Matt Campbell, Iowa State Happy for Shot at Notre Dame
Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell is a name Notre Dame fans have been obsessed with for years and they'll get to see him up close and personal in a few weeks.
No. 15 Notre Dame will take on Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl on December 28th and the Irish already have the attention of Campbell.
"The honor to play a great program and institution in Notre Dame is certainly an honor for us," Campbell stated. "I can promise you we'll work really hard to represent everything that this game has stood for in the right way between myself, certainly our coaches and our players. We're just beyond humbled and grateful to be there.
"Like you say, to play a program that has really stood for excellence through a long time in Notre Dame, that's certainly tremendous. To be selected in a bowl game like this, to be able to play an opponent like that, it's humbling."
No offense to the Camping World Bowl, but it's a step down (or two) for Notre Dame, who made the College Football Playoff a year ago.
Iowa State is clearly happy to just be playing Notre Dame as the Cyclones went 7-5 as they'll get a chance to end the season with a significant win.
"I think for a program like ours, number one that has never played against Notre Dame in football, the respect of the tradition, certainly the respect of what Coach (Brian) Kelly has done, what they've done this year, it's a great honor," Campbell rambled.
"We're fortunate we play in a conference that's got some elite programs. To be able to finish the season with one of the best programs in college football, that's a great honor."
Iowa State might be 7-5, but it's only been by a combined 21 points.
Campbell's focus over the next three weeks will be to get his team to finish.
"I think that the next step is really hard," said Campbell. "I'll be really honest with you. I think for our program, you got to remember this isn't a tradition-rich program where we can lean on experiences of the past. Every situation that we have, every step that we take, is really our first step.
"I think one of the things even in this season was kind of dealing with this new sense of expectation, dealing and understanding both from a coach and player standpoint knowing we'll get everybody's best shot, how to handle that, how to be your best in those moments.
"We've grown a lot this year. A team that in a lot of ways is really young, in a lot of ways really got forced into a situation where high execution had to happen from the very beginning."