Penn State’s passing game has gotten plenty of attention early, and Koby Howard has grabbed a lot of it. But Chase Sowell is making his own case as a key piece of the Nittany Lions’ receiver room.
The Iowa State transfer put together his best game in a Penn State uniform on Saturday against Temple, finishing with five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. His 16-yard score on the opening drive of the second half was his first touchdown in Blue and White and the seventh of his college career.
Through two games, Sowell has seven receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. Pro Football Focus has given him a 74.7 receiving grade, while his overall offensive grade is 76.1. Against Temple, his receiving grade checked in at 74.8.
That kind of output is exactly what Penn State expected when Sowell followed head coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State to Happy Valley.
His path to this point has been anything but straightforward. Sowell started at Colorado in 2022, then moved to East Carolina for two seasons and turned himself into a real threat there. He led ECU with 47 catches for 622 yards in 2023, then followed that with 678 yards and three touchdowns in 2024 while averaging 19.9 yards per reception.
That production earned him another move, this time to Iowa State. In 2025, he caught 32 passes for 500 yards and two touchdowns, averaged 15.9 yards per catch, and was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Now back with Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, Sowell doesn’t have to be the centerpiece to matter. Temple showed that clearly.
His day wasn’t spotless, though. Early in the second quarter, Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht took a shot to Sowell in Temple territory, and the receiver got both hands on it before dropping what would have been a touchdown.
“One of them, I got to catch the ball,” Sowell said when discussing Penn State’s offensive mistakes. “So, that’s the main one.”
He said the key was not letting that moment hang around.
“I was just so hyped for the game that I didn’t go back to my process,” Sowell said. “Then after that drop, I had to go back to my process, calm myself down, and that’s when things kind of started settling down.”
Penn State got the reset it needed from there. Sowell eventually scored, helped steady an offense that had some rough patches, and finished with five catches on seven targets. According to PFF, he also had two contested catches.
Afterward, his comments matched the play: calm, accountable, and clear-eyed about what went wrong.
“We just weren’t as focused as we usually are,” Sowell said.
That’s part of what makes him useful. He’s been through four programs and has piled up 121 career receptions for 1,911 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s shown he can produce explosive plays, stack 100-yard games, and thrive in different systems.
Penn State doesn’t need him to dominate the passing game. Howard can supply the splash plays, and other targets will get their chances too. Sowell’s job is simpler, and maybe more important than it looks: win his routes, give Becht a reliable veteran option, and cash in when the ball comes his way.
For a Penn State receiving corps that PFF ranks No. 3 in the country with an 82.8 grade, that kind of steady production carries real weight. Through two weeks, Sowell has done exactly what the Nittany Lions needed.
In Other News...
How Penn States Most Iconic Chant Became Part Of Its Identity
Long before it became the kind of rallying cry that can shake Beaver Stadium, Penn States We Are chant started as a direct answer to what the cheer squad heard from Ohio State fans. In 1975-76, looking for something that could match a rivals famous rhythm and energy, the squad worked through the idea by trial and error until it felt right. By the time the Nittany Lions opened the 1976 season against Stanford, the chant was ready for the crowd.
What followed was bigger than a simple game-day gimmick. The line took hold, spread through the fan base and settled into the schools identity, turning into one of those traditions that feels as much a part of Penn State as the colors and the stadium itself. Even now, decades later, the chant still carries the same easy power it did when it was first introduced, a reminder that some of the most enduring college football customs begin as an attempt to keep up with somebody else. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Answered Early Mistakes But One Offensive Concern Remains
Penn State had every chance to let the first half get away at Lincoln Financial Field, but instead steadied itself quickly against Temple and went into halftime with a 10-3 lead. After shaking off the early adversity, the Nittany Lions answered with a field goal and a touchdown drive, giving their offense something to build on even as Temple made things uncomfortable in spots and kept Koby Howard in check after his initial long catch.
The bigger concern for Penn State was inside the red zone, where the ground game found some room but did not finish often enough. The Nittany Lions turned three chances into only one touchdown, leaving points on the field despite moving the ball well enough to create scoring opportunities. For a team trying to clean up its execution, that kind of inefficiency is the detail worth watching as the game moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Showed Exactly How Much Rocco Becht Already Means
Rocco Becht has become one of the defining reasons Penn State has settled in so quickly this season, and the reaction around him against Temple only reinforced it. When the quarterback was hit late out of bounds, his teammates and coaches were quick to step in and make their feelings clear, a flash of protectiveness that spoke as much about the locker room as it did about Bechts role in it.
Matt Campbell pointed to that response as a sign of the teams unity and togetherness, which has been a theme all year as Becht has looked sharper and healthier than he did during earlier injury-plagued stretches. His growth has given Penn State a steadier center of gravity on offense, and the way the group rallied around him in the moment suggested his value goes well beyond the stat sheet. [Read more 🡒]