Culture is one of the most popular buzzwords in the coaching circle. Lots use the word, but few understand, and even fewer understand how to build a successful culture.
One of the many things that folks love about Iowa State's Matt Campbell is his understanding of the importance of culture, and how he has created one (both at Iowa State and at his previous stop at Toledo) that is able to go toe-to-toe with blue blood teams like Texas, despite not pulling in blue-chip talent annually at the rate the Longhorns have been able to do for years.
The culture of Campbell's program was on full display earlier today when his program took on the Longhorns in Austin. The Cyclones never flinched, and played their way to a 23-20 win that likely punches their ticket to the Big 12 championship game.
After the game, Iowa State running back Breece Hall, the leading rusher in college football who was a four-star recruit and top 25 running back in the country coming out of the state of Kansas, succinctly summed up their win in eight words.
"It's five-star culture vs. five-star players."
Wow. [Insert wide eye emoji here]
Culture isn't as sexy as signing five-star recruits, and there aren't websites dedicated to who builds the best cultures in football with people flocking to it for updates like there are for recruiting, but perhaps there should be. The few that understand it's value, and how to create it are setting themselves up to be the most sought after targets of the coaching off season every cycle. That's precisely where Matt Campbell has found himself the last several off seasons, and it's not hard to see why.
What does the loss mean for Tom Herman and company? Something tells me we'll have a take on that in the coming days.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.