Coach Matt Campbell’s second season in Ames couldn’t have gone any better with the Iowa State Cyclones (7-5) pulling off their first winning season since 2009. To close out the season, they have a tough challenge against the No. 20 Memphis Tigers (10-2) at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, effectively a home game for the Tigers. The game is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC (live stream at WatchESPN).

The Cyclones made rapid improvement after going 3-9 in Campbell’s first year. They knocked off Oklahoma and TCU, both ranked in the top five at the time for two of the biggest upsets in school history. Iowa State climbed as high as No. 14 in the AP Poll with a 6-2 start but faded down the stretch, losing three of its last four games to finish fifth in the Big 12.

Still, there’s a lot for the Cyclones to be proud of, and Campbell got rewarded with a new contract extension after several major programs tried to pry him away. The offense is led by sophomore running back David Montgomery, who was named to the All-Big 12 team after putting up 1,095 yards and 11 touchdowns. Montgomery has an ankle injury, but he is expected to suit up for the bowl game.

The Cyclones will need Montgomery at full strength to keep up with Memphis’ high-flying offense, the third-best in the nation by S&P+. Senior quarterback Riley Ferguson led the American conference with 36 touchdown passes, leading a potent attack that averaged 52 points per game.

The Tigers steamrolled nearly everybody on their schedule, with the exception of UCF. The Knights knocked off Memphis twice, including a 62-55 thriller in the American conference title game that sent UCF to the New Year’s Six.

Mike Norvell is another head coach who drew interest from bigger programs but is staying in Memphis for now. With UCF’s Scott Frost heading off to Nebraska, Norvell’s Tigers will be looking to finish the season strong and head into 2018 as the team to beat in the American.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tenn.
• TV: ABC
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Odds: Memphis is favored by 4 points

Iowa State vs. Memphis news

• Norvell and Memphis were busy in the early signing period.

It was a light day for the Memphis Tigers on the recruiting trail, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. Mike Norvell signed 12 recruits on the first day of the Early Signing Period, but they key is that there is still plenty of time to add to that class.

It’s also not like Norvell wasn’t in position to get some great recruits to sign. He had Cordova offensive tackle Jerome Carvin and running back Jeremy Banks considering Memphis before flipping to Tennessee. Despite having their former coach Anthony Jones Jr. added to the staff, the Tigers couldn’t come through. But that doesn’t mean Memphis is down and out. Norvell can get the attention of recruits away from Power 5 schools, so expect him to continue the hunt to improve this class.

• Memphis wide receiver Tony Pollard is one of the potential darkhorse Heisman candidates for next season.

With the exit of Anthony Miller and Phil Mayhue, someone will need to take a more prominent role in the offense. Pollard’s dynamic abilities should put him in position to do that. Pollard was used to run and catch the ball on offense, and that will be a vital asset with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator next year (222 yards rushing, two touchdowns; 501 yards receiving, four touchdowns). What makes him a Heisman candidate at receiver is his return skills. Pollard was the best kick returner in college football this year, which gives him a dynamic that most receivers don’t have.

• Iowa State ended the regular season with a tough loss to Kansas State, which didn’t sit well on Wide Right Natty Lite.

What we saw on Saturday was a victory being snatched away from one team by an officiating crew that threw flags on four critical plays, only to have all four picked up. All four of those penalties would have been on Kansas State, with the final pick-up negating a blatant, textbook pass interference call that would have sealed the game for the Cyclones.

It’s easy to lob conspiracy theories of a “fix” by the Big 12 to prevent ISU’s success, ensure a win in Bill Snyder’s last game, etc., but that seems to be incredibly unlikely. Improbably, it seems as though the officals from Saturday’s game may actually be THAT incompetent. How do I know? If there really was a fix, it would have been far less obvious.

Iowa State vs. Memphis prediction

The Cyclones’ best shot is to slow down the tempo and use their running game to keep Ferguson off the field, but they’ll be in trouble if Memphis turns this into a track meet. With the partisan home crowd behind them, the Tigers pull away late and win rather comfortably.

Be sure to check out all our bowl predictions here.

College football's first bowl game was almost its last