Iowa State is in unfamiliar territory this December.

For the first time since 2012, the Cyclones are going bowling. And with a 7-5 record, Iowa State has the most regular season wins it has had since 2005.

Simply put, it’s been awhile since Iowa State has been a coveted team for bowl committees.

One of the possible landing spots for the Cyclones is Orlando, Florida, for the Camping World Bowl.

The Camping World Bowl (4:15 p.m., Dec. 28) features a Big 12 team against an ACC team or Notre Dame. Last season, West Virginia (10-3) represented the Big 12, while Miami (9-4) won the ACC’s bid.

This year, however, things could be different.

“It feels tougher [this year], I can tell you that,” said Camping World Bowl Director of Marketing and Communications Matt Repchak. “Just looking at the numbers myself, it seems like it’s going to be a tougher decision than most years.”

The Camping World Bowl committee features about 200 members, Repchak said, and will meet Wednesday night to discuss the final recommendations it will send to its board prior to Sunday’s selection show.

In the past, Iowa State hasn’t been in those conversations.

“You look back at the past couple of seasons, even when Iowa State has had some big wins, they have not been in conversation for our Big 12 selection as late in the year as they were this year,” Repchak said. “That’s been pretty exciting for our committee.”

The main reason Matt Campbell’s squad is being considered this late in the season is pretty simple. The month of October was a wild success that put the Cyclones on the national radar. Two wins over teams ranked in the top-five at the time sent shockwaves around the college football world.

While November and the final four games of the season haven’t gone as well as the previous month, it hasn’t eliminated Iowa State from contention for the Camping World Bowl.

“In October, we had a lot of conversation about Iowa State,” Repchak said. “We came back from a couple of trips having spoken to various partners and hearing from the reps that were on the road and we’re hearing a lot of positive things about Iowa State — more than we would have normally had.”

The issue is Iowa State’s inability to separate itself from the pack. Iowa State entered November in a tie for first place in the Big 12 and controlled its destiny for the Big 12 Championship game. However, with three losses in the final four games, the Cyclones lost that chance to compete at the highest level.

But that run in October still makes the Cyclones an intriguing option, Repchak said, as the Cyclones defeated the top two teams in the Big 12 that month.

The other teams

Iowa State is in the mix with a few other schools for the Camping World Bowl game. Oklahoma State seems to be the clear third team in the Big 12, but after that, there’s chaos.

At 7-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12, Iowa State is tied with Kansas State and West Virginia. Texas is also 5-4 in the league but has one fewer win overall.

The problem? Iowa State lost to all three of those teams in the regular season — Kansas State and West Virginia beat the Cyclones at their respective home stadiums, and Texas won in Ames — so any kind of head-to-head tiebreakers go against Iowa State.

The good news?

“Can anybody [besides Iowa State] say that they’ve beaten the two teams in the Big 12 championship game?” Repchak said. “For everything you would put in the pro column there’s something in the con column and vice versa.”