Matt Campbell Has Led Iowa State Cyclones Football to Heights Never Before Achieved

Matt Campbell has turned the Iowa State Cyclones into a college football success.

Dec 7, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell during the game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Arizona State Sun Devils at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones football program was in a tough spot when they hired Matt Campbell away from the Toledo Rockets to take over as their head coach.

He found a ton of success leading the MAC program, going 35-15 over five seasons. That included two bowl game victories and being in the AP Poll Top 25 in two campaigns. In the 2015 season, Campbell departed before the bowl game was played, but Toledo was victorious, defeating the Temple Owls 32-17.

It was a major undertaking that he was inheriting with the Cyclones. Paul Rhoads had a losing season for six straight years before being replaced by Campbell. 2009 was the last time Iowa State had won a bowl game, and the team wasn’t featured in the Top 25 since 2005.

Things got off to a rough start, which is expected for a coach making the jump from the MAC to the Big 12. Iowa State went 3-9 in the first season under Campbell, but has taken off since that point.

Matt Campbell has helped put Iowa State on the map

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Only once in the last eight campaigns has the Cyclones finished under .500. It would take a catastrophic meltdown for Iowa State to not finish above the .500 mark this year as well. They are already 5-0, on the verge of becoming bowl eligible.

The Cyclones have some major aspirations this season, looking to make the College Football Playoff. They have been ranked all season, continuing an impressive trend since Campbell has taken over as head coach.

As shared by Alex Gookin on X, heading into play in Week 6 is the 50th week that Iowa State has been ranked since the Campbell era began. In the 80 years before he came to Ames, they were ranked for a total of 40 weeks altogether.

Out of those 50 weeks, 20 of them have been spent as a top 15 team. In the same 80-year span before him, being ranked that high was achieved only 11 times by the Cyclones.

Iowa State has also reached the top 10 in three of Campbell’s seasons thus far. They are on the verge of making it four if they continue playing as well as they have thus far in 2025. A single-digit ranking was reached only once in program history prior to his tenure.

Iowa State is ranked in the AP Poll for the 50th week in the Matt Campbell era (9.5 seasons). The Cyclones had been ranked 40 weeks total in the 80 years prior.

20 of the 50 weeks have been spent in the top-15. ISU had spent just 11 weeks in the top-15 in the 80 years prior. https://t.co/DyGYqPksnP

— Alex Gookin (@_AlexGookin) September 28, 2025

In Year 10 of his tenure with Iowa State, this has proven to be a match made in heaven. Campbell has helped elevate this program to heights never before reached and is looking to put it on the map as a national power. 

To help accomplish that, the Cyclones would love to make an appearance in the College Football Playoff this season. It is the natural next step for Campbell and his team to take in their progression.