AMES – One of the most endearing things about college football is just how certifiably insane it is.
Things – not just sometimes but as a matter of routine – happen that defy logic, reason and good taste, but in a way that is mostly harmless and incredibly entertaining.
Unless, I suppose, you’re a fan of the program acting loony.
Personally, I find the governor of Louisiana saying wild things about LSU’s (former) coach and (former) athletic director hilarious. A state’s highest-elected official not only having an opinion, but a say in how something like a college coaching search unfolds is, legitimately, crazy.
I suppose I’d find it a lot less funny if I were a Tigers fan trying to woo the best coach for my favorite program. And if I covered LSU rather than Iowa State, well, I still think I’d find it hilarious but with a side of headache.
Or look at what’s going on with Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. The longtime polarizing coach is reportedly being courted by both LSU and Florida, two of the premier jobs in the country. His family reportedly went on something akin to fact-finding missions to Baton Rouge and Gainesville, which is pretty funny considering the Rebels are, ya know, still very much playing football.
And there’s also reporting that Ole Miss wants Kiffin to decide his future sometime this weekend, never mind, ya know, that the Rebels can still win the SEC and, potentially, the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
I don’t know what’s more absurd – a coach bailing on a potential title winner for a job within the same conference, or a university willing to turn up the distraction volume while threatening to completely upend a title contender if the coach doesn’t make a decision about next season while this season is still happening.
The whole thing is bananas.
And some, most prominently Hall of Fame coach Nick Saban, are blaming college football’s calendar for this sort of mess. Which, OK, I’m sure the January transfer portal and the rush to fill both rosters and NIL coffers is putting additional pressure on everyone, but c’mon.
This mess rests solely with the people making these escalatingly immature choices.
Kiffin doesn’t need to be playing ‘The Coaching Bachelor.’ Ole Miss doesn’t need to be setting in-season ultimatums. The state of Louisiana doesn’t have to be, well, I guess the die is probably cast there.
It’s also increasingly unclear to me why any of these bad actors would even want to team up. LSU and Florida want to hire a guy, apparently, willingly to walk away from a team on the brink of a title? Kiffin wants to work at a place where the governor is going to conduct your job review?
And somehow all of this is the calendar’s fault?
“I probably would say,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said, “it’s an excuse for decision-making.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Campbell, of course, is a veteran of the craziness of silly season, with his name perennially popular on candidate lists, both in the media and with athletic directors.
Despite a flare-up of out-of-nowhere rumors last week surrounding Campbell and Arkansas – a match that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to this reporter – it’s been actually relatively quiet on the Campbell Rumor Mill. Which probably isn’t surprising given both Iowa State’s mid-season slide and Campbell’s well-known aversion to considering jobs in the regular season. Campbell famously would not meet with Iowa State until after Toledo’s MAC championship game appearance back in 2015.
“Your priority, I’ve always believed this, if you’re not putting all your focus, energy on your team – your kids deserve that,” Campbell said Nov. 25. “The staying power to stay focused on putting together the best 12-game season you can and let the chips fall where they may when the season comes to an end.”
This year’s edition of the coaching carousel may not turn quite as wildly as it appeared earlier this season with Wisconsin, Florida State and Baylor opting to stay the course with their current staffs, but LSU, Florida and Penn State all being open at the same time means things will, unquestionably, get nuts. I mean, they already are in Oxford. If there’s a surprise opening at another blue blood, maybe the carousel accelerates up to warp speed. The downstream effects of all these openings are impossible to predict.
It’s always best to be prepared for anything this time of year.
Or, even, just a game at Oklahoma State.
“We really are in an unprecedented time in terms of all those things,” Campbell said, “and I think that’s why building your culture inside out is so critical. Knowing who you are. Knowing what you stand for.
“I think those things are critical to at least giving yourself a chance to have sustainable success.”
Travis Hines’ Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State prediction: Cyclones (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma State (1-10, 0-8)
Time, TV and line: 11 a.m.; ESPNU; Iowa State by 14
Where the Cowboys have the edge: The Pokes are, I’m sorry, legitimately terrible. They’ve been able to keep things close the last two weeks against Kansas State and UCF, but the rest of the conference has ground them into dust. The best the Stillwater faithful can really hope for is that the Cowboys, playing for the pride of avoiding a winless Big 12 season, can upend the game and make it funky.
Where the Cyclones have the edge: The Cyclones finally looked more like the team that started the year 5-0 than the team that slumped through the next five (even though they won at TCU) in their win over Kansas last week. If that team makes its way down to Stillwater, it’s got an advantage at just about every spot on the field.
Prediction: The Cyclones build on last week’s momentum and create some more heading into bowl season with a convincing, well-played victory to give them eight regular-season wins for just the fifth time in the last 45 years. Iowa State 28, Oklahoma State 7.
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.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hines’ Iowa State vs Oklahoma State prediction, can Cyclones finish?
Reporting by Travis Hines, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
