AP File Photo – Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell watches from the sideline during the first half of a college football game against Iowa on Sept. 7 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
HOUSTON — No. 18 Iowa State begins Big 12 play Saturday on a hot streak with three straight wins to begin the season.
The Cyclones (3-0) were picked to finish sixth in the conference, but they have a chance to do more.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell knows it won’t be easy to win, and even though Houston (1-3, 0-1 Big 12) has struggled, the Cyclones’ The conference opener will be a good test.
“The mentality of maintaining success, that’s difficult in our business,” Campbell said. “So it’s hard to win. Can we continue to have that winning mentality? I don’t know. You want us to keep hitting the foundation that we build ourselves on. It’s a daily It’s really a great habit, a great focus, and I’m working on getting better, but to be able to do it or how easy it is, it’s important that it was so hard.”
Iowa State will look to start 4-0 for the first time since 2000 and win five straight Big 12 road games in the process.
The Cyclones are playing well on both sides of the ball, and their defense ranks ninth in the nation at just 9.7 points per game. Quarterback Rocco Becht has thrown at least two touchdown passes in seven consecutive games dating back to last season.
Campbell pointed out that of the seven Big 12 conference games played last week, only one road team won, Utah defeating Oklahoma State 22-19 in Stillwater. .
Campbell hopes the Cyclones have the leadership and experience to continue their success on the road.
“It’s hard to win any football game,” Campbell said. “It’s hard to win in this conference. It’s hard to win on the road. All the things you’re trying to teach are great lessons. The only advantage for our kids is we have veterans who have been through tough situations. They have had successes and failures, and I hope they have enough wisdom to learn from them and grow from them and share that wisdom with their teammates along the way.”
don’t be fooled
The Cyclones faced Arkansas State last week, led by Carson Hansen, who had 58 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and had 237 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Despite the gaudy and outlandish statistics, Campbell said, “The numbers are stupid.”
“Winning is what you define as success,” Campbell said. “The reality is, after the first two games, I would still say we probably ran the ball as good as we did earlier this season. I think it shows that I was able to do that.”
Houston QB
Houston coach Willie Fritz said he would stick with starting quarterback Donovan Smith, but after last week’s 34-0 loss to Cincinnati, he said backup Zion Chriss is also expected to start in the Big 12 this week. Ta.
Smith has thrown for 610 yards and two touchdowns on a 65% completion rate this season, but also has four interceptions. Chris went 2-of-5 for 19 yards in limited action.
“They’ve both done good things,” Fritz said. “We’re going to play against these two guys and give them a chance to show us what they can do.”
Understand rebuilds
Campbell understands what Fritz is going through as he tries to rebuild Houston’s program. Campbell went 3-9 in his first season at Iowa State, but has since won six games over the past seven years. With one more win, Campbell will become the winningest coach in Iowa State history.
“You know, we’re the team that was there,” Campbell said. “You guys are a team that’s building. I think there’s definitely been growth… They’ve seen it. They’ve had a football coach who’s turned two football programs around and built two great programs. Masu.”
AP File Photo – Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell watches from the sideline during the first half of a college football game against Iowa on Sept. 7 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
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