Iowa State football balances bowl prep with recruiting and retention efforts

AMES — Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell’s mantra this time of year is retain and recruit — oh, and win a bowl game TBD, too.

That’s because the Cyclones (8-4) could retain a strong nucleus of players led by junior quarterback Rocco Becht, but they’re also recruiting in areas of need for the early signing day period (Dec. 3-5). And the now-one-and-only transfer portal opens on Jan. 2.

So there will be a lot of movement across the Power Four and greater FBS landscapes as an eventual 12 teams get into the College Football Playoff, and dozens of others prepare for far-flung bowl games.

It’s enough to make a head coach’s head spin — but Campbell’s adept at minimizing chaos and maximizing stability.

“We’ll look forward to figuring out what our bowl opponent’s gonna be next Sunday and then have the opportunity to kind of put the best schedule forward," Campbell said on the Cyclone Radio Network after Saturday’s 20-13 road win at Oklahoma State. “But I think this next week will be really big for us kind of getting ourselves aligned moving forward.”

Regardless of who, where and when ISU plays its bowl game, it will have a chance to notch nine or more wins in a season for the fifth time in program history, and fourth in the modern era. Three of those superlative seasons — including last year’s unprecedented 11-win mark — have come in the past six seasons under Campbell.

“It’s doesn’t just take me to go win a game,” said Becht, who won his 26th game as a starter in Stillwater, which ranks second all-time in program annals to Brock Purdy (30 wins). “It takes a whole team. It takes a village.”

That tight-knit community of Cyclone players will undoubtedly see some choose to leave it and enter the portal, and/or test the NFL waters. But the core that could return — including Becht and top cornerbacks Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams, who were lost to injury midway through the season — remains strong and could allow ISU to return to the ranks of prime contenders for a Big 12 title in 2026. There’s a big “if” factor here, though, which is why Campbell and his staff are working extra hard to excel in the execution of that mantra.

“The game’s changed and the times have changed,” said Campbell, who’s helped produced eight winning seasons since taking over the program in 2016. “And you’re going to have to be aligned to build a program that’s got sustainability in every way, shape and form. We’re excited about the opportunity it.”

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com