It could’ve been a game against Iowa or a game against Nebraska or any game on the football schedule — former Iowa State football coach Earle Bruce was ready to play. He would have a smile on his face and a passion to win every single game, whether it was big or small.

That’s the philosophy Bruce had in his 21 years as a college football coach and that’s the part former players enjoyed about him.

So, when the news came out on Friday morning about the death of Bruce at the age of 87, it was devastating news throughout not only the Iowa State community, but the college football community.

“He was a good family man, but there was so many sides to his life that impacted a lot of people,” said former Iowa State defensive tackle Tom Randall, who played under Bruce during 1974-77. “I feel really fortunate. I was so lucky [because] I got to play for him and with him.”

Randall, a native of Mason City, Iowa, was recruited throughout the country, but wanted to play for Bruce. He liked the honesty Bruce brought to the conversations and the overall drive to make Iowa State football relevant throughout the college football landscape.

Bruce coached at Iowa State from 1973-78 and it was three completely different years at the beginning compared to the end. The first three seasons, Bruce and the Iowa State football team went 4-7 each season. The last three seasons ended with an 8-3 record in 1976 and an 8-4 record in 1977 and 1978.

Randall was a part of that transition from 4-7 to 8-3, but remembered it wasn’t anything special that caused the change.

“He had a process and the process was going to work,” Randall said. “The first couple years [at Iowa State] were pretty strenuous on him and on the players because everybody was wondering whether this [program] was going somewhere.”

That transition caused some great memories for Randall as a Cyclone, especially the victories over Nebraska in 1976 and 1977. At the time, Nebraska was a top rated team and one of the biggest rivals for Iowa State besides in-state rival Iowa.

For Bruce, it didn’t matter the team the Cyclones were playing that week. He was ready for anyone.

“He overemphasized everybody,” Randall said. “He didn’t care who we were playing. He was jacked up all the time. Every single game, his intensity level was contagious.”

Randall said Bruce has mentioned the win against Nebraska in 1976 as one of the biggest wins in his college coaching career. It was a statement that put Iowa State back on the map as a potential bowl game contender and a bright future for the Iowa State football program.

The Iowa State and Nebraska game in 1976 was in Ames and earned the Cyclones their eighth win of the season. Randall said many people were thinking that game was a fluke and Iowa State got lucky in that particular game.

The following season, in 1977, Bruce and the Iowa State football team traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a statement game. Nebraska was ready to show their dominance once again, but the Cyclones stuck it to them with a 24-21 win against the Cornhuskers.

“The second year was confirmation that we were a pretty good football team,” Randall said. “We proved, for those two years, that we were better than Nebraska.”

The reason why that change flipped during Randall’s career is due to the mentality Bruce had as a coach. Bruce, who won Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year in 1977 and 1978, instilled a confidence in each of his players to make them understand they were good enough to beat the best teams out there and it showed when the record shifted from 4-7 to 8-3 in one season.

Along with the confidence boost, Randall said Bruce was truly a tough coach. The team had long practices and would hit a lot during those practices. He remembers spring ball being a three or four-hour practice with constant hitting and preparation for the summer and upcoming fall schedule.

“[Bruce] always said ‘nobody is going to outwork us, nobody is going to out tough us,’” Randall said. “We were a tough football team.”

Bruce ended his career at Iowa State after the 1978 season where he took Iowa State to two consecutive bowl games. The Cyclones lost in the Peach Bowl in 1977 and lost again in the Hall of Fame Classic in 1978 before he went to Ohio State to coach.

At Ohio State, Bruce coached for nine seasons (1979-87) and took the Buckeyes to four Big Ten Conference titles and eight bowl appearances. Ohio State was ranked in the top 20 in the AP Poll for each season except for his last season in 1987.

Along with Iowa State and Ohio State, Bruce coached at Tampa (1972), UNI (1988) and Colorado State (1989-92). After his college coaching career, he went on and coached in the Arena Football League. He coached four different teams between the years of 1994-96, 2001 and 2004. He coached the Iowa Barnstormers in 2001.

All of those years of coaching led to Bruce being inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2000 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He finished his college career with a 154-90-2 record.

Randall said he was so fortunate to learn from Bruce during his college career and wouldn’t have made it into the NFL without the help from Bruce.

“It was a great career at Iowa State and I appreciate what coach Bruce did for me and the Iowa State football program,” Randall said.

“He was a winner.”