PETE: A peek inside tough spring practices that would shape Iowa State’s football future

Now, I’m convinced more than ever that Matt Campbell saw something like last Saturday coming. Sure, he hoped adversity similar to the third-quarter 14-point deficit at home against UCF wouldn’t happen. He hoped never again to see a debacle like last season at Ohio, and like in the most recent Liberty Bowl.

A perfect season with no hiccups is just a pipe dream, something really not even remotely possible in the college football world in which we live. Sure, there would be tough times. Some times tougher than others.

Even when you’re unbeaten, and you’re a Top Ten team, something bad eventually will happen. Even as the alleged national experts finally have you on their radar, and you’re in College Football Playoff prognostications – there’s going to be adversity, that will come when you least expect it.

So Campbell and his wonderful staff, even with a team of veterans at every position, put them through the most adversarial spring as they could. You name it, Rocco and Jaylin and Jayden and JR and Jontez faced it.

“Everything was a competition,” offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser told me Sunday morning, not even 12 hours after 61,500 edge-of-their-seat fans stayed and fidgeted throughout Saturday night’s 38-35 last plays thriller. “We kept score for every period, and if the offense lost or defense lost, they had to do 20 up-downs. It really showed who actually hates to lose and who doesn’t.”

Everyone hates to lose. No one looks forward to doing overtime workouts after losing practice games within the game.

“When everything is a competition, it grows your resiliency,” Mouser added about the spring and early fall routine, as tailgating RVs were starting to pack up Sunday morning. “You’ve got to show up the next period and be ready to roll, or you’re going to be a loser again.

“This fall, we lost the first four practices on offense, and had to do like 100 up-downs before we finally won. It was the best thing that happened to us. The situational work we did was obviously also very beneficial.”

What did he discover, or have reinforced?

“That guy #3 hates to lose more than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

That Guy No. 3 is quarterback Rocco Becht, whose grit, determination and will to succeed was never more on display than what everyone saw with less than 2 minutes remaining, Cyclones trailing by five and in danger of falling to 6-1.

Eleven plays and 80 yards later – Iowa State was leading. Becht passed, rushed or scrambled for 65 of the yards. The other 15 were from a pass interference call on UCF. One way or another, Rocco had some kind of direct impact on each of those plays.

“There was another guy here that had some similar qualities,” Campbell said, referring to Brock Purdy, holder of every Cyclones’ quarterback record.  “The reality is, you’ve got to be mentally tough. The quarterback position – nobody can tell me there’s another position in sport that’s harder to play than that.  

“You’re not always going to win it throwing the football. There’s times where you’ve got to use your feet, and extend plays and put your team in great position.” 

Like Saturday night. Like during a very important by-product of all those spring and early fall up-downs the offense did.

“I didn’t think I had that in me, but I guess I do,” Becht said, after the game, and now has a weekend off to rest up for the closing five-game weekly stretch of Texas Tech, Kansas, Cincinnati, Utah and Kansas State.

You certainly do, Rocco, and you can thank spring ball pushing players beyond what they once thought was their limits.

"Mental toughness is my superpower," Becht said. "The ball is in my hand every single play. No matter if it's a bad play or a good play − it starts with me.”

So yeah, I’m convinced more than ever, that games like Saturday, when the now 7-0, 10th-ranked Cyclones turned first half adversity into victory during another Iowa State version of Saturday Night Live – was about all that practice toughness.

Without question.

(Randy Peterson can be reached at randypete4846@gmail.com or at any Okoboji-area beverage/food establishment between the hours of open and close)