Iowa State’s Cyclone Era Hits Reset Under Jimmy Rogers After Matt Campbell’s Penn State Move
Jimmy Rogers walked into the toughest rebuild in the Big 12. The new Iowa State head coach took the job last December after Matt Campbell left for Penn State, and the roster he inherited has been gutted by the transfer portal in a way that few programs have experienced in the modern era. Rogers, who came over from Washington State, is going to need years to repair what Campbell built over a decade.
The Campbell era at Iowa State was historic. He went 75-49 in 10 seasons, won two Big 12 championship game appearances, beat Oregon in the 2020 Fiesta Bowl, and turned the Cyclones from a perennial bottom-feeder into a respectable Power Five program. His 75 wins are the most by any coach in school history. He recruited, developed, and won with players that most other Power Five schools did not want.
Penn State threw a bag at him. After firing James Franklin in October 2025, the Nittany Lions targeted Campbell hard. They offered an eight-year contract that reportedly pays him north of $9 million per year. Campbell took the job in December.
What happened next was the chaos. Iowa State’s best players knew that the new coach would not have the same relationships, the same offensive system, or the same NIL infrastructure. Many of them entered the transfer portal as soon as the window opened. The Cyclones lost their starting quarterback, both leading receivers, two All-Big 12 offensive linemen, and three of their top defensive players. Some followed Campbell to Penn State. Others scattered to programs like Oregon, Texas Tech, and Utah.
By the time Rogers got into Ames, the roster was a shell of what it had been. He has spent the spring trying to plug holes with portal additions of his own. He has had limited success. The bigger Big 12 schools have outbid Iowa State for almost every meaningful free-agent target. The Cyclones added some role players. They did not add anyone who is going to start week one and make a real difference.
Rogers himself is a strong coaching hire. He just led Washington State to an 8-5 season in 2025 in his second year there, which is impressive for a team operating in the Pac-12’s collapse and rebuild. He has a reputation as a defensive mind with the kind of program-building patience that small budgets require. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard saw him as the closest available match to Campbell’s profile.
The problem is that Iowa State is operating with significant structural disadvantages. The athletic department’s NIL budget is among the smallest in the Big 12. The recruiting territory is limited compared to schools in Texas and Florida. The fan base is loyal but small. The Cyclones cannot just buy their way out of the rebuild.
Rogers’ first season is going to be ugly. The projection is somewhere in the four-to-six-win range, with the upside being seven wins if a quarterback emerges and the defense holds up. The 2026 season is going to be a culture year. Rogers needs to establish his program, develop the players he has, and convince the next wave of recruits that Iowa State is a destination worth committing to.
The bigger Cyclones picture is that this is a multi-year process. Pollard knew it when he hired Rogers. The fan base, mostly, knows it too. What they did not know was how thoroughly Campbell’s departure would empty the roster. The portal was not kind.
For Campbell, Penn State is going to be a real test. He has the resources, the talent, and the recruiting pull to win at PSU. He also has the expectation. The Lions have not won a national championship since 1986. Anything less than top-five recruiting classes and a College Football Playoff appearance in year three is going to be considered a disappointment.
Both programs are facing big years. Iowa State is rebuilding. Penn State is reloading. The 2026 season is going to tell us how the coaching carousel played out.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
