Penn State’s opener against Marshall was one of those nights where the scoreboard told the story early and never really changed. A 45-0 win under Matt Campbell gave the Nittany Lions a clean start, but the first game also handed out a few clear clues about what worked, what didn’t, and which players flashed right away.
The biggest offensive jolt came from Koby Howard, who looked like the receiver everyone had been waiting to see. With Marshall selling out to slow Taylor Mouser’s tight end room, the middle opened up for Penn State’s wideouts, and Howard took full advantage.
He finished with six catches for 161 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Nittany Lion to go over 150 receiving yards since Parker Washington in 2022. He also piled up 76 yards after the catch.
“Going out there, being able to actually do it in the game, and not just in practice,” Howard said postgame. “A lot of people probably think of just doing it in practice, but being able to showcase it in the game really meant a lot to me.”
Howard’s rise didn’t come out of nowhere. James Franklin’s staff had talked about what he could do last season, but he never really got a real runway until Terry Smith took over as interim head coach.
He had seven catches in nine games for 133 yards a year ago. Campbell’s staff clearly had bigger plans for him this offseason, and Howard backed that up by earning one of Mouser’s MVP honors during fall camp.
If the passing game found a rhythm, the running backs never quite got loose. Marshall crowded the box and made life hard on the ground game, and the result was a quieter-than-expected debut for that group.
Carson Hansen and James Peoples both finished without touchdowns while the starters were in the game, with Hansen averaging 4.4 yards per carry and Peoples at 3.9. Penn State still rolled up 163 rushing yards overall, but the burst fans are used to seeing just wasn’t there.
There were also a few awkward moments for Peoples, whose quick feet occasionally worked against him. He slipped a couple of times, which forced Rocco Becht to move off the original read and look elsewhere. One of those plays ended with Howard’s first touchdown, after the call had originally been designed to get Peoples the ball in the flat.
Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace gave the ground game a better finish in the second half. Both returnees found the end zone and showed a steadier rhythm as the game wore on, but the backfield as a whole still didn’t deliver the kind of explosive production Penn State has come to expect.
On the other side of the ball, Caleb Bacon made an immediate statement in a new role. A starting linebacker at Iowa State before following Campbell to Happy Valley, Bacon moved to defensive end at the start of fall camp, and there was some natural curiosity about how that transition would look in game action.
It looked pretty good. He didn’t start, but he led Penn State’s edge group with six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
“If you go back to Bacon’s last two years, there was a lot of multiplicity in what he did there,” Campbell said. “The reality is this guy has earned the right to become a great player, and he was a great player in the past. Sometimes he doesn't get the recognition like everybody else.”
Penn State used as many as four defensive ends at once, and Bacon’s versatility showed up all over the field. The different looks helped create pressure and gave Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Marshall’s backfield very little room to operate.
There was also a notable wrinkle in the secondary. Zion Tracy entered the season with plenty of buzz, and Campbell had even called him “one of the best football players I’ve coached” this spring.
So it caught attention when true freshman Josiah Zayas was announced as a starting cornerback instead of Tracy. Tracy had a splint on his left hand, which may have played a role, but he still made his presence felt with a team-high five tackles among cornerbacks.
Zayas held his own in the starting role, too. He posted two tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. If he keeps that level of play going, Tracy’s role could wind up looking different than many expected.
Penn State also got a lift from its younger defenders in general, especially when Marshall put the ball in harm’s way. Both turnovers went to true freshmen: Bryson Williams intercepted Zion Turner on his first throw of the game, and Jackson Ford recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter.
Campbell had already pointed to Ford’s growth before the opener, saying on Aug. 20, “Ford has done a really good job through spring ball and then in the season, you're gonna have to fight to get yourself into a position at the defensive end,” Campbell said on Aug 20.
“I think Jackson can help us in some other ways too.”
In Other News...
James Franklin Debate Just Got New Fuel From Former Penn State OC
Ricky Rahne has been around James Franklin long enough to know how the Penn State coach is viewed inside and outside the program, and his recent comments added a familiar voice to an argument that has followed Franklin for years. Rahne, who worked alongside Franklin and still has a long-standing relationship with him, defended Franklins impact in State College and said fans have often undervalued what he has done.
Rahne pointed to the sanctions Franklin inherited as part of the backdrop that shaped the early years of the job, while also giving Bill O'Brien credit for the recruiting foundation he left behind. He acknowledged that Franklin has not delivered a national championship, but framed his tenure around passion and steady winning, the kind of rsum that keeps the debate alive whenever Penn States bigger-picture expectations come back into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Wrestling May Have A New Middleweight Logjam
FloWrestlings preseason individual rankings have offered an early glimpse at what Penn States lineup could look like next season, and the middleweights may be the most crowded part of the room. Mitchell Mesenbrink is listed at 174 pounds instead of his usual 165, while PJ Duke is pegged at No. 1 at 165 after a sophomore season that included a Big Ten title and put him in position to step into the spot Mesenbrink has owned.
The ripple effect could be significant for the Nittany Lions. Tyler Kasak is projected to hold down 157 and is ranked No. 2 in his class, but the bigger questions sit above him, where Levi Haines may no longer be in the picture and freshman Jayden James could be left waiting for an opening. For a program that usually turns lineup debates into national title depth, this one looks like it could take a little time to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Next Opponent Looks More Vulnerable Than Expected
Temple is heading into its matchup with Penn State in a far shakier spot than it wanted this early in the season. Coach K.C. Keeler said starting left tackle Giakoby Hills will miss six weeks after getting hurt in the opener, a significant blow to an offensive line that now has to adjust on the fly against one of the most demanding fronts it will see all year.
The uncertainty does not stop there. Starting right tackle Kevin Terry is a game-time decision for the Penn State game, and Keeler still has not named a starting quarterback, with Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard competing for the job. For Penn State, that makes this a matchup worth watching beyond the final score, because Temple could be piecing together key spots just to get through the afternoon. [Read more 🡒]