Sorry, don't usually like to post opinions much but... And pardon the grammar etc in advance. On my phone and hate typing from it
Campbell had more offensive talent than Texas this year, yes. You can't just look at fake recruiting rankings. You also have to take into account the kids at Texas have significantly more pressure on them than Iowa State, so you need better coaches and players by a significant margin. If you go into a game with only a slight advantage in talent against a run of the mill program at a place like Texas, there's a decent chance you are going to get beat. Mack Brown and Charlie Strong put this place in a hole. Strong was an awful recruiter. Herman hasn't been a great recruit, but has at least evaluated talent at a decent level.
IOWA STATE OFFENSE
Campbell's QB is more talented (most talented in the conference).
His running back is a stud.
Frankly, it is easier to find offensive linemen in the Midwest.
He has an absolute stud tight end.
His defense is good, although not more talented than Texas.
Feel like his offensive scheme is a little outdated. Purdy underperformed there.
Campbell is a slight upgrade, and he may succeed because he takes over a better situation than Herman, but he's not all that much better than Herman.
Texas must give Urban Meyer whatever he needs to take the job and be successful. He is right there for the taking. It is what a true blueblood program gets done in this situation. Right place, right time. No excuse whatsoever.
We not only need better coaching, especially more consistent offensive coaching YOY, but we must land more 5 star talent. A class full of the 200th rated players isn't gonna cut it. Class ranking is less important than the top 10 players in your class being difference makers and bottom ten of your class being well evaluated. I don't even care where the bottom ten is ranked by the fake recruiting services. The 1,000th ranked player can easily be better than the 200th ranked player. The only thing worth looking at "rankings" for are the 5 stars who also have the size and speed (not Sterns) and the top 100. On top of that, it is evaluation and how much size and speed did you recruit in the class? The rest is just filler to try and get you to pay $9.95.