CHICAGO — Before asking Matt Campbell a question at Big Ten Media Days, a reporter couldn’t contain the oddity of this scene.
“It’s just weird not seeing you with the Iowa State gear behind you,” the media member said.
It’s still a bit jarring to fully grasp the fact that Campbell is no longer at Iowa State, where he spent 10 seasons as head coach and is the program’s all-time leader in wins. Campbell, who took the Penn State job in December, is now in the same conference as Iowa, his former in-state foe.
On July 28, he said of the Big Ten: “This conference is the best in the country.”
At this time last year, Campbell was still coaching in the Big 12.
Campbell might be entering his first season in the Big Ten, but Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is plenty familiar with Campbell’s work, having seen what he did in Ames.
“Dan McCarney did a great job resuscitating things there, but then Matt took it to another level and just kept it going,” Ferentz said. “So a great admiration for the kind of coach he is. Admiration for his staff, the way they did things. He gives direction, but he had good coaches working with him. Everything I know about him as a person is nothing but admirable. So, to me, people like that are good for college football.”
Ferentz also understands the power of the Nittany Lions’ program and how Campbell fits there.
“I grew up in that part of the country,” Ferentz said. “I’ve got a deep appreciation for what that program is and what it’s capable of doing. To me, it’s going to be a really great marriage for both parties. I wish him luck. But obviously not too much, because we probably are going to have to compete against him at some point. But this year, I don’t have to worry about it.”
Iowa is scheduled to play at Penn State in 2028. But the 2026 and 2027 campaigns await before that, barring a meeting between the two teams in the postseason.
This season will mark a new chapter in the Cy-Hawk rivalry. Jimmy Rogers is entering his first season as Iowa State’s head coach. Rogers, who won an FCS national title as a head coach at South Dakota State and was on staff for another, went 6-6 in his lone season at Washington State before replacing Campbell in Ames.
The Hawkeyes, who come up short in each of the last two meetings against the Cyclones, will have a chance to turn the tide this year at Kinnick Stadium.
“The biggest observation or takeaway in our new era of modern college football where coaches switch and such a high number of players switch — Jimmy’s been through that,” Ferentz said of Rogers. “Same thing happened when he went to Washington State. They had a lot of new players on that roster and they did very well. I’m sure he’ll do the same thing at Iowa State. I know this: He did a great job at South Dakota State, did a wonderful job at Washington State with, I think, a lot of challenges… And my guess is he’ll do just fine at Iowa State, too. He’s a really good football coach.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at TTachman@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: What does Kirk Ferentz think about Matt Campbell’s move to Penn State?
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Hawk Central
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By Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
