Matt Campbell One-on-One Part III: On "the champion's heart" and "the champion's detail"
- Thread starter The Rob Gray
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This has been a great series...... up until this part III that is.
Not Rob's fault at all, but in this part III, we learn absolutely nothing because Matt Campbell is the best at talking and talking and saying absolutely nothing. One of the best "coach speak" guys in the country.
He constantly speaks about "heart" and "detail" all the time, yet those areas have shown little to no improvement over his years here. The talent level has improved, that's why we're winning a few more games every year than we did under Rhoads, but the details and the consistency has not..... along with the X's and O's I might add.
This past year for example, 7 wins was probably about the worst we could have done with the talent level we had IMO. It's these very things he always talks about time and time again that are holding his teams back unfortunately.
Until he can figure out the "details", the "margins", the special teams, and the X's and O's offensively.... I don't think he will get to where he wants to go. He won't take that "next step".
Not Rob's fault at all, but in this part III, we learn absolutely nothing because Matt Campbell is the best at talking and talking and saying absolutely nothing. One of the best "coach speak" guys in the country.
He constantly speaks about "heart" and "detail" all the time, yet those areas have shown little to no improvement over his years here. The talent level has improved, that's why we're winning a few more games every year than we did under Rhoads, but the details and the consistency has not..... along with the X's and O's I might add.
This past year for example, 7 wins was probably about the worst we could have done with the talent level we had IMO. It's these very things he always talks about time and time again that are holding his teams back unfortunately.
Until he can figure out the "details", the "margins", the special teams, and the X's and O's offensively.... I don't think he will get to where he wants to go. He won't take that "next step".
I think you're overestimating ISU's talent again.
I agree that with better fundamentals they have a better chance to get 9, maybe even 10 wins, and that needs to improve going forward, but 7 wins wasn't their floor.
More like what games did ISU have a chance to win that they probably shouldn't have.
Iowa and Baylor should have been wins.
One could argue we shouldnt have beaten Texas, though I disagree.
Details cost us 2 wins.
One could argue we shouldnt have beaten Texas, though I disagree.
Details cost us 2 wins.
Among losses narrowly specified that way: Baylor and Oklahoma.
Texas felt like The Opposite of the Baylor game.
Imo the best football ISU played all season was the first half of the Texas game.
I don't see next season as pivotal or crucial to CMC's tenure, but I think it could be a good indicator on if they've got a bead on the fundamental issues of the past two seasons.
IMO, its been a hell of a lift to get Iowa State to a place where it can go into any Big 12 game with the belief it can win. Its literally never happened before Campbell. You're now at the point when the most difficult game on the schedule (@ Oklahoma) is one two-point conversion away from being a place we haven't lost since 2015.
Some of the ways games were lost were fixable, but fixing detail is preferable to not having the talent to be competitive.
You can point at the 2020 schedule and legitimately look at every game and honestly say that, yes, we can win that without things getting insanely weird.
Combined scoring margin the last three years:
Kansas +79
Texas Tech +37
West Virginia +36
TCU +29
Baylor +22
Oklahoma -4
Kansas State -7
Oklahoma State -8
Texas -22
Texas is the only team that has outscored us by more than one combined possession the last three years. We were missing our draft pick RB for a half against Texas. We played Noland two years ago against OU and we didn't have Montgomery for our win at OSU. You tell anyone four years ago that thats what you can get without great results via detail and they would be ecstatic. And you could really easily say that a few of these games had some bad beats.
Now go to Rhoads last three years
Kansas +39
Texas +20
West Virginia -29
Kansas State -45
Texas Tech -45
Oklahoma State -52
TCU -80
Baylor -103
Oklahoma -119
Obviously none of this happens in a vacuum (I also eyeballed these figures, so there may be errors - also we have a really weird history with Texas). But being truly competitive in conference play has not happened over any sustained period of time here in the Big 12. That has been an issue of talent. The next step is cleaning up the margins. I'm not sure many of us thought we could be truly good without being nearly perfect on the margins as it is.
Some of the ways games were lost were fixable, but fixing detail is preferable to not having the talent to be competitive.
You can point at the 2020 schedule and legitimately look at every game and honestly say that, yes, we can win that without things getting insanely weird.
Combined scoring margin the last three years:
Kansas +79
Texas Tech +37
West Virginia +36
TCU +29
Baylor +22
Oklahoma -4
Kansas State -7
Oklahoma State -8
Texas -22
Texas is the only team that has outscored us by more than one combined possession the last three years. We were missing our draft pick RB for a half against Texas. We played Noland two years ago against OU and we didn't have Montgomery for our win at OSU. You tell anyone four years ago that thats what you can get without great results via detail and they would be ecstatic. And you could really easily say that a few of these games had some bad beats.
Now go to Rhoads last three years
Kansas +39
Texas +20
West Virginia -29
Kansas State -45
Texas Tech -45
Oklahoma State -52
TCU -80
Baylor -103
Oklahoma -119
Obviously none of this happens in a vacuum (I also eyeballed these figures, so there may be errors - also we have a really weird history with Texas). But being truly competitive in conference play has not happened over any sustained period of time here in the Big 12. That has been an issue of talent. The next step is cleaning up the margins. I'm not sure many of us thought we could be truly good without being nearly perfect on the margins as it is.
That's a huge part of the "art" of coaching and leadership... Every year is a completely different team - personalities, leadership, challenges, etc... Unless you are 2-3 teams, everything has to go right (or mostly right) most of the time to surpass expectations and have that "special" year. We've become a top 40 talent team and continually play as a top 25 team. But excellence is a rare thing so I can appreciate the continuous pursuit of excellence by this staff.
OMG.... that's hilarious. We weren't supposed to beat UNI? Truth is we should have beat them by 3+ TDs, but needed a miracle to win. That's pathetic.
Now... don't get me wrong... CMC has done wonders here... and I've said that all along. But I see him as a 5-8 wins per year coach unless he can improve this team's fundamentals, attention to detail, special teams, and the x's and o's needed to exploit the opponent.
He has increased the talent significantly, which is awesome, but we need a better OC, OL coach, and special teams coach if we want to take the next step.
Foundation is the most important part of a program. In order to improve on something, you have to continue to work on it even when you feel like you have it down. It's why the greats are great. The X's and O's don't matter if you have anything to build off of. Campbell is the definition of a leader.
