November 26 was a brisk fall day, and plenty of bellies were full from Thanksgiving. However, morale was low and reality was sinking in. As my family sat and watched Iowa State’s last football game of the season against the undefeated Texas Christian University, we all came to the same conclusion: Iowa State’s 2022 season is not only finished, but it was an abject failure.

All of the excitement surrounding the dynamic duo of Hunter Dekkers and Xavier Hutchinson, and high hopes for our defense led by Will McDonald IV, seemed to all translate to nothing. However, as a sports fan, you learn to take the bad with the good. Iowa State has enjoyed, prior to this year, five years of great success under the leadership of Matt Campbell. We have been spoiled. So the only way any Iowa State fan should react to the shortcomings of this year is with a hopeful and optimistic mindset for next year.

Coaching Changes

How has Iowa State responded? Just six days after the embarrassing defeat that Iowa State suffered at the hands of TCU (14-62), Matt Campbell announced via a press release that Offensive Coordinator Tom Manning will seek coaching opportunities elsewhere. Following Tom Manning was strength and conditioning coach, Dave Andrews. This is the ugly reality of an unsuccessful season, staff must, and will be let go.

Fans of Iowa State long awaited the departure of Tom Manning, and those sentiments were only accentuated during this past season. Despite Tom Manning being nominated twice for the Tom Broyles Award during his tenure at Iowa State, action must be taken, and change is expected. Tom just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nate Scheelhaase, just three days later, was named the full-time offensive coordinator after a two day stint of being the interim offensive coordinator. With fresh faces representing the coaching staff, we can only hope that our trajectory as an organization begins to curve upwards.

Players Entering the Transfer Portal

So far, six former Iowa State players have entered the infamous transfer portal. Most notably, Sean Shaw Jr., and Deon Silas, two skill position players who offered good production for our offense. Iowa State fans please brace yourself because more will enter, and trust me it is not the end of the world.

We could see players the caliber of Jirehl Brock enter the portal, and that is OK! We must learn to take the bad with the good in this new world of NCAA football. As for me, I have oodles of confidence in Iowa State's recruiting team and in Matt Campbell himself to recruit a solid team leading into the 2023 season. So when the news breaks and your favorite player is leaving the clones, take a deep breath, and realize that someone else's favorite player from another team has entered the transfer portal to commit to Iowa State. The transfer portal is and will always be the nature of college football.

For the rest of the off-season, I implore fans of Iowa State to throw away any expectations they might have. Do not expect a complete and sudden turn around next year. Where Iowa State stands right now, they will not be a championship caliber team. Give this squad some time, and eliminate your expectations and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. But on the same note, HIRE A SPECIAL TEAMS COACH, PLEASE.