Is it safe to call it yet on Matt Campbell staying in Ames?
Harbaugh Remains at Michigan—What That Means in Ames
Jim Harbaugh did not get the Vikings job. After reports he would take it if offered, he’s back at Michigan, and an episode which had seemed poised to start the college football coaching carousel back spinning has instead left us completely in place. Michigan held onto their top-ten recruiting class. Concerns about Matt Campbell leaving Iowa State have been assuaged. Life goes on.
There are, of course, unfilled NFL head coaching vacancies, but Harbaugh and Campbell’s names aren’t coming up for those, which for our purposes puts us effectively in the clear. These two jobs are staying as they were.
Where is Iowa State, after signing day? The Cyclones brought in the sixth-best class in the Big 12, slightly better than their recent average but not a massive step forward in the context of the conference. It’ll still be a rebuilding year this fall, in all likelihood, and Oklahoma and Texas are the teams to beat until they aren’t, with Oklahoma State, Baylor, and West Virginia all likely highly competitive as well. Given the road opponents this fall consist of Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma State, and TCU, it’s probably fair to expect three losses there, with probably an Oklahoma loss at home for a target record of 8-4. Is that too optimistic? Maybe. But given where the program stands, it’s doable, and it’s worth noting that it should be a rebuilding year for Iowa as well, meaning a 2-0 start is on the table, which then puts a 4-0 start on the table if ISU can beat Baylor in Ames, which then puts a 6-0 start on the table before the Austin trip, which…you get the idea. Playoff aspirations would be unreasonable, but the team should still be able to compete. Even with a lot of transition.
As far as Campbell, who spoke at Nick Bassett’s celebration of life today, goes, if things go well, it’ll probably never be a situation where Iowa State fans can feel secure in him being in Ames for life. But every year he stays, the further in the distance of memory the bad years recede, and by that, the more the program changes to fit the image he’s shaped it in. It doesn’t hurt that he sure seems to be a man who prides himself on loyalty, and who seems to have a rather big heart.
I’ve been hesitant to mention Bassett’s passing in here, because I don’t feel qualified to say much about the man, whose health struggles and Cyclones fandom were featured on College Gameday in September. By all accounts, he was an incredible person, and he is clearly greatly missed. God bless him, and God bless his family.
A New Kind of Arbitration
Shifting gears in a big way, Major League Baseball has asked the federal government to get involved in lockout negotiations, and if MLB’s asking, you would assume this is something that would help MLB, rather than the MLBPA. I don’t know how it helps us, for whom the biggest goal is getting a season to start on time. At some level, you’d imagine any movement helps the process along, but at the same time, the fact this is necessary would, one would imagine, signify the sides are rather far apart, so in short: It’s maybe better than nothing, but it’s worse than them just ending the darn thing and signing a new CBA.
Look to the West
As we noted earlier, it’s a big night out West for college basketball, with UCLA @ Arizona, Boise State @ Wyoming, and San Francisco @ BYU all going down tonight. At stake in those games are national championship viability perceptions for the Bruins and the Wildcats, conference title hopes for the Broncos and Cowboys, and bubble life for the Dons while the Cougars try to climb the seed rung and protect themselves from a Sunday-based bracketing mishap (because BYU doesn’t play on Sundays, there’s always a risk that, say, all the 3-seeds will end up with Friday/Sunday locations and BYU, needing a Thursday/Saturday spot, will have to slide to a 7-seed if they’re naturally a 6-seed).
Lot of stuff going on, lot of fun stuff going on, it starts in a few minutes here on ESPN in Tucson.
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Have a good night, friends, and comfort to those who mourn.
