Iowa State Cyclones Should Be Excited About New HC Following Loss of Matt Campbell

Here's why the Iowa State Cyclones should be excited about their new head coach

Nov 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Iowa State Cyclones helmets on the bench during the first quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

It was a wild Friday night for the Iowa State Cyclones, who saw their long-time head coach, Matt Campbell, leave for the Penn State Nittany Lions. However, he was replaced quickly. 

The loss of Campbell is undoubtedly a significant one for the program and was a major blow to many who have been around the team for the last 10 years. The Cyclones were not known as a football school prior to his arrival, and he was able to completely change the culture for the team. 

There was a ton of success for Iowa State under Campbell, and he will undoubtedly do an excellent job for the Nittany Lions. However, as quickly as he left, the team was able to bring in Jimmy Rogers from the Washington State Cougars. 

Rogers coached the Cougars for just one year prior to joining the Cyclones, but he also was able to have success with South Dakota before arriving in Washington State. Now, he will be taking another step up the coaching ladder, and there is reason to believe that he can be successful. With the sample size being small as a Division I coach, looking at how the Cougars performed in some key games can be a good indication of what to expect. 

Rogers Could Be the Answer

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After taking over for Washington State, Rogers had to revamp the team for the most part, and it wasn’t an easy transition as expected. However, there were some great successes for the program mixed in throughout the 2025 campaign, and the head coach should be pleased with the performance. 

There were some challenging games on the schedule for the Cougars, and they answered the call for the most part. Washington State had three road games on the schedule that could showcase the type of coach that Rogers can be. 

In games against the Ole Miss Rebels, James Madison Dukes, and Virginia Cavaliers, the Cougars were able to keep all of those games within one score. Even though they might not have been victorious, they gave some great teams a major scare, and that can be credited to Rogers. 

There will undoubtedly be a lot of work for the new head coach of the Cyclones to do in the coming weeks and months. However, the program acted very quickly to get Rogers to replace Campbell, and they clearly believe in what he is going to be able to accomplish.