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2020 Iowa State

9–⁠3 (8–⁠1 Big 12), coached by Matt Campbell, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa State in 2020, game by game: lost vs. Louisiana 14–31; won at TCU 37–34; won vs. No. 18 Oklahoma 37–30; won vs. Texas Tech 31–15; lost at No. 6 Oklahoma State 21–24; won at Kansas 52–22; won vs. Baylor 38–31; won vs. Kansas State 45–0; won at No. 20 Texas 23–20; won vs. West Virginia 42–6; lost vs. No. 12 Oklahoma 21–27; won vs. Oregon 34–17+45−17Lost 14–31 vs. Louisiana-17LouisianaWon 37–34 at TCU+3TCUWon 37–30 vs. No. 18 Oklahoma+7No. 18 OklahomaWon 31–15 vs. Texas Tech+16Texas TechLost 21–24 at No. 6 Oklahoma State-3No. 6 Oklahoma StateWon 52–22 at Kansas+30KansasWon 38–31 vs. Baylor+7BaylorWon 45–0 vs. Kansas State+45Kansas StateWon 23–20 at No. 20 Texas+3No. 20 TexasWon 42–6 vs. West Virginia+36West VirginiaLost 21–27 vs. No. 12 Oklahoma-6No. 12 OklahomaWon 34–17 vs. Oregon+17Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsLouisianaL 14–⁠3154%
Sep 26atTCUW 37–⁠3445%
Oct 3vs18OklahomaW 37–⁠3042%
Oct 10vsTexas TechW 31–⁠1574%
Oct 24at6Oklahoma StateL 21–⁠2440%
Oct 31atKansasW 52–⁠2276%
Nov 7vsBaylorW 38–⁠3167%
Nov 21vsKansas StateW 45–⁠065%
Nov 27at20TexasW 23–⁠2040%
Dec 5vsWest VirginiaW 42–⁠670%
Dec 19vs12OklahomaBig 12 Championship GameL 21–⁠2742%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsOregonFiesta BowlW 34–⁠1747%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oregon 34–⁠17 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; first in the Big 12.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 132 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 6: 24
  3. Wk 7: 20
  4. Wk 8: 17
  5. Wk 9: 23
  6. Wk 10: 17
  7. Wk 11: 17
  8. Wk 12: 17
  9. Wk 13: 15
  10. Wk 14: 12
  11. Wk 15: 10
  12. Wk 16: 8
  13. Final: 9

Led the nationBreece Hall: rushing yards (1,572 yds)

Consensus All-AmericanBreece Hall, RB

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Big 12
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 8
Points
395–⁠257
Coach
Matt Campbell
Elo
1685 +119 this season
SP+ rating
13.3 No. 19 of 130; offense No. 24, defense No. 24
SRS
14.2 No. 9 of 77 in FBS
Returning
75% of last season’s EPA, No. 40 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 46 roster talent No. 56 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tom Manning
Defensive coordinator
Jon Heacock
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3-high safety

How good, play by play

  • Offense19th of 127
  • Defense27th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted14th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted16th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2348%1.2319th of 127
Defense0.0239%1.2527th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.03 def		49% off
39% def		—14th off
16th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.5own 3114% allowed
Defense2.7own 2818% caused

CORE rating 20.5, 6th of 127 (offense 13.3, defense -7.2).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBrock Purdy QB2,750 yds
Passing touchdownsBrock Purdy QB19 TD
Rushing yardsBreece Hall RB1,573 yds
Rushing touchdownsBreece Hall RB21 TD
Receiving yardsXavier Hutchinson WR771 yds
Receiving touchdownsCharlie Kolar TE7 TD
TacklesMike Rose LB96 tkl
SacksWill McDonald DE10 sacks
InterceptionsMike Rose LB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Hunter Dekkers DUAL★★★★No. 308
Cole Pedersen OLB★★★No. 614
Daniel Jackson WR★★★No. 614
Aidan Bouman PRO★★★No. 635
Hayden Pauls OT★★★No. 780

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.887
Receivers33.00.857
Offensive line53.00.851
Defensive line23.00.864
Linebackers33.00.848
Defensive backs43.00.852
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class203.00.854

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 4Kene Nwangwu RBMinnesota Vikings

Roster 131

The 2020 roster

131 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

9 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2020 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa State8–⁠19–⁠39
Oklahoma6–⁠29–⁠26
Oklahoma State6–⁠38–⁠320
Texas5–⁠37–⁠319
TCU5–⁠46–⁠4
West Virginia4–⁠46–⁠4
Kansas State4–⁠54–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠64–⁠6
Baylor2–⁠72–⁠7
Kansas0–⁠80–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.