One Big 12 coach is betting on Iowa State in a way almost nobody else is.
In a recent Big 12 coaches’ preseason poll conducted by On3, the Cyclones were picked by one coach to win the conference and knock off BYU in the Big 12 Championship Game. That lone vote stands out because no other Big 12 head coach selected Iowa State to even reach the title game.
The overall picture around the conference points in a very different direction. BYU led the poll with 13 total votes, including six picks to win the league and seven more to finish as the runner-up.
Texas Tech was next with four championship votes. Utah and Houston were the only other teams to draw multiple selections as conference champions.
On the runner-up side, Texas Tech and Utah were the only other programs besides BYU to get multiple votes.
For Iowa State, the surprise pick comes at a time when expectations are extremely low. Matt Campbell, who spent the last decade building the program, left this winter for Penn State. Most of the coaching staff followed him to Happy Valley, and more than 50 players entered the transfer portal, with a large chunk ending up at Penn State as well.
That turnover left new head coach Jimmy Rogers and his staff with major roster work to do. They responded by bringing in talent from across college football, but how it all fits together remains an open question.
Still, rebuilds are not new territory for Rogers. Last season at Washington State, the roster included 75 newcomers, and that team still managed to win a bowl game.
Even with that background, Iowa State is being viewed by some as a team near the bottom of the league. Some outlets have the Cyclones ranked as the No. 16 team in the Big 12 heading into the season. Against that backdrop, the one championship vote for Iowa State is the kind of prediction that jumps off the page.
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