Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell Makes Declaration After Win in Ireland

Iowa State edged Kansas State in Ireland on Saturday.

Head coach Matt Campbell of the Iowa State Cyclones speaks with the media during the Big 12 Media Days at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on July 8, 2025. Stacy Revere/Getty Images

After a college football season kick-off victory in Ireland, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell floated a comment worthy of banter in an Irish pub.

“I said this, and if I make anyone mad, I don’t care,” Campbell told reporters after a 24–21 win over longtime rival Kansas State on Saturday. “I think we’re set up for failure because I think this is the hardest schedule in the country.”

In the first game of the new season, where the No. 22 Cyclones (1–0) overcame a sloppy and soggy first half to edge the No. 17 Wildcats (0–1) in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. It marked the first-ever time Ireland hosted a pair of top-25 teams for the game, and Iowa State also grabbed an early advantage in the Big 12 amid a neutral-site conference win.

“And the reality of it is that we go home and play an incredible South Dakota team that’s coming in, and they had a great year. You’re talking about a team that’s in the final four (of the FCS Playoffs) and then obviously you play another huge rivalry game that has emotion (Iowa),” Campbell said.

“And then, somehow we’re on the road at an Arkansas State team that we know is super talented. That’s the first quarter of our football season, and it’s gonna take everything we’ve got,” he added.

Iowa State’s remaining schedule also includes Arizona, Cincinnati, Colorado, BYU, Arizona State, TCU, Kansas (1–0), and Oklahoma State. While all of those programs have enjoyed success in recent years, Iowa State has the 35th-most difficult schedule in the country, according to Phil Steele.

However, Campbell has the College Football Playoff committee to consider. The CFP committee announced in the past week that the strength of schedule will be weighed with a new metric this year.

​Iowa State’s Rocco Becht Steps Up in Win

Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht iced Saturday’s contest with a game-sealing drive in the fourth quarter as his team held off the Wildcats. Becht went 14-28 for 183 yards and two touchdowns, plus 18 yards and a rushing touchdown on 12 carries.

Before Becht’s heroics, mistakes abounded for both teams, and Iowa State’s first-half mistakes necessitated Becht’s clutch play. Iowa State collected the first fumble of the game when Kansas State’s Dylan Edwards muffed a punt. The Cyclones couldn’t take advantage as running back Abu Sama III fumbled at the goal line.

Iowa State broke through on its following possession when Becht hit wide receiver Dominic Overby for a 23-yard touchdown pass and a 7–0 lead. Kansas State then answered the Cyclones with an eight-play, 65-yard drive, capped by quarterback Avery Johnson’s 10-yard touchdown run.

Neither team could break the tie as Becht fumbled and Kansas State’s Joe Jackson fumbled in the first half. Iowa State also missed a 49-year field goal attempt by Kyle Konrardy.

The Cyclones got things going in the second half as Becht found Brett Eskildsen on a 24-yard touchdown for a 14–7 lead in the third quarter. Kansas State answered with Johnson’s touchdown pass to Jayce Brown for 37 yards.

Konrardy broke the 14–14 tie with a 34-yard field goal, and the Cyclones received another opportunity when the Wildcats turned it over on downs at the 30-yard line. Becht led the 30-yard drive in Wildcats territory, and he finished the job with a 7-yard touchdown run for a 24–14 lead with 6:38 left in the game.

Kansas State responded with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Jerand Bradley. Afterward, Becht and company whittled away the clock in the final 6:23.

Cyclones running back Carson Hansen did part of the damage as he rushed for 59 yards in the fourth quarter, and he caught a game-sealing pass from Becht. Hansen finished with 71 yards rushing on 16 carries.

For Kansas State, Johnson went 21-30 passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson rushed for 51 yards on 12 carries to lead the ground game.

Injuries played a role for the Wildcats, who lost Edwards early in the game. Kansas State also didn’t have tackle George Fitzpatrick on the field. The Wildcats fell to the Cyclones for the fifth time in six years in the process.