Penn State’s reset under Matt Campbell comes with a simple but demanding question: can he finish the job when the game tightens up?
That’s the concern ESPN’s Rece Davis put front and center on the “College GameDay Podcast” as Campbell prepares to take over in Happy Valley ahead of the 2026 season. Davis didn’t dress it up.
"Can they win close games?" Davis said.
"Which Matt Campbell are you going to get. Prior to the 2024 season, Iowa State went through a stretch of time in which they lost 13 of 16 one-score games.
Could not win them. The following year when they went to the Big 12 Championship Game, they were 5-1.
Last year, they were 5-3. So, the last couple of years, 10-4.
That's pretty solid. Are you going to win at that clip, or are you going to lose close games?
Because that's why Matt Campbell is at Penn State."
That’s the bar now. Not just wins, but the kind of wins that survive the fourth quarter.
Penn State is moving on after parting ways with James Franklin last season. Franklin went 104-45 over 12 years in Happy Valley, won one Big Ten championship, and guided the Nittany Lions to their first College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. That run included victories over SMU and Boise State before Notre Dame knocked Penn State out in the semifinals on the final seconds.
Then came last season’s collapse. Penn State opened at No. 2 in the country and ripped off three straight wins by more than 30 points.
But after an overtime home loss to Oregon, 30-24, everything unraveled. Franklin was fired during a six-game losing streak, and the Nittany Lions finished 7-6.
Now Campbell inherits a program that expects much more than steady footing. He arrives after 10 seasons at Iowa State, where he went 72-55 and built the Cyclones into one of the Big 12’s more reliable teams. The question Davis raised is the one that will define this move: was Campbell’s recent success at Iowa State the start of a new level, or just a short window?
For Penn State, the answer has to be the former. The Nittany Lions are not hiring Campbell to be respectable.
They’re hiring him to get them back into the Big Ten title conversation and into the College Football Playoff picture. And at this level, the difference between a good season and a wasted one is often one possession.
If Campbell can bring Iowa State’s late-game edge with him, Penn State has the talent and resources to stay in the hunt. If not, the pressure in Happy Valley will show up fast.
In Other News...
Penn State Freshmen Are Already Creating A Matt Campbell Dilemma
Penn States rebuilt 2026 recruiting class has not had much time to settle in under Matt Campbell, but two freshmen are already making the new staff pay attention. After the change at the top and a late reset of the class, the Nittany Lions signed 15 players and landed at 65th nationally, a number that reflected the scramble as much as the ceiling. Even in that context, early spring ball and camp have produced a couple of names that stood out quickly enough to earn real praise from the coaches.
Amarion Jackson has drawn notice for his versatility, while offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser has liked how ready he looks to contribute. On the other side of the ball, Jackson Ford has flashed the kind of physical traits that defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe believes can translate fast. For a staff still sorting out what its first Penn State roster under Campbell will look like, those kind of early impressions create an interesting problem before the season even begins. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Teammates Just Revealed Their Early Breakout Favorites
Penn States annual media day offered an early glimpse at how the locker room is viewing the roster heading into the 2026 season under new head coach Matt Campbell. Players were asked to identify potential breakout candidates, and the answers touched just about every corner of the team, from wide receivers to offensive linemen to defenders. It was less a forecast than a snapshot of internal confidence, the kind of thing that can hint at where teammates think the biggest jumps are coming.
The interesting part is how broad the support was, with different players putting forward different names based on the roles they expect those teammates to grow into. Those picks do not mean anything is settled, of course, but they do show that expectations are already forming around several players before the season has even begun. For a program adjusting to a new coach, that kind of peer recognition can be an early sign of where the next wave of production might come from. [Read more 🡒]