AMES, Iowa (AP) -- This year -- like every year -- Iowa State fans scoured the schedule before the season in hopes of finding a path to the six wins needed for bowl eligibility.
It's such exceedingly low expectations that second-year coach Matt Campbell and his players have worked so hard to change -- and those efforts have become evident over the past three weeks.
Iowa State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12), which won seven games in the previous three seasons combined, vaulted into the AP Top 25 for the first time in 12 years this week on the heels of a three-game winning streak.