Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1194048
36 JANUARY 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Remember head coach Lou Holtz's first season at Notre Dame (1986) when his Fighting Irish were lauded with the backhanded compliment as "one of the greatest 5-6 teams ever"? That unit lost five games by a total of 14 points, including one-point de- feats to Big Ten champion Michigan (24-23) and Pitt (10-9), plus a two-point setback at SEC champion LSU on the road (21-19) and a heartbreaking 24-19 loss to eventual national champion Penn State in which the Irish had a first-and-goal at the Nittany Lions' 6-yard line in the closing minute but couldn't get into the end zone. Welcome to what Iowa State expe- rienced 33 years later under rising star and fourth-year head coach Matt Campbell. The Cyclones' five defeats this year totaled 21 points, most no- tably four against teams that finished in the top 25 of the final College Foot- ball Playoff rankings: • 42-41 to No. 4 and 2019 CFP qualifier Oklahoma when Iowa State opted to go for the two-point play and the win with 24 seconds left in regulation time. However, sopho- more quarterback Brock Purdy's pass was intercepted. • 23-21 to No. 7 Baylor, which kicked a 38-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining to eke out the home victory. • 18-17 to No. 16 Iowa when the Hawkeyes converted a 39-yard field goal with 4:51 left in the game to take the lead for good. • 34-27 to No. 25 Oklahoma State when the Cowboys returned an inter- ception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the winning points. The finale versus Kansas State was also tied in the fourth quarter be- fore the Wildcats tallied the final 10 points in the 27-17 victory. Like Notre Dame in 1986, when it defeated then No. 17 USC (38-37) in the finale with a John Carney field goal as time expired, on Nov. 16 Iowa State had a similar elation when Con- nor Assalley's 36-yard field goal as time elapsed resulted in a 23-21 tri- umph (opposite of the Baylor loss) versus then-No. 22 Texas. In his second year with the Cy- clones (2017), Campbell posted more victories against top-five foes in Oc- tober of that season — 38-31 at No. 3 Oklahoma with Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield and 14-7 ver- sus No. 4 TCU — than the Cyclones had recorded (one) since the start of the Associated Press poll in 1936. Because Iowa State had suddenly become giant killers under Campbell, opponents no longer could down- play them, making it more challeng- ing for the Cyclones to ambush them. "The next step is really hard," Campbell said of going from seven- and eight-win seasons — a strong standard in itself at ISU — to the nine- and 10-win level. "For our pro- gram, this isn't a tradition-rich pro- gram where we can lean on experi- ences of the past. Every situation that we have, every step that we take, is really our first step. "One of the things even in this sea- son was kind of dealing with this new sense of expectation, dealing and understanding both from a coach and player standpoint knowing we'll get everybody's best shot — how to handle that, how to be your best in those moments. "We've grown a lot this year. A team that in a lot of ways is really young, in a lot of ways really got forced into a situation where high execution had to happen from the very beginning. "It's been an incredible journey with this group. We've learned a lot. We've grown a lot. I think the neat thing is we get the opportunities to continue this growth pattern versus a phenomenal opponent [Notre Dame] in a great situation." IS THIS A LETDOWN FOR NOTRE DAME? So often in bowl-game situations, bets are made on "which team is ex- cited to be there, and which is not." Last year 's Sugar Bowl was a prime example. Georgia believed it should be in the College Football GAME PREVIEW: IOWA STATE Top STorylineS Redshirt sophomore tight end Charlie Kolar and the Cyclones played in a number of close games this fall, going 2-4 in one-possession contests. Four of Iowa State's five losses came by a total of 11 points. PHOTO COURTESY IOWA STATE ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS