Hines: Iowa State football has big opportunity against Houston in Big 12 Conference opener

AMES – It’s not easy for an athletic department to go from the Group of 5 to the Power 4. It’s incredibly difficult, actually. 

And it’s probably most difficult for the football programs within those athletic departments. They, and the money they hope to generate, are the reason for the move, and yet they are the most disadvantaged by it on the field. When you’re facing the teams that historically could poach your best recruits on a whim at the 11^th hour, you’re gonna have a problem. 

That was certainly the case for the Big 12’s four newcomers last year. BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston went a combined 4-24 against the league’s legacy programs in 2023. Houston was the only team to accrue two wins against those Power 4 mainstays, and coach Dana Holgorsen got fired for his efforts. 

That puts the Cougars in a doubly difficult spot – trying to level up in a league while also implementing a culture of a first-year coach. 

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“You throw in the two mixes of new league and new coaching staff,” Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday, “that’s just unique.  

“It’s not easy.” 

Houston coach Willie Fritz would certainly appear to be up for the job, with Tulane’s turnaround under his watch the most recent accomplishment in a career that spans three decades and includes four Division I head coaching stops. 

But there’s a lot of work to do. 

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The Cougars will host No. 19 Iowa State (3-0) on Saturday (6 p.m.; FS1) with a 1-3 record that most recently added a 34-0 loss to fellow Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati. They played No. 18 Oklahoma tough in a road loss, but a 27-7 season-opening home setback to UNLV certainly doesn’t inspire confidence that this team may be better than its early outcomes. 

“They’ve got elite playmakers and elite talent,” Campbell countered, “and it’s just trying to find that consistency.  

“Any time there’s a coaching change, you’re trying to create the mentality that you want, and there’s going to be a little bit of inconsistency at times.” 

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Houston’s situation, to state the obvious, is quite different than Iowa State’s. Though they are not unrelated. 

The Cyclones will head to Texas riding just the second 3-0 start for the program in the last decade, with a top-20 ranking and real designs on a Big 12 title game appearance. Much of those Big 12 aspirations – and the College Football Playoff implications associated with them – are tied to a schedule that features, well, several teams like Houston. 

Which is to say, eminently winnable games. 

This, of course, is not a ‘must-win’ game in September for the Cyclones, but it definitely is a ‘should win.’ Campbell talked last week about building momentum with the 52-7 win over Arkansas State, and the Cyclones’ November prospects will be hugely determined by the momentum they can build in this stretch of their schedule. 

With games against the Cougars, Baylor (2-2), at West Virginia (2-2) and UCF (3-0) rounding out the October schedule, this is where Iowa State can establish itself as a true Big 12 and national threat. It could also establish itself as a team capable of playing good football but also losing against so-so competition.  

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To demand a 7-0 record heading into the season’s final month is probably a bit much, but, looking at what Iowa State has on its roster and these teams on its schedule, anything short of 6-1 probably feels like a major missed opportunity, right? 

Just like Iowa State did against the Red Wolves last week, now is the time for simply taking care of business. Style points are nice, but convincing performances and wins are better. 

They’re nearly essential for Iowa State to piece together the type of special season it last enjoyed in 2020, and completely required if the Cyclones want to exceed what that team full of future NFL players accomplished. 

A trip to a rebuilding Houston program isn’t the most exciting way to open Big 12 play, but, with the heights Iowa State hopes to reach this season, every single step matters. Even the easy strides can threaten a stumble, and they’re essential to get where you want to go.

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.