AMES — Matt Campbell said it’s not all Brock Purdy’s issue of what happened Saturday against Iowa, but he knows the blame is cast onto him — fair or not. It’s what comes with playing quarterback.

But what exactly happened? For those that missed it, Purdy threw three interceptions and was benched in the fourth quarter with over 12 minutes left to play before the Cyclones fell 27-17 to Iowa in the program’s sixth-straight loss to the Hawkeyes.

The benching was not Campbell threatening Purdy’s spot as this team’s starter; instead, the fifth-year head coach for the Cyclones said Saturday’s removal of Purdy was all about making sure he could find himself and settle in. Football is more of a mental game than a physical one in Campbell’s view and it was necessary for backup Hunter Dekkers to close out the day.

“I think from our end of it, it is more of a mental game than it is a physical game and you want to do everything in your power as a football coach to not only protect the quarterback but him in the best position going forward to be successful,” Campbell said to the media Tuesday.

“Sometimes that’s, ‘Hey man, things aren’t going great around you right now, we’re going to let you come over here and settle yourself in and let’s get through this football game and then we’ll get the things around you corrected you can be your best and let you continue to shine.’”

Campbell poured over the film of Saturday’s tough loss and evaluated that Purdy’s decision-making was spot on. He said Purdy would probably like to have at least one throw back on the deep post to Xavier Hutchinson in the second quarter, his first interception of the day. But the rest of the way, Campbell saw a quarterback who was composed and hitting his spots like he’s used to seeing.

Purdy has worked best under offensive coordinator Tom Manning and Matt Campbell when the ball is moving quickly and there are multiple options to deliver the ball to at a given moment. Campbell said that rhythm was lacking in all phases, not just with Purdy, on Saturday.

“When you look at his decision-making in the football game, he’s right where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there,” Campbell said.

Breece Hall lives with Purdy and fellow senior Mike Rose, giving the Cyclones’ star tailback an up-close look into how Purdy truly felt after Saturday’s disappointment.

Just like his head coach stated earlier to reporters Tuesday, Hall said Purdy will be fine coming back from his performance. Purdy understands by now the highs and lows, the good, the bad and the ugly that comes with playing quarterback at Iowa State.

Saturday hurt for sure, but Hall has watched Purdy respond and get ready to get back to work.

Hall has also faced adversity through the first two games this season and admitted his disappointment in himself Tuesday after rushing for 69 yards, a touchdown and a fumble on Saturday. It’s only the second-lowest two-game stretch of yardage for the Iowa State running back since his first season as the Cyclones’ main back in 2019.

“He was fine,” Hall said of Purdy. “That’s what comes with being a quarterback, the good’s and the bad’s. Whether the team wins or loses it’s going to be all on Brock. He’s gonna have an bad game and it is what it is. He’ll be fine.”

But Purdy is a product of the other 10 guys around him, including Hall. The assortment around Purdy caused Campbell his biggest frustrations after watching the film, with players not running to where they have to be, missed blocking assignments and an assortment of other issues that took away from how successful Purdy could be against the Hawkeyes.

But whether Campbell believes everything was on Purdy’s shoulders Saturday, he still acknowledged it’s time for him to respond.

And he’s seen enough of him to expect he will.

“Nobody wants to win and nobody’s given Iowa State football in the history of this school the opportunity to win and has won more than Brock Purdy,” Campbell said.