Penn State has wrapped up its nonconference slate, and the first three weeks have already given a pretty clear outline of what this team can and can’t be in the first season under Matt Campbell.
The Nittany Lions climbed four spots in the AP Poll during that stretch, handled some necessary adversity and started to show off the playmakers that can shape the rest of the year. Still, nonconference football only tells you so much. Big Ten play is a different animal, and Penn State is about to find out a lot more about itself.
One area that looks far less shaky now than it did a week ago is the run game. After Week 2, Taylor Mouser was blunt: “To say that I wasn’t thrilled with where the run game’s at would be an understatement.”
At that point, Penn State was sitting at 3.9 yards per carry as a team. Then came Buffalo, and the approach was obvious - get the backs rolling and spread the workload around. The result was exactly what the staff wanted: 304 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
If Mouser keeps handing meaningful carries to all four running backs, the ground game should stay on track.
There’s also a much stronger sense now that Rocco Becht can win games by himself when he has to. Through three games, he’s thrown for 751 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 70.3% of his passes, even with backup Alex Manske entering in the third quarter of two games.
His 215 passer rating ranks fourth nationally, behind Georgia’ Gunner Stockton, Indiana’s Josh Hoover and Miami’s Darian Mensah. The numbers are even a touch better than what he posted through three games in 2024, which ended up being his best season at Iowa State.
Becht has had a few rough edges - running out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage instead of throwing the ball away, or missing a couple of open targets in the end zone - but the bigger picture is that he’s protected the football and stayed steady. Just as important, he’s shown he can steady the whole offense when things start to wobble.
That showed up against Temple, when Penn State needed someone to grab the game by the collar.
“The thing that I really appreciate it's like who responded,” Campbell said after defeating Temple. “It's the guys you expect, right? Rocco steps up, he makes big plays in big moments to kind of get you back into the football game.”
Penn State’s edge rush, though, still has something to prove. The defensive end room was already a question mark coming into the year, and it’s only more of one now that Max Granville is out for the season. The Nittany Lions have only five sacks so far, and three of them have come from linebackers.
That has to change once conference play begins, especially with several dual-threat quarterbacks coming up on the schedule. Sophomore Yvan Kemajou has been the most reliable end so far and flashed against Buffalo with two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. Penn State needs that version of him to keep showing up.
“I think at first it was kind of spotty,” D’Anton Lynn said Tuesday. “He'd make flash plays, and then you wouldn't feel him for a little bit. Then he'd make a play, and I think the more he's been in this system, the more consistent he's been.”
One player who clearly needs more touches is Benjamin Brahmer. He led Penn State’s receivers against Temple, catching five passes for 79 yards and scoring twice, including a 23-yard touchdown just before halftime. But outside that game, he has barely been part of the passing attack, with only one catch in each of the other two games for 18 yards combined.
That’s notable because Brahmer is one of the best tight ends in the country and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award last year. With leading wide receiver Koby Howard potentially out multiple weeks, Penn State needs Brahmer involved more often.
“He's a very fluid athlete,” fellow tight end Andrew Rappleyea said last Wednesday. “He's a good playmaker, and I love being able to share the field with him.”
Penn State may also be close to getting a bigger vertical threat back into the mix. Campbell said Tuesday that wide receiver Brett Eskildsen has been “dinged up” for the last two weeks, which likely explains why his production has cooled off after his 48-yard, one-touchdown showing against Marshall.
When Eskildsen is healthy again - whether that happens this week or next - he gives Penn State a different kind of danger because of his speed. The Iowa State transfer is the fastest receiver on the roster, and that alone changes how defenses have to play the Nittany Lions.
“Every opportunity he's got, he's made some dynamic things happen,” Campbell said Tuesday.
The most settled part of this team might be the back end of the defense. Through three games, Penn State has allowed just 270 passing yards, which works out to 90 per game. Buffalo managed only 60 passing yards, and the Nittany Lions also shut down Chance Morrow after he had been productive in the Bulls’ first two games.
That kind of production is hardly a surprise considering the experience in the cornerback and safety rooms. Jeremiah Cooper, Audavion Collins, Marcus Neal Jr. and Zion Tracy all bring plenty of game experience, and younger players have contributed too, especially sophomore Daryus Dixson.
The secondary was also the highest-graded unit in the country by Pro Football Focus in Week 1 against Marshall. Penn State now ranks second nationally in both total passing yards allowed and passing yards allowed per game, trailing only Kansas State in both categories.
In Other News...
Penn State Fans Face One Annoying Hurdle For Wisconsin Opener
Penn States Big Ten opener against Wisconsin at Beaver Stadium comes with a familiar kind of modern annoyance for fans: a 5 p.m. ET kickoff that will not be on traditional TV. Instead, Saturdays game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, meaning anyone who wants to watch the Nittany Lions open conference play will need a subscription to NBC Universals streaming platform.
Peacocks role is not limited to this matchup, either, as it will carry other Big Ten Saturday Night games throughout the 2026 season while also serving up a wider menu of football and entertainment programming. For Penn State fans, the immediate issue is simple enough, though no less frustrating, since a marquee home opener now comes with one more step before the first snap. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Suddenly Has A Koby Howard Concern Heading Into Next Week
Penn State left its win over Buffalo with more than one health item to monitor, and the most attention naturally landed on Koby Howard. The injury happened on a long touchdown run, a play that should have been all celebration for the Nittany Lions, but instead turned into the kind of moment teams revisit closely as they turn the page to the next week.
Matt Campbells update left Howards status uncertain for the upcoming game, which gives Penn State an early concern to sort through before its next outing. Brock Riker is expected to be available, while Andrew Rappleyea and Tyler Armstead are both questionable after injuries sustained during the game, leaving the staff with a small cluster of availability questions to manage in practice. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Got An Early Recruiting Sign Matt Campbell Needed
Penn States 2028 recruiting class got a notable boost in the latest Rivals update, with quarterback commit James Armstrong jumping 40 spots to No. 61 overall and No. 7 among quarterbacks. The rise gives the Nittany Lions an early talking point as they continue to build out the class, especially with Armstrong emerging as one of the more visible in-state commitments tied to the programs efforts in Pennsylvania.
Head coach Matt Campbell and his staff have made it clear they trust their own evaluations more than outside rankings, but movement like this still matters for perception and momentum. Armstrongs climb contrasts with another in-state commit, cornerback Deonte Flemings Jr., who slid 50 spots, leaving Penn State with an uneven snapshot for now and a reminder that the early stages of a recruiting cycle can swing in different directions quickly. [Read more 🡒]