What a week, Matt Campbell!

Monday, you sign a six-year, $22.5 million contract to continue wearing the cardinal and gold. Sunday, your team finds out where they’re going for a bowl game at the end of December. Between those two on Wednesday, it’s your birthday.

I’ve had some great birthdays throughout my childhood including going out to dinner with family and getting a handful of presents. Nothing compares to signing a $22.5 million contract.

You can’t have a better birthday week for a 38-year-old football coach that’s finishing his second season in a Power Five conference.

So get ready to blow out some candles, Campbell, and make a few wishes for the upcoming year. I have an idea of what wishes could be blowing in the smoke on Wednesday night.

One would be to win the bowl game at the end of December. The Cyclones don’t know where they’re going as of now, but Sunday they will find out. No matter where they go or who they play, Campbell has a mindset that ends with a win.

He has some wisdom, he’s 38 years old, everyone, when it comes to bowl games because he’s been in a few to start his early career. Heck, he started off his coaching career with a bowl game to end the 2011 season at Toledo.

Former Toledo head coach Tim Beckman became the Illinois head coach and left Campbell to coach the 2011 Military Bowl. Campbell started on the right foot with a bowl win under his belt. After that game, he spent four full seasons at Toledo and went to two bowl games.

He lost at the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and won the 2014 GoDaddy Bowl. Now, it’s time to start that bowl streak at Iowa State starting this season.

Projections are showing Iowa State will be heading to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida, but nothing is confirmed yet. Not to worry though because Campbell’s wish will end this 2017 season with a win at any bowl game.

His second wish should be focused on recruiting because Iowa State will be losing a lot of leadership after this season. Some of the popular names that will be graduating include wide receiver Allen Lazard, linebacker/quarterback Joel Lanning, safety Kamari Cotton-Moya, offensive lineman Jake Campos, punter Colin Downing, quarterback Kyle Kempt and those are just a few to mention.

Campbell is going to have a few key pieces to stay and become leaders for the 2018 season with players like quarterback Jacob Park, running back David Montgomery, cornerback Brian Peavy, defensive end JaQuan Bailey and the list goes on.

With key departures, Campbell is going to wish hard for some top-end recruits to sign with Iowa State for the 2018 and 2019 seasons to create a positive future. The new contract shows Campbell is going to be here for a while, so now the focus should be creating a football program that competes year in and year out for at least the next six years.

Finally, his third wish should be on what he loves most, winning. Campbell had three nine-win seasons in his four years at Toledo with the other season still at seven wins.

The difference between his first and second seasons at Iowa State were unimaginable. The Cyclones went from a 3-9 record in 2016 to a 7-5 record in 2017. It was a huge step many Iowa State fans weren’t expecting so soon.

The large increase in wins allows Cyclone fans to continue having higher expectations. Next season, the expectation will probably be to finish higher than seven wins, while also contending, and possibly winning, the Big 12 Championship title game.

It’ll be a jump from this season, but definitely an attainable one with key Big 12 players leaving like Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph. The competition and fight will be bigger than these past few seasons for Iowa State.

Campbell could be one of those individuals that asks for three more wishes, but he doesn’t seem like that kind of person. He’s ready to give his three wishes and prepare for three more on Nov. 28, 2018.

So, happy birthday Matt Campbell.

Enjoy the $22.5 million because you’ve definitely earned it at this point. Now, it’s about the future, which starts with ending the 2017 season on a high note with a big win at a bowl game.

Cheers, Iowa State coach!