The Iowa State Cyclones haven't had a great couple of weeks. After winning their season opener 30-9 to the Northern Iowa Panthers, the Cyclones lost to the in-state rival Iowa Hawkeyes 20-13. With that, the Cyclones and head coach Matt Campbell had the chance to get back in the win column against Ohio Bobcats. Well, about that.
On Saturday, Iowa State lost 10-7 to Ohio to drop to 1-2 on the season. It certainly didn't help that there was a controversial call on a field goal attempt by Iowa State's Chase Contreraz that was ruled wide.
After the game, an Iowa State fan called out Campbell on the team's way to the locker room, saying, "You're on the hot seat." Campbell took exception, attempting to work his way back over to the fan, but was held back by coaches and players.
Matt Campbell heated after Iowa State fan says he's on the hot seat
Campbell was heated after a fan told him that he's on the hot seat.
On Saturday, Iowa State held Ohio to 247 yards of offense. However, Iowa State had 271 yards, with 38 coming on 23 carries. That's right, the Cyclones averaged just 1.7 yards per carry on Saturday. Quarterback Rocco Becht completed 17-of-24 pass attempts for 233 yards and a touchdown but threw two interceptions.
Then there was the aforementioned controversial missed field goal that the on-field officials deemed was no good, as it sailed over the right upright and seemingly into "good" territory.
In previous years, Campbell was credited for the Iowa State football program's success since his arrival. From 2017 until 2021, Campbell led Iowa State to winning records and to consecutive bowl game appearances. Due to said success, Campbell had received interest to coach in the NFL, where he was linked to the New York Jets and Detroit Lions, but opted to remain at Iowa State.
But after that 2021 season, the Cyclones went 4-8 the following year. Now, he has a 1-2 record with a tough schedule ahead of him, which includes games against Oklahoma, TCU, and Cincinnati in the next four weeks.
