Breece Hall, No. 10 Iowa State Beat No. 25 Oregon 34-17 in 2020 Fiesta Bowl

No. 10 Iowa State cemented its status as one of college football's top programs with a 34-17 victory over No. 25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.

It's the Cyclones' first-ever win in a New Year's Six game after not appearing in one of the sport's top postseason events since a 1977 loss to NC State in the Peach Bowl. After dropping the Alamo Bowl in 2018 and Camping World Bowl last year, head coach Matt Campbell has finally broken through and completed one of the toughest rebuilding projects in Division I.

Four years ago, ISU was coming off its seventh consecutive losing season. Now it has nine wins (9-3) for the first time since 2000 and its first bowl victory since the 2017 Liberty Bowl against No. 19 Memphis.

The Cyclones jumped all over the Ducks, particularly taking advantage on special teams, where they forced two turnovers on muffed kicks, setting themselves up deep in Oregon territory and wearing down the opposing defense. 

The loss snaps a two-game postseason winning streak for head coach Mario Cristobal after the Ducks (4-3) won the 2019 Redbox Bowl and 2020 Rose Bowl.

Notable Performers

Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State Cyclones: 20-of-29, 156 yards, 1 TD, 9 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD

Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State Cyclones: 34 carries, 136 yards, 2 TDs

Anthony Brown, QB, Oregon Ducks: 12-of-19, 147 yards, 4 carries, 36 yards, 2 TDs

Travis Dye, RB, Oregon Ducks: 8 carries, 52 yards

Turnovers and Defense Doom Ducks

Iowa State dared Oregon to make mistakes all game and wasted no time converting them into points whenever the Ducks obliged. 

It became as much of a pattern as anything else in the Fiesta Bowl. If the Cyclones couldn't muster points, their defense and special teams would make sure to give the offense another crack before Oregon could settle in. 

That's how an early back-and-forth affair became a lopsided effort at halftime—and a rout by the end of regulation. 

With Oregon and ISU tied at 14 with just over three minutes left in the second quarter, the Cyclones were able to take advantage after the Ducks' leading tackler, Isaac Slade-Matautia, was ejected for targeting. The next play saw Purdy float a 30-yard pass to Xavier Hutchinson to set Iowa State up in the red zone. Four plays later, Purdy walked into the end zone for a one-yard TD run that put ISU up for good. 

Things got worse for Oregon when the ensuing kickoff hit a Ducks player and was quickly recovered by ISU at the 27-yard line. It only took three more plays before Hall was able to punch it into the end zone for back-to-back ISU scores in just 17 seconds. 

While the second half didn't feature much scoring (6-0, ISU), the Cyclones were able to effectively work the clock and keep Oregon from finding any rhythm on offense. Another fumbled kick return and an interception certainly helped, but this was ISU mostly on cruise control. 

Iowa State won the time of possession battle, 42:48-17:12 and gained 25 first downs to Oregon's 17. After the first quarter made it seem like the two teams were evenly matched, Iowa State proved that wasn't the case. 

There was little Oregon could do to show otherwise.    

Can ISU Keep Campbell?

If Matt Campbell wasn't a staple on every athletic director's wishlist before Saturday, he certainly is now. 

After all, winning the Big 12 and knocking off a Pac-12 powerhouse with a program that traditionally doesn't recruit well don't lend themselves to anonymity. That's likely to lead to some major opportunities for Campbell in the near future. 

Retaining him is now Iowa State's No. 1 goal. 

The school handed him an extension last December that should keep him in Ames through 2025 after he was rumored for vacancies at Florida State and Arkansas. Even the New York Jets reached out in 2018, though Campbell reportedly declined an interview. 

After a Fiesta Bowl win, bigger jobs may be on the horizon. 

The beauty of Campbell's position now is that he can wait for the right fit before he even has to consider leaving Iowa State. And as many coaches who succeed with smaller programs know, a bigger job doesn't always translate to more success. 

For now, Campbell will remain on the Cyclones sideline. But Iowa State can't get too comfortable with that notion. Things move too fast in college football to ever fully relax. 

What's Next

Oregon enters the offseason with the No. 1 recruiting class in the Pac-12, according to 247Sports, good for No. 6 overall in the country. While the program has yet to land a 5-star recruit for next season, Cristobal has received commitments from 16 4-star prospects to put it atop the conference rankings. Iowa State, meanwhile, is ranked No. 8 in the Big 12 and No. 55 nationally with 19 3-star players set to arrive in the fall.