Matt Campbell had a moment of great frustration during the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando on Wednesday night.
Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones were trailing Clemson 13-3 in the third quarter. They had a 1st-and-10 at their 10 and got called for a false-start penalty, which set off the Iowa State coach.
Campbell was irate on the sidelines. He was seen signaling to the officials and complaining about the Clemson band.
“The f—ing band!” Campbell was seen saying to the officials as he raised his hand to the band. “That’s f—ing bulls—,” he could be seen saying.
ESPN’s announcers later confirmed that Campbell’s issue was with the band.
“He was upset,” announcer Dave Pasch said of Campbell. “He thought the Clemson band was continuing to play during the cadence. Because they were backed up right in front of the band, that that was throwing off the offense.”
Iowa State was already deep in its territory before the penalty, which helps explain Campbell’s frustration. Two plays after the penalty, Clemson got a pick-six to make it 20-3.
The Tigers ended up winning the game 20-13.
College football has made a point of cracking down on things that could interfere with the offense’s signals. Campbell apparently wants that to apply to bands too.
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