For all the success that 11th-ranked Iowa State has had in the first two months of the season, coach Matt Campbell is focused on the upcoming challenges as November begins. He expects his players to share that focus.
“Whether you’re 5-2, 4-3 or 7-0,” he said, “it kind of goes out the window because the reality is you’re defined by how you play in November.”
The Cyclones (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) kick off the month with a game against Texas Tech (5-3, 3-2) at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames on Saturday. A win would make them 8-0 for the first time and tie them for first place in the conference with No. 9 BYU, which has a bye this week.
Iowa State reached the Big 12 championship game in 2020 but has never won a major conference title in its 133-year history.
“We know we have five games left and we know there are so many things in front of us we could go achieve,” quarterback Rocco Becht said.
“Coach Campbell always brings it up to us because it gives us momentum to go out there and play our best game. We really have to focus on Texas Tech to reach that goal because if we don’t we’re going to fall behind.”
Texas Tech has lost two games in a row after starting the season 5-1 and is now in a four-way tie for fifth place. Last week, the Red Raiders blew a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter, losing 35-34 to TCU.
Backup quarterback Will Hammond fumbled while trying to set up a go-ahead field goal with 1:38 left in the game.
The Red Raiders came into this week facing an unhappy fan base and are 13.5-point underdogs, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. They haven’t lost three games in a row since 2020.
“There’s no person that wants to win more for this fan base than me,” third-year coach Joey McGuire said. “It bothers me that people are upset. Not that they’re upset with me — again, say whatever you want. It bothers me because we couldn’t take care of business on Saturday (and) that this is how people feel that are Red Raiders.”
