Matt Campbell, Iowa State Receive Promising CFP Projection for 2025

The College Football Playoff was within reach for the 2024 Iowa State Cyclones. While the Big 12 doesn’t get enough credit for how competitive the conference is, winning the title game in Dallas is the best chance for Matt Campbell’s squad to do what many college football fans have never considered a reasonable possibility: give Iowa State a shot at a college football national championship.

If that sounds outlandish, consider that programs such as Indiana, SMU, and Arizona State were nowhere near the playoff conversation to begin the 2024 season. Yet, one win over the Sun Devils would have put the Cyclones in that company of unexpected programs to break through to the college football postseason.

Being on the edge of the playoffs last year has brought postseason potential discussion to Iowa State’s doorstep. FOX Sports’ Michael Cohen listed Iowa State among his picks for the 10 teams most likely to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2025.

The new landscape of college football has presented programs such as Iowa State with something exciting and meaningful to play for. There’s a potential reality for Iowa State to flourish as a respected Big 12 program that vies for playoff spots annually while picking up the occasional win in postseason play. Do that enough to boost the quality of the program’s recruiting capabilities and the conversation turns to national championship aspirations.

But before we get too ahead of ourselves, Iowa State has to first do something it has never done before, and that’s win a Big 12 Championship. The Cyclones will be hard-pressed to ever earn an At-Large bid, so getting to Dallas and leaving as winners is the clearest goal Campbell can present his team with each season.

As for 2025 specifically, the Cyclones return enough to have considerable hope they can give themselves the same chance as they did in 2024. Both coordinators, Taylor Mouser on offense and Jon Heacock on defense, are back with the program to build upon last year’s success. Plus, Rocco Becht is a third-year starter at quarterback. There are question marks about the new core of skill players on offense, but with Becht in command, the expectations shouldn’t shift too much.