Peterson: Veteran scribe wonders if Matt Campbell and Iowa State are the next Bill Snyder and K-State

• Matt Campbell and Bill Snyder?
• Big 12 journalists are bullish on Iowa State
• Brock Purdy is the Iowa State football glue

ARLINGTON, Texas — We don’t usually write columns like this. As a matter of fact, I can’t ever recall doing it.

Until now.

This being a highly anticipated Iowa State football season ... what the heck? Let’s ask some veteran Big 12 Conference columnists what they think of all the preseason love Matt Campbell’s team is getting.

And let’s start with Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel. 

“I’m fired up about the Cyclones,” Tramel told me on Day 2 of Big 12 football media days last week. “I’m sitting here in this building, Jerry World, wondering: 'Can we get the Cyclones back (here in December)?'

“I think we can, but it won’t be easy.”

Tramel went on to say something that I’ve wondered:

“It’s a great success story,” he said. “I hope it’s another Bill Snyder success story (like at Kansas State), where Campbell stays at Iowa State for a very long time.”

It doesn’t get any better than that, a veteran Big 12/Big Eight columnist using Campbell and Snyder in the same sentence.

You all know how the hall-of-famer proved that northern Big 12 schools can hang consistently with the south's big guys. Snyder coached nine Kansas State teams to 10 or more victories. He coached the Wildcats to 19 bowl games. His teams won two Big 12 championships.

After replacing Paul Rhoads, Campbell led his team to eight victories apiece in just his second and third seasons. The media picked his Cyclones to finish third in 2019, behind Oklahoma and Texas. It’s the highest predicted finish since Dan McCarney’s 2006 team was the preseason pick for second in the Big 12 North behind Nebraska.

Thus, the preseason buzz.

“They’ve got this perfect combination of Matt Campbell and Brock Purdy, and a developing program that’s won eight games twice in a row,” said Bill Haisten, veteran Tulsa World columnist. “I can’t overstate it: The whole state of Oklahoma is going to hold its breath for two weeks.”

On Oct. 26, it’s the Cyclones hosting Oklahoma State. After a Saturday off, Iowa State plays at Oklahoma on Nov. 9.

That’s two Cyclones games in a row that will go a long way in determining who plays in the Dec. 7 Big 12 championship game here.

“Those are big games for all three programs,” Haisten said.

Don't forget that on Nov. 16, it's Texas at Iowa State — another highlight game that will determine a lot.

The Cyclones, behind then-secret weapon freshman quarterback Purdy, won at Oklahoma State last season. They won at Oklahoma in 2017.

Campbell’s team can win almost anywhere.

“Up until recently, nobody feared Iowa State,” said Brian Davis, who covers Texas for the Austin American-Statesman.  “Why? Troy Davis wasn’t walking through that door, and neither was Darren Davis, for that matter. ...  Or Sage Rosenfels or Seneca Wallace.

“I’ll bet few in the Cyclones’ locker room even know who those guys are, so in some respect, Matt Campbell still has a blank slate — even after lifting the program from the dregs of the Big 12. The current players have a chance to define Iowa State’s future.”

Returning starters are everywhere, especially on defense. Four players on defense were preseason Big 12-first-teamers. That’s the most in school history.

“I’m a closet Iowa State fan,” said Wendell Barnhouse, formerly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and now a member of the pressboxdfw.com writing staff. “I like the way that Matt Campbell has built the program, and this year, I think they should be more dangerous because of what they’ve done recently with so many different quarterbacks.”

Campbell has had five different starting quarterbacks while winning half of his 38 Iowa State games — 10 starts by Jacob Park; eight each by Purdy and Kyle Kempt, and six apiece by Joel Lanning and Zeb Noland.

Someone gets hurt. Someone goes off the culture rail. Someone gets beaten out. Someone transfers.

“Brock Purdy gives them a guy,” Barnhouse continued. “If you don’t have a quarterback in the Big 12, then you’re not going to win. And he’s very much a Big 12 quarterback.”

That explains the love.

“Who do these Cyclones ultimately want to be: a championship-caliber team ready for a 60-minute street fight, or the team that had a couple good years and fell back to the bottom?” Davis asked. “I’m betting Campbell didn’t stay at Iowa State believing it’s the latter.”

Randy Peterson is the Iowa State columnist for the Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter at @RandyPete. No one covers the Cyclones like the Register. Your subscription makes professional journalism possible. Join today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.