In an evolving sport and Big 12, Iowa State football looks to thrive off continuity

The world of college football is rapidly changing.

Revenue sharing, NIL, conference realignment and the transfer portal are at the forefront of every college administrator and coach’s mind.

The Big 12 Conference is not immune to that. As its two pillar programs, Texas and Oklahoma, depart for the SEC, it will welcome four new members — Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado. This all comes just a year after the additions of Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida.

As everyone adjusts to a new-look conference that spreads from the deserts of Arizona to the mountains of West Virginia, many programs have to get used to nearly an entirely new roster. Just take Colorado and coach Deion Sanders, who has seen the departure of 35 scholarship athletes and 10 walk-ons. Colorado has already earned commitments from 40 new athletes for the upcoming season.

It’s a trend that nearly every team in college football has experienced, even if Colorado is on the extreme side of that spectrum.

More: Matt Campbell on the ‘huge impact’ new tablet rules could have for Iowa State football

Yet, the Iowa State football program is one of a select few programs that has found continuity. Ahead of the 2024-25 season, the Cyclones rank second in the nation in returning production, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s database. Iowa State returns 90% of its production on offense (second-most in the nation) and 80% of its defensive production (fifth in the nation).

The only team ahead of them is Virginia Tech, which returns 86% of its production from a 7-6 season in 2023. In the Big 12, Iowa State leads the way in returning production with Oklahoma State (77%, fourth) and Utah (72%, 16th) behind the Cyclones.

Finding players who want to stick around in Ames has always been a priority for coach Matt Campbell through his nine seasons at the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/evolving-sport-big-12-iowa-110811990.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2024-05-23 11:08:11

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