Matt Campbell's playing journey and coaching foundation....

PSU Blue said:
A good read...

www.espn.com

College football's surprising new cradle of coaches

Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, turned out the current head coaches at Iowa State and Toledo, along with prominent assistants at Ohio State and Michigan, who all emerged from an intense setting in which about 10 percent of undergrads play football.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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An excellent article. It articulates things well. My first experience with organized football as a fourth grader was my uncle taking me to a John Harris-Steel High football game (vintage Central Pennsylvanians know what I'm talking about). Then it was on to PSU football in 1968. Again, it's not 3-D chess. Mostly, just toughness, determination, character, and execution. Un-Franklin.
 
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Frank Lee said:
An excellent article. It articulates things well. My first experience with organized football as a fourth grader was my uncle taking me to a John Harris-Steel High football game (vintage Central Pennsylvanians know what I'm talking about). Then it was on to PSU football in 1968. Again, it's not 3-D chess. Mostly, just toughness, determination, character, and execution. Un-Franklin.
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I’ve followed Mount Union for years. Great article.

Mount Union seems to play Wisconsin Whitewater for the Natty every year. Our OC Andy K was OC for Whitewater in 2012. Looks like Campbell was there in 2008 or so and they didn’t oppose each other as OC and DC for a Natty.
 
Sheriff Coffee said:
I’ve followed Mount Union for years. Great article.

Mount Union seems to play Wisconsin Whitewater for the Natty every year. Our OC Andy K was OC for Whitewater in 2012. Looks like Campbell was there in 2008 or so and they didn’t oppose each other as OC and DC for a Natty. W WW had an off year at 8-2.
Click to expand...
 
PSU Blue said:
A good read...

www.espn.com

College football's surprising new cradle of coaches

Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, turned out the current head coaches at Iowa State and Toledo, along with prominent assistants at Ohio State and Michigan, who all emerged from an intense setting in which about 10 percent of undergrads play football.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...

Great quote;

“He does everything better than you do it," Raeburn said. "They do the laundry better than you do the laundry."
 
I still don't get national excitement for Campbell, but I was on the side of Terry as head coach, maybe you can help me understand. He was 3-7 vs Hawkeye's. I look up NIL and Cyclones were at something like 7 million and Hawkeyes are at 9 million, so does an extra 2 million make him win as many games as Ferentz?
Kirk is a really good coach also, so maybe that is a good comparison to what he is capable of.
He has about the same record as Narduzzi who we all like to make fun of, and their NIL is at 10 million, so that's a plus.
I read an article that said his players could have left for more money but stayed just to play for him, so that is great.

Hopefully he turns out to be a great coach, but I think it will take a few years to even know, and he is going to have to prove it to me.
 
You guys are lucky. Seriously. I wanted Matt Campbell instead of Matt Rhule a few years ago, but the word around here is that he was approached and refused the offer. If anyone can navigate the weirdness with poise and integrity, this is the guy.

I heard a poster earlier compare the NIL money to Iowa and PSU and the Iowa vs ISU record, but that rivalry has been one-sided in favor of Iowa- which recruits about 20 spots higher than ISU- for years. Campbell, besides being a coach with heart and fire, is simply a great person who manages to do more with less. ISU had been an afterthought for decades. Paul Rhoads, Campbells immediate predecessor, was 16-45 in conference! Campbell has reversed that shocking stat to 50-40.

Another stat that should really be interesting, just prior to PSU hiring Matt Campbell:

But — as the 8-4 Cyclones wait to learn their bowl destination on Sunday — Campbell is still bullish on his Class of 2026, which is his highest ranked ever at 48th in the country, per 247 Sports.
 
Gitzit said:
I still don't get national excitement for Campbell, but I was on the side of Terry as head coach, maybe you can help me understand. He was 3-7 vs Hawkeye's. I look up NIL and Cyclones were at something like 7 million and Hawkeyes are at 9 million, so does an extra 2 million make him win as many games as Ferentz?
Kirk is a really good coach also, so maybe that is a good comparison to what he is capable of.
He has about the same record as Narduzzi who we all like to make fun of, and their NIL is at 10 million, so that's a plus.
I read an article that said his players could have left for more money but stayed just to play for him, so that is great.

Hopefully he turns out to be a great coach, but I think it will take a few years to even know, and he is going to have to prove it to me.
Click to expand...
Comparing Iowa State to Iowa is like comparing Pitt to Penn State. ISU had not been on the same level for decades until Campbell came along.

Meaning he had to overcome a huge advantage for Iowa. More money, better facilities, better NFL pathway. Better graduates to recruit. Better pipeline with regional high school coaches. Better conference meaning more exposure. Far more national tv broadcasts. Tradition.

He improved recruiting enough to be a consistent challenger. And got more out of lower ranked recruits. Established better recruiting. I assume he also got facilities improved as success breeds success.

None of this guarantees success. But neither does hiring a top coordinator from a top ten program.
 
The Spin Meister said:
Comparing Iowa State to Iowa is like comparing Pitt to Penn State. ISU had not been on the same level for decades until Campbell came along.

Meaning he had to overcome a huge advantage for Iowa. More money, better facilities, better NFL pathway. Better graduates to recruit. Better pipeline with regional high school coaches. Better conference meaning more exposure. Far more national tv broadcasts. Tradition.

He improved recruiting enough to be a consistent challenger. And got more out of lower ranked recruits. Established better recruiting. I assume he also got facilities improved as success breeds success.

None of this guarantees success. But neither does hiring a top coordinator from a top ten program.
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This....you can't compare teams with completely different budgets, facilities, and general resources. He has done more with less, and now I'm hoping he can do more with even more!
 
Gitzit said:
I still don't get national excitement for Campbell, but I was on the side of Terry as head coach, maybe you can help me understand. He was 3-7 vs Hawkeye's. I look up NIL and Cyclones were at something like 7 million and Hawkeyes are at 9 million, so does an extra 2 million make him win as many games as Ferentz?
Kirk is a really good coach also, so maybe that is a good comparison to what he is capable of.
He has about the same record as Narduzzi who we all like to make fun of, and their NIL is at 10 million, so that's a plus.
I read an article that said his players could have left for more money but stayed just to play for him, so that is great.

Hopefully he turns out to be a great coach, but I think it will take a few years to even know, and he is going to have to prove it to me.
Click to expand...
I think he'll be fine. Iowa State is the second fiddle in Iowa when it comes to athletics. That's why Cael Sanderson wanted the Penn State job - he knew the talent available nearby, and that he wouldn't have to fight with Iowa for it and lose most of the time. It worked out OK for him. Prior to Campbell, probably the most successful ISU coach was Earle Bruce, who won 8 games 3 years in a row in the 1970s. He left for the Ohio State job when Woody Hayes punched out a Clemson player in the bowl game, and his first year at Ohio State, the Buckeyes went 11-0 regular season, IIRC, losing 17-16 to USC in the Rose Bowl. Between Bruce and Campbell, Dan McCarney built up ISU somewhat, but he had one 8-win or more season - 9-3 in 2000. Campbell had 5 8-win seasons in 9 years, including an 11-win season in 2024. That's huge for that program.
 
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