Editor’s note: First in a series previewing each team in the Big 12 in 2026.
Under longtime head coach Matt Campbell, Iowa State soared to highs it had never been to before as a program.
In 2016, Campbell took over a program that hadn’t won 10 or more games in a season and hadn’t seen more than seven victories in a season since 2000. It was as big of a lift as there is in power conference football, but Campbell was the perfect fit for the job.
After going 3-9 in his first season in Ames, Campbell and the Cyclones reeled off winning seasons in eight of the next nine campaigns, including setting the program record for wins in a season with an 11-3 2024 campaign that was capped off by a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory.
Campbell was Ames royalty, becoming the winningest head coach in Iowa State history, but a job offer from Penn State proved too enticing to pass up.
Penn State fired longtime coach James Franklin in October, setting the stage for one of the more high-profile coaching searches in recent memory.
The Nittany Lions tried to nab Kalani Sitake from BYU, but Sitake stayed put in Provo, signing a contract extension with the Cougars, so Penn State switched gears and got Campbell.
Campbell’s decision to take one of the more prestigious jobs in college football sent shock waves through Ames, as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Taylor Mouser, offensive line coach Ryan Clanton and safeties coach Deon Broomfield followed Campbell to Penn State.
A whopping 23 players made the switch from Iowa State to Penn State, including quarterback Rocco Becht and tight end Ben Brahmer.
In all, per On3, nearly everyone left Iowa State, which had 103 players transfer out and 50 transfer in.
The Cyclones hired Jimmy Rogers, who went 6-6 in his lone season at Washington State, as their coach. Prior to his time in Pullman, Rogers coached South Dakota State for two years, winning the FCS national championship over North Dakota State and capping off a perfect 15-0 season in 2023.
Rogers has a total rebuild ahead of him.
He brought in Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor (3,361 yards, 19 TD, 11 INT, 66.5% completion) to lead the offense, but he’ll have his work cut out for him with a completely new cast of characters on offense.
“The most impressive thing about Jaylen is he’s extremely talented. You can see that throughout his career. He’s been a three-year starter. He took over at starter position three games into his freshman year. He isn’t one to ever become complacent, but he’s an unbelievable leader,” Rogers said.
“People naturally gravitate to him. In a roster of what is 84 new players, but 125 new players to him, the ability to be one week into a program and learn every player’s name and create a nickname for them and those players to naturally gravitate toward his spirit and who he is and what he’s about has been extremely impactful for us as a staff to have a guy like that that people want to be around, people want to listen to, and they’re inspired by how he works.”
Raynor’s main weapons will be Cody Jackson (799 yards, 6 TD at Tarleton State), Omari Hayes (515 yards, 1 TD at Tulane) and Dominic Overby (82 yards, 2 TD), a Utahn who is one of the few players from last year’s Cyclones team.
Aiden Flora (58 yards, 1 TD on four carries; 380 yards and 1 TD on kick and punt returns) also returns at running back.
Blocking for Raynor will be an entirely new offensive line that has little starting experience in the FBS.
On defense, the Cyclones are in better shape, bringing back defensive tackle Zaimir Hawk, linebacker Carson Willich and cornerback David Coffey from last year’s team.
Rogers also brought defensive tackle Bryson Lamb, defensive end Isaac Terrell and safety Duhron Goodman with him from Washington State.
Washington State ranked No. 15 in yards allowed per game last season and Iowa State has the architect of that defense, Jesse Bobbit, in the defensive coordinator position.
Iowa State has a multiyear rebuild on its hands after the gutting of its program. Pretty much every college football prognosticator has the Cyclones at the bottom of the 16-team Big 12 this season, though the media has been wrong plenty of times before — see Arizona State in 2024.
Rogers has a tough task ahead of him as he tries to answer this question: Was Iowa State’s success solely due to Campbell and the way he ran his program, or can another coach have sustained success in Ames?
Time will tell.
Right now, Rogers is focused on establishing an identity of toughness.
“Toughness. Toughness. A team that will buy into one another,” Rogers said. “A team that will be united when they step on the field together and that they have precise clarity what their intention is to accomplish something that they said that they were passionate about, and then having an unfaltering focus to finish, to be their best and to give their best to their teammates.”
2026 Iowa State Cyclones at a glance
2025 record: 8-4 (5-4 Big 12)
Utah ties
- Dominic Overby, West Jordan High receiver
- Jordan Vyborny, Corner Canyon High tight end
- Isaac Terrell, Lehi High defensive end
- Micah Harper, former BYU cornerback
2026 schedule
- Sept. 5 — vs. Southeast Missouri
- Sept. 12 — at Iowa
- Sept. 19 — vs. Bowling Green
- Sept. 26 — vs. Utah
- Oct. 3 — vs. West Virginia
- Oct. 9 — at BYU
- Oct. 24 — at Arizona
- Oct. 31 — vs. Oklahoma State
- Nov. 7 — at Baylor
- Nov. 14 — vs. Cincinnati
- Nov. 20 — at UCF
- Nov. 28 — vs. Kansas State