Campbell

The bar is pretty low for a new coach, but Campbell has certainly won his first few days on the job. Says the right things, does the right things.

Hopefully it leads to winning.

Campbell does have one advantage- having coached against Iowa State the last two seasons, he knows exactly what he is walking into from a personnel and scheme standpoint. Few surprises.

Simple Math

Winning football games at Iowa State is a simple, two step process:

A. Hang around games until the 4th;

B. Win games in the 4th.

Rhoads was 10-6 his first three years in 10-point-or-less-games, but only 3-13 his last four years.

The constant underdog has to stay above .500 in the close games to survive.

Seven wins across his last four seasons would not have set the world on fire, but it would have meant a bowl trip and keeping one's job.