NFL
By: Courtney Walsh
WE ARE!! And just like that, Penn State football is back and entering a new era.
After a wild 2025 season where we saw longtime head coach James Franklin fired and the Nittany Lions finished 7-6, which had the school pushed the reset button. Now, former Iowa State head Matt Campbell takes over, bringing a new energy, philosophy, and plenty of familiar faces with him.
This isn’t the squad we watched last season. Gone are quarterback Dreww Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Dani Dennis-Sutton; there is a huge roster turnover. Our new head man did not walk into Happy Valley empty-handed, bringing 24 former Iowa State players with him, one of which is QB1 Rocco Becht, running back Carson Hansen, and linebacker Caleb Bacon, to name a few.
And that brings us to the biggest question of 2026:
How fast can Campbell get this team to believe in something new fast enough?
New Coach. New Quarterback. New Opportunity.
Like any other QB, Becht will be under the microscope from the second he hits the field. He is a redshirt senior and knows this system inside and out, along with what Campbell expects from him. This should help a lot as the team looks to get settled after losing a lot of talent on this side of the ball.
Anthony Donkoh gives the offensive line a veteran presence, while Carson Hansen and James Peoples give Penn State options in the backfield. The formula feels pretty clear to me: run the ball, protect Becht, and let the offense grow.
We don’t need to reinvent the game. Just execute at a high level.
Defense Could Be the Difference
For this team to surprise some teams, I think the defense has to be the reason. Leader Tony Rojas is the name to watch, and he will go a long way helping to replace 7 pieces. Boots on the ground say the defensive front has questions we need to answer; transfers and experience should help figure this out quickly. It won’t be a perfect unit; it just needs to be physical, disciplined, and gett off the field when it can.
The Schedule
Penn State gets three non-conference games to figure some stuff out before Wisconsin arrives for Homecoming.
Then things get REAL.
USC comes to Beaver Stadium on October 10th before Penn State travels to Michigan the following week. Washington is another real road test in November.
The good news? We don’t play Ohio State, Oregon, or Indiana this season.
That matters.
Courts Predictions
This is NOT a College Football Playoff team; let’s get that out of the way now. But this team won’t be down long. Coach Campbell has a shot to build something that looks and feels different in Happy Valley. If Becht settles in, the defense develops quickly, and they win the games they should, I can see a 9-3 record.
Is that enough to make Penn State fans happy? Hell no.
But for year one of the Matt Campbell era, 9-3 would be a good place to start.
Now let’s play some football.
WE ARE!!!
