Matt Campbell Believes Texas Longhorns Have One Of The 'Absolute Best' Rosters College Football

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell spoke very highly of the Texas Longhorns in a press conference on Tuesday.

Iowa State may already be bowl-game eligible, but it has two tough matchups ahead of them consecutively. Before facing No. 23 Kansas State, however, the Cyclones must face the No. 1 team ranked in the Big 12 conference and No. 7 nationally, the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell expressed excitement for his roster to be able to face a tough team and has reassured the media that they are prepared for a battle.

“What a great challenge,” Campbell said. “For this young team (Iowa State) to step into an arena with this kind of football team (Texas). We’ll have to have a great team game plan to be able to win the football game.”

The Longhorns are hard to beat when it comes down to looking at the numbers offensively. Texas has acquired the fourth-most points per game in the Big 12, averaging about 33.8 each week. 

On top of that, with the return of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers from injury for the second week in a row, the connection with receiver Xavier Worthy could be dangerous for the Cyclones. 

Byron Murphy / © Jerome Miron, USA TODAY

Above all else, however, Campbell has mentioned the respect that he holds for the Longhorns' roster and applauds Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian for turning the program around. 

"Playing them here, you know what you're playing against, you're playing against some of the absolute best players in college football," Campbell said. "Like I said, I've got the utmost respect for coach Sark, how he's gone about it, what he's done for that program, and just the elevation he's had in a couple of short years. It's been really special to watch."