2020 Season Recap: Teams That Stepped Up

In college football teams are always trying to improve and reach new heights, only the few programs at the top are content to stay where they are. It’s not easy to find the combination to take a program to new heights, but when it happens it’s a thrilling time to be a fan. Today we look at a few programs who stepped up and continued on a path up the college football hierarchy.

Iowa State

Matt Campbell took over an Iowa State program that had never played in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Cyclones had one winning season since 2006 and was a cellar dweller in the Big 12. After a tough first season that saw the team go 3 – 9, Campbell quickly turned the teams fortunes around. Iowa State had a winning record in each of the last three seasons and had significantly improved it’s standing in the Big 12. With a lot of talent returning, expectations were high in 2020.

Covid threatened the season and impacted spring practice and fall camp, but the Cyclones kicked off on September 12 against Louisiana. The team looked like a team that did not have a traditional off-season or preseason and stumbled out of the gates with a 31 – 14 loss in their season opener. Matt Campbell would not let that inauspicious beginning define his team’s season.

The Cyclones got better quickly, as the return to football and a sense of normalcy suited the team. On October 3rd, the Cyclones hosted Oklahoma for a night game and earned a hard fought 37 – 30 win. The win was the middle game of a three game winning streak that helped to kick start a memorable year in Ames. The ugly loss to Louisiana was in the rear-view mirror and the Cyclones were undefeated in conference play and had a leg up on the favored Sooners.

Iowa State lost to Oklahoma State after that three game win streak, but bounced back again. The Cyclones ran off five straight wins to finish the regular season and secure their first regular season Big 12 Championship and claim a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. That game was a rematch against the Sooners, but Iowa State made too many mistakes to win and fell 27 – 21. Again, the team did not let the loss fester and impact the remainder of their season. Iowa State beat Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl convincingly, 34 – 17, to finish the season 9 – 3. This was only the third nine win season in Iowa State’s history and came in a Covid shortened season.

Iowa State made news with their wins, but also with their impressive stars that put on a show. The Cyclones featured one of the best backs in the country in Breece Hall. Hall ran for 1,572 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season, running for at least 79 yards in every game. Brock Purdy continued to be the leader for the team at quarterback and for the third straight year was one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. Charlie Kolar was a match-up nightmare at tight end and caught a touchdown in six of the last seven games of the season.

Iowa State reached new heights in 2020, but the program appears to be staying there. Purdy, Hall and Kolar will be back in 2021 to lead the offense next season. In addition to the offensive firepower returning, Matt Campbell also appears to be staying in Ames. With the head coach that built the program still looking for more and plenty of talent returning, Iowa State will have high expectations in 2021.

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North Carolina

Mack Brown returned to North Carolina in 2019 and quickly got to work building the program for the second time. The Tar Heels finished 7 – 6 in his first season, but the program was clearly on the way up. Brown was recruiting at a high level and had quickly transformed the culture of the program. With Sam Howell coming off an impressive freshman campaign, expectations were high in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels got out of the gates quickly and won their first three games of the season. They did hit a rough patch in the middle of the year, losing two of their next three games to Florida State and Virginia, but the team rebounded and lost just one more game during the regular season. That 31 – 17 loss to Notre Dame, showed the program still had work to do to reach their goals.

The highlight of the season came in the regular season finale. With a likely New Year’s Six bowl bid on the line, the Tar Heels went to Miami to take on a resurgent Miami team. North Carolina showed the potential of their team with a 62 – 26 thrashing of the Hurricanes. North Carolina ran for 554 yards and 6 touchdowns while averaging over 10 yards per carry. North Carolina dominated and earned an Orange Bowl appearance, but both running backs and number one receiver Dyami Brown opted out of the game and the Tar Heels came up short 41 – 27 against Texas A&M.

While 2019 was Sam Howell’s coming out party, 2020 was a coming out party for the entire offense. Michael Carter and Javonte Williams both ran for over 1,000 yards and both averaged over 7 yards per carry for the season. Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome both caught over 50 passes from Howell and helped provide balance in the passing game. The offense averaged 41.7 points per game and 7.6 yards per play and led the way to an 8 – 4 season.

Mack Brown has continued to recruit at a high level and Sam Howell will return for a third year leading the Tar Heels’ offense. With a talented quarterback, proven coach and high end recruits on the way, the future is bright in Chapel Hill. Expect this to be just another step on North Carolina’s path towards the top of the ACC.

Indiana

Tom Allen has quickly transformed the Indiana football program. The Hoosiers did not have a winning season since 2007, but in Allen’s third season in 2019, Indiana finished 8 – 5 and played in the Gator Bowl. The team had not won eight games since 1993 and with a young team, Allen had a chance to build on that success in 2020.

The Big Ten almost cancelled the 2020 season because of concerns about Covid. That would have been terrible for Indiana fans who were expecting to see their program continue to climb this season. Fortunately, the season did happen and what a season it was for Indiana. The Hoosiers went 6 – 2 with their two losses coming against Ohio State and in the Outback Bowl. The two losses cannot damper the tremendous strides the program made in 2020.

After years of viewing the conference from the bottom, Indiana beat several of the brand names in the conference. The season kicked off with a heart stopping come from behind overtime win over Penn State. Two weeks after beating the Nittany Lions, Indiana took down Michigan 38 – 21 in a convincing win. Though they came up short against Ohio State and then lost starting quarterback Michael Penix to injury the next week, the Hoosiers would rebound with a 14 – 6 win over Wisconsin to close out the Big Ten schedule.

Indiana only played eight games in 2020, had they had a full schedule they probably would have at least tied last years win total. The defense was among the best in the Big Ten allowing just 20.3 points per game and forcing 20 turnovers in 8 games. On offense, the Hoosiers found a star at receiver in Ty Fryfogle and will hopefully have Penix back from his injury by the time the 2021 season begins. Tom Allen is building a football program at Indiana, and even though it’s basketball season, fans in Bloomington are looking forward to the next football season.

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ISU vs OSU 2019-10-26 Image taken by Daniel Hartwig is licensed under CC BY 2.0.