Iowa State postgame mailbag: Making sense of the Cyclones' season and their future
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ORLANDO, Fla. — The Iowa State season ended as it lived — with a disappointing close call leaving the Cyclones wondering what could have been.
No. 22 Clemson outlasted the Cyclones in a 20-13 Cheez-It Bowl victory on Wednesday, sending Iowa State into the offseason with a 7-6 record and a whole lot of departures from a roster of seniors who have helped Iowa State to unprecedented heights.
The season can hardly be viewed as anything other than a disappointment given the expectations generated by a 2020 season that saw Iowa State make the Big 12 title game and win the Fiesta Bowl, but it’s also true that this team was tantalizingly close to realizing those expectations.
Of the six losses, five were by by a single score. Of those five, Iowa State had the ball with a chance to tie or lead late in the game in four. The only outlier was Texas Tech, which hit a Big 12-record 62-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Cyclones.
Iowa State record is 7-6, and there’s no escaping that. Cyclones coach Matt Campbell so often talks about winning in the margins, and for this year those margins created a lot of distance between where Iowa State wanted to be and where they finished.
“We know what it takes to win here at Iowa State,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “We say it all the time. It comes down to the little details.
“When you do that against these kinds of teams and these opponents on this kind of stage, you just set yourself up for failure.”
This chapter of Iowa State football – the greatest in its history – is over. What comes next?
Let’s get to your questions.
Brock is the best quarterback in Iowa State history. Why doesn’t it feel like he is?
I don’t know if most (or even many) Iowa State fans have this opinion, but I think it is common enough to address.
My best guess is that it’s a function of memory and emotion.
Everyone knows Purdy owns a million (approximate estimate) Iowa State records and nearly every single one that matters for the quarterback position. Statistically — both individually and as a team — there’s not an argument that anyone else has had a better career at Iowa State from the QB spot than Purdy.
But those accumulation of stats and wins were the product of four years of, sometimes, tedious work. Careers are built brick by brick, and Purdy has constructed a monument in Ames.
Memories, though, are created by something more visceral and emotional.
So while many fans know Purdy is as good as it has ever been, that inexplicable fumble/interception at TCU stays front of mind. So will the interception and fumble here at the Cheez-It Bowl that was so detrimental. Or the picks against Iowa this season or in at the end of the Big 12 title game last season.
Purdy has had some bad moments and some happened at bad times, and I think that sticks in people’s memories. You also can’t discount that Iowa State was in the position to win some of those games late because of Purdy’s play, even if the final drive didn’t go the right way for him.
The memory deck is also stacked against evaluating Purdy because his excellence was the product of consistency. The guy doesn't have anything like Seneca Wallace’s ‘The Run’ to live in memories. Being the guy who has 10 times completed 75 percent of his passes in a game — more all other Iowa State quarterbacks in history combined — doesn't quite translate to YouTube highlights.
Purdy may not be the most dynamic quarterback in school history, but he’s the most accomplished. It may not create vivid memories, but his name is written in ink in quite a few Iowa State record books.
Ultimately, I think Purdy did a pretty good job of summing things up after the game.
“That it ended like that — just my college career and everything — to go out like that sucks, not going to lie,” he said. “But I can say I gave everything I got to this program, to this team, to Ames, and no one can take that away from me.
“I’m sorry to the Cyclone nation for how it ended, but I did prepare and did everything I could to try to help this team win.”
More: Peterson: Iowa State football can't overcome key losses to knock off Dabo Swinney's Clemson squad
Who is the next running back?
It’s going to be an interesting competition.
I think you’ve got to make Jirehl Brock the early favorite given his experience and that he got the nod at Camping World Stadium against Clemson, but going for 42 yards on 14 carries doesn’t put him so far out in front.
Deon Silas got two carries so he won’t be able to redshirt after playing five games this season, but that would suggest the staff sees him ahead of fellow freshman Eli Sanders, who kept his redshirt intact.
Then there’s always the transfer portal and the incoming freshman.
Which is to say it’s not really clear who the next Iowa State back will be.
And I think that’s OK. If you’ll remember, the last two great Iowa State backs — David Montgomery and Breece Hall — were not heirs apparent coming into a season. They won the jobs after serious competitions.
More: Iowa State football's disappointing season comes to a fitting end in Cheez-It Bowl loss
What about terrible clock management in last 2 minutes?
I don’t know if you could label Campbell’s decision not to call a timeout after Eny Uwazurike’s sack of D.J. Uiagaleilei with just over 2 minutes "terrible," but it certainly was curious.
Conventional wisdom would suggest using your last timeout there to preserve every last second when you don’t control the clock and then use the tools at your disposal — incompletions, first downs, out of bounds, clocking — on offense to move down the field.
It didn’t ultimately matter after Purdy’s fumble, but if he had picked up the first down there’s still some 60 yards to go in about 35 seconds. You probably feel better about those 60 yards if there’s closer to a minute to play.
You could argue that having the timeout to stop the clock to setup for the 4th-and-2 was worth the time lost, but, again, it would be against conventional wisdom in that situation.
Campbell always talks about winning in the margins, and I think it’s fair to wonder if Iowa State missed the mark there with clock management.
Do you think ISU fans are looking forward to cheering on a team with low expectations next season? Or do you think they want likes going into the season so highly regarded?
It might lower the blood pressure of fans heading into next season, but I don’t think Iowa State — either its fans or its program — should be scared of high expectations.
High expectations mean you’ve won and people think you can do it again. If you’re going to get to where you want to go as a program — which is competing for conference championships — then that likely means doing it when people expect big things from you — either in the preseason or during a title-chasing run.
It’s not something Iowa State or its fans have had to consistently think about, but high expectations are one of them high-class problems.
Did Mike Rose actually opt out of playing in order to protect himself for the Senior Bowl or was he actually too injured to play?
It’s a little unclear exactly what the decision was, but here’s what people had to say about it (we were not able to talk to Rose):
Iowa State spokesperson: “Mike made the decision not to play.”
Campbell: “Mike is just trying to get back to full health, and he wasn't there yet. The situation for Michael was the best interest for him to kind of get himself back to full strength as he's got some opportunities coming down the road.”
Jake Hummel: “It was a really hard decision for him to not play today. I was with him through that process. Whatever decision he made, the team was supporting that decision. He understood that and made the best decision foe himself. There’s no regrets there, I hope.”
Weaving that together, it would appear Rose, who missed the West Virginia game with a rotator cuff injury and was continuing to be hampered by it, had a lingering health issue and opted against risking further injury against Clemson.
Where does ISU football and Campbell go from here?
It’s going to be a very different Iowa State team next year, but I think the health of the program is pretty evident.
There are a lot of talented players returning on both sides of the ball, and there are a lot of young guys that contributed to the 2021 team that are natural fits to move into bigger roles.
Sure, there are questions, starting with how do you replace Purdy and Hall, but it’s college football. Running it back like Iowa State was able to with much the same roster this year is the exception, not the rule.
Campbell and his staff have shown the ability to identify and develop talent so I’m not anticipating a huge drop off — but it’s hard not to envision some sort of step back given how much talent and experience the program is losing.
I think the real question — and challenge — for Iowa State is how quickly can you get back to where you were throughout 2020 and in parts of 2021 — which is competing for a Big 12 title game.
Can you ramp up and do it in 2023? 2024?
Obviously, winning a Big 12 title (and earning whatever else that comes with that) is something this program hasn’t accomplished, but the next mark of progress for them might be managing a roster turnover and getting back to competing at the highest level.
Consistency is key if you’re building for the long-term, which is what Campbell has consistently said is his aim.
That challenge begins here in just a couple of months when spring ball begins and the 2022 season unofficially gets underway.
College football never stops.
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State mailbag: Making sense of Cyclones' season and their future
