In an evolving sport and Big 12, Iowa State football looks to thrive off continuity
The world of college football is rapidly changing.
Revenue sharing, NIL, conference realignment and the transfer portal are at the forefront of every college administrator and coach's mind.
The Big 12 Conference is not immune to that. As its two pillar programs, Texas and Oklahoma, depart for the SEC, it will welcome four new members — Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado. This all comes just a year after the additions of Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida.
As everyone adjusts to a new-look conference that spreads from the deserts of Arizona to the mountains of West Virginia, many programs have to get used to nearly an entirely new roster. Just take Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who has seen the departure of 35 scholarship athletes and 10 walk-ons. Colorado has already earned commitments from 40 new athletes for the upcoming season.
It's a trend that nearly every team in college football has experienced, even if Colorado is on the extreme side of that spectrum.
More: Matt Campbell on the 'huge impact' new tablet rules could have for Iowa State football
Yet, the Iowa State football program is one of a select few programs that have found continuity. Ahead of the 2024-25 season, the Cyclones rank second in the nation in returning production, according to ESPN's Bill Connelly's database. Iowa State returns 90% of its production on offense (second-most in the nation) and 80% of its defensive production (fifth in the nation).
The only team ahead of the Cyclones on the offensive side is Virginia Tech, which returns 86% of its production from a 7-6 season in 2023. In the Big 12, Iowa State leads the way in returning production with Oklahoma State (77%, fourth) and Utah (72%, 16th) behind the Cyclones.
Finding players who want to stick around in Ames has always been a priority for coach Matt Campbell through his nine seasons at the helm. Campbell is the third-longest tenured head coach in the Big 12 behind only Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State and Kyle Whittingham of Utah.
Because of that, Iowa State is heading into the next season with a ton of confidence in what it can do as a cohesive unit.
"In the new age of football that we're in, that can be challenging and be really hard to do," Campbell said. "I think that's such a credit to our kids to stay the course, believe in each other, believe in our program, in our staff and want to continue to grow together forward. Believe me, I don't take that for granted."
"Everyone is really comfortable with what they're doing."
In the early stages of last season, the Cyclones were written off by much of the college football community after a 1-2 start and a brutal loss to Ohio on the road.
That was particularly true in moments for Rocco Becht after he was thrust into the starting quarterback role as a redshirt freshman. In three games, Becht had thrown for 569 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions with a 61.7% completion rate. There were moments of triumph, but the outing against Ohio, with one touchdown and two interceptions, threw into question whether he could run the offense effectively.
Fairly quickly, that was dismissed as he spearheaded the Cyclones' regular-season finish with six wins in nine games.
"His level of excellence really showcased, I thought, throughout the season a year ago and you hope that he can only just continue to grow forward," Campbell said.
More: Peterson: Iowa State football's Matt Campbell intentionally made this the toughest spring
In that final stretch of nine games, Becht threw for 2,551 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. Becht also completed what he said is the best spring he has had since arriving in Ames in 2022. After the spring game, he said returning the entirety of his offensive line, star running back Abu Sama and other key cogs make the offense more comfortable as a unit.
"I'm lucky enough that they all come back," Becht said. "We have a connection and brotherhood (where we can hold each other accountable)."
Early in the season, Becht was forced to make plays on second-and-long, third-and-long. As the season progressed and Sama and the offensive line took some of that weight off his shoulders, Becht began to reach "championship level," Campbell said.
The defense is seeing the same results, too. Darien Porter with be leaned on in the secondary with the departure of TJ Tampa to the NFL. In the spring, Porter felt that the defense could handle anything thrown at them. Whether it was new looks from the offense, new schemes or anything else, he felt they handled it.
That was even evident in the spring game, an outing that's hard to take a ton from with many starters resting. But the defense largely dominated the offense in that outing, regardless.
There are a lot of changes coming to the Big 12 in about every way. Yet, the one consistency might be the Cyclones' roster. That's something Campbell is proud of.
More: Peterson: Nine springs later, Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell says best is yet to come
No matter what challenge is presented for the Cyclones this fall, they feel prepared as they look to secure the first Big 12 title under Campbell.
"Everyone is really comfortable with what they're doing," Porter said. "Even if you throw some new things at them, it's not that hard to pick up for us."
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football finds continuity in changing sport and Big 12
