'The target got a little bit bigger' for Iowa State football team in 2018

Tommy Birch | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Cyclone Scuttlebutt: Iowa State set for season opener Sports writers Randy Peterson and Tommy Birch break down the Iowa State Cyclones' season opener against South Dakota State.

AMES, Ia. — Iowa State shocked the college football world in 2017 with a surprise season that saw the Cyclones knock off three ranked wins on their rise back to prominence. Ever since the season ended, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has been hammering away a message to his team.

“The target got a little bit bigger as Campbell likes to say,” Iowa State wide receiver Hakeem Butler said.

The Cyclones won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year as they open up the 2018 season against South Dakota State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

“He (Campbell) feels like teams are going to be looking out for us,” Butler said. “But, we’ve been the same team. We haven’t changed.”

The Cyclones are hoping they’ve grown though. They’ve already made massive strides in Campbell’s first two years at Iowa State going from a team that no one even cared about in the Big 12 Conference to one of the most talked about teams in the country.

After winning just three games during Campbell’s first season in 2016, the Cyclones completely flipped the script. They won eight games in 2018 and took down three ranked opponents, first beating No. 3 Oklahoma, then No. 4 Texas Christian and finally No. 18 Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. Everyone seemed to be surprised by just how good Iowa State was.

Butler even believes some of their foes last season overlooked them.

“Most definitely,” Butler said. “But that’s on them.”

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It won’t be the case for the Cyclones this season, who return 11 starters on offense and eight on defense who have started at least four games during a season. And the group accomplished a lot last season, setting school records for fewest turnovers (10), fewest fumbles lost (one), passing yards per game (272.9) and tackles for loss (96).

But the newfound respect the Cyclones may have garnered and the success they had hasn't gone to their heads. In fact, it's made them more hungry. And while most people are focused on what Iowa State accomplished last season, Iowa State quarterback Kyle Kempt said he can't stop thinking about what the Cyclones didn't do.

“We had a good season, but we still left a lot on the table,” he said.

And there was a lot left on the table with all five of Iowa State’s losses coming by 10 points or less. A play here or a play there could have made Iowa State’s season go from special to historic.

“That’s why he (Campbell) drives home the little things because those are things that will cost us games and those are the things that also won us games in crunch time,” Kempt said.

That’s not the only message Campbell has been passing onto his team. The other one: Take everyone seriously. That includes Saturday’s opponent, South Dakota State. It would be easy for anyone overlook South Dakota State since the Jackrabbits aren’t a Power 5 team. But they are a program that has had plenty of success.

South Dakota State is coming off an 11-3 season and a trip to the FCS playoff semifinals for the first time in program history. They enter the 2018 season ranked third in both major preseason FBS polls. And for good reason. Quarterback Taryn Christion is back, coming off his second consecutive season of 4,000 yards of total offense. The playcaller threw for 3,515 yards and ran for 500 last season.

He leads a team that, like Iowa State, has made massive strides recently. It's a program that Campbell even said he's admired and strives to get Iowa State to someday.

“You really watch the last two years of their product and it’s certainly been built over time,” Campbell said. “It’s a product we hope we can continue to get our program to — a sustained culture that’s competing for championships. You’re getting a really confident team — a team that’s got some excellent football players coming back.”

And after watching team after team take Iowa State lightly a year ago, Campbell is making sure his team doesn’t do the same when South Dakota State takes the field on Saturday.

“Campbell will give you a lot of reasons why not to take anyone lightly,” said Iowa State defensive tackle Ray Lima. “I think that’s the great thing with our team.

"We’re full go, ready to go. We’re preparing for the best and that’s what we’ll see every single week. I’m just excited about our team mentality.”

South Dakota State (0-0, 0-0 in Missouri Valley) vs. Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 in Big 12)

WHERE: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames

TIME/TV: 7 p.m., Cyclones.tv (announcers: Brent Blum, Sage Rosenfels).

LINE: Iowa State is favored by 14.

WEATHER: Partly cloudy, east, southeast winds at 5 miles per hour. High of 78.