24 points and included an OT loss and a 1 point loss. Another thing, in each of those 4 years by SRS Iowa has had the higher rated team ... so what we're really complaining about is the equivalent of the Cougs beating UW. Did not beating UW make Leach a bad coach? Iowa State has a number of challenges to start with ... then add to it that it's the clear #2 school in a state that isn't producing substantial CFB caliber talent?
In the end, I'll note that you want Campbell to perform better against his rival. If he was to get the UW job, a 5 game losing streak against Oregon isn't going to endear himself to anybody. But if this is the biggest red flag that you can find on somebody, then you should be in a full fledged praying Doog pose hoping that he's the choice.
2021 - What Happened?
I watch a lot of Big 12 football and in particular I've watched a lot of Iowa State because my affinity for Matt Campbell and what he has done at Iowa State is well known. To say that they've been snake bitten this year is an understatement. Against Baylor, they fell apart in special teams and failed to tie the game late in the 4th on a 2 point conversion. Against West Virginia, you're looking at arguably the most home cooked officiating game of the year. At Texas Tech they lose to a 62 yard FG. Against Oklahoma they get gashed early in the game for a long TD, have a strip fumble TD given up, and still have a chance to go tie/win the game at the end. It's seemed like one of those years that what could go wrong has gone wrong.
To the average outsider, the Big 12 race this year is a 3 way one with Okie Lite, Oklahoma, and Baylor ... but the in-conference numbers tell you that Iowa State is right there in that mix ...
Offensive Stats:
Yards per Carry = 4.97 (5th, Oklahoma 1st at 5.30) Yards per Pass Attempt = 7.93 (6th, TCU 1st at 9.25) Yards per Completion = 10.97 (8th, TCU 1st at 13.87) Completion % = 72.3% (1st) Yards per Offensive Play = 6.47 (3rd, Oklahoma 1st at 7.10) Points per Game = 33.1 (4th, Oklahoma 1st at 36.1) Plays per Turnover = 68 (2nd, Oklahoma St 1st at 87)
Defensive Stats:
Yards per Carry = 4.32 (5th, Oklahoma St 1st at 2.55) Yards per Pass Attempt = 7.44 (3rd, Oklahoma St 1st at 5.94) Yards per Completion = 11.91 (5th, Oklahoma St 1st at 10.91) Completion % = 62.5% (3rd, Oklahoma St 1st at 54.5%) Yards per Defensive Play = 5.70 (4th, Oklahoma St 1st at 4.13) Points per Game = 23.8 (4th, Oklahoma St 1st at 13.1) Plays per Turnover = 45 (3rd, Baylor 1st at 41)
Combined Stats:
Yards per Play Differential (Offense - Defense): 0.78 (4th, behind Oklahoma St, Oklahoma, Baylor) Scoring Differential: 9.4 (3rd, behind Oklahoma St and Baylor) Turnover Margin: +3 (T-2nd, 1 behind Oklahoma, tied with Oklahoma St and Baylor)
So basically, when you look at every major stat in the conference this year, Iowa St is an upper half team. The only area that Iowa State isn't is when it comes to explosive offensive plays ... which I'd be willing to bet you gets fixed with BETTER PLAYERS (which comes from moving from Iowa State to a better school).
Conclusion
Bottom line, you can see the improvement and leveling up of Iowa State under Campbell's tenure. Recruiting is where he levels up Iowa State from there and who knows where they end when all is said and done but they are Top 25 right now for the 2022 class and has players coming in from all over (Florida to Arizona). This class is a significant level up from prior classes stemming from that NY6 win over Oregon that validated what Campbell's been doing and opening doors. You give him the platform that he has at UW and you're going to get strong results.
There are a lot of similarities here to the best that Chris Petersen had. A big difference here is that Campbell is far more aggressive and operates with a perpetual chip on his shoulder. If anything, this year was a great lesson for him and his team of handling the attention and being the hunted instead of the hunters. There is absolutely nothing in Campbell's resume that doesn't suggest that he'll take lessons from this and be better for it going forward.
This would be an absolute home run hire for UW ... we should all be jumping up and down if Matt Campbell is the next UW Head Coach.
Holy Great Wall of Text, dawgman.
As President of the Matt Campbell fan club, I will not accept slander against Matt Campbell’s resume
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