The Matt Campbell era at Penn State opens this week, and the early buzz is already running hot. Saturday’s season opener against Marshall has people talking playoff, with sportsbooks backing the Nittany Lions at 9.5 wins and ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit saying on the Pat McAfee Show that Penn State will be a playoff team because of its favorable schedule.
That’s where the danger starts. The schedule is soft enough to get attention, sure.
Penn State avoids Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana, the preseason AP Top 25’s No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 teams, and it gets No.
14 USC at home in the White Out. But the idea that this setup alone should push the Nittany Lions into the College Football Playoff is a stretch.
There’s still too much uncertainty on this roster to treat Penn State like a sure thing. Who becomes the offense’s answer in tight moments?
Which cornerback locks down a starting job and turns into a true stopper? Can a totally new defensive line hold up instead of becoming a problem?
Those are not small questions, and they’re why a playoff miss would not automatically make the season a disappointment. The Athletic has Penn State with a 29-percent chance to make the playoff, tied with USCA and ahead of Michigan and Washington, which tells you the team sits in that murky middle ground: interesting, but far from settled.
And even with the lighter slate, there are still land mines. Michigan and Washington are both road games, and USC in Happy Valley for the White Out might be the toughest opponent Penn State sees all year. To really stay in the CFP conversation, the Nittany Lions probably need to take at least one of those.
That leaves a very real path to 8-4 or 9-3 and no playoff berth at all.
Some of the confidence in Campbell comes from what he did at Iowa State, and there’s a reason people are connecting those dots. During his 10 years in Ames, the Cyclones played only one Big Ten opponent each season: Iowa.
They went 3-6 against the Hawkeyes, though they also won three of the last four in the series dating to 2022. If you want to extend the lens a bit, Oregon can be folded in too, since the Ducks weren’t in the Big Ten when they played the Cyclones in 2020, and that adds another win to Campbell’s resume.
Penn State also has a couple of signs that the transition to this league should be manageable. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser brings a scheme with an NFL influence, and one of his closest friends is Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Mouser calls it a “spread-pro offense” built to run the ball while creating explosive plays through the air and on the ground, something Penn State lacked last season.
Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn brings his own Big Ten familiarity from USC, which matters in a conference like this.
“We're a very, very curious offensive staff,” Mouser said in February. “We're trying to watch as much tape as we can. Everybody on our staff, every offensive coach, has an NFL team we study, a college team that we study, and high school coaches that we love to talk to, because they're always on the front edge of stuff too.”
One label that’s been hanging around Campbell’s arrival is that Penn State is just Iowa State East. There are 24 former Cyclones on the roster, but that shorthand misses the bigger picture. Penn State also brings back a bunch of players from the 2025 team, and several of them deserve more attention than they’ve been getting.
Linebacker Tony Rojas is one of the Big Ten’s best at his position. Cornerbacks Daryus Dixson, Zion Tracy and Audavion Collins give the Nittany Lions a deep and talented group, and Campbell called Tracy “one of the best football players that I've coached”. Redshirt junior Anthony Donkoh should rank among the conference’s top right tackles.
There’s more upside beyond that. Penn State has former top-60 recruits Cooper Cousins and Malachi Goodman on the offensive line, two high-upside defensive ends in Max Granville and Yvan Kemajou, and running back Quinton Martin Jr., who could end up as the top option in the backfield.
The Iowa State arrivals matter. They were necessary additions. But the returnees may be the real reason Penn State can make a legitimate push for the College Football Playoff.
In Other News...
Former Penn State QB Just Made Cincinnati's Roster Decision Tougher
Sean Clifford gave the Bengals something to think about over the preseason, and he did it with the sort of steady showing that can make a backup quarterback case more complicated than anyone planned. The former Penn State signal-caller, now in his fourth NFL season, looked comfortable directing touchdown drives against the Philadelphia Eagles and generally made the most of his chances after arriving on Cincinnatis practice squad.
Still, the math in Cincinnati has not changed much as roster cutdown day approaches. Clifford was released by the Green Bay Packers in 2025 before landing with the Bengals, and even with a strong August, the expectation is that Cincinnati will carry only two quarterbacks on its 53-man roster, leaving Clifford on the outside of a decision he may have made tougher than the team wanted. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Gave Fans A New Reason To Be Proud
Beaver Stadium became the backdrop for something bigger than football this week, as Penn State hosted its first-annual Victory Day and opened the field to underprivileged children with disabilities for a day built around participation, celebration and community. The event included football activities and a turn ringing the Victory Bell, giving the children a chance to experience the program in a way that went well beyond a typical game-day setting.
Head coach Matt Campbell and players framed the day as an opportunity to give back while also learning from the families who took part. The plan is for Victory Day to grow naturally over time, but the central idea is already clear: keep the focus on creating a meaningful experience and making a positive impact in the community. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States New-Look O-Line Is Taking On Ryan Clantons Toughest Demand
Penn States 2026 offensive line is already shaping up as one of the more interesting position groups on the roster, and Ryan Clanton is setting the tone early. With a depth chart that blends Iowa State transfers Trevor Buhr and Will Tompkins with returnees Anthony Donkoh, Cooper Cousins, Malachi Goodman and Brock Riker, the unit has the look of a group still sorting out who fits where and how it all comes together.
What Clanton seems to want most, though, is not a clean label for each blocker but a room full of linemen who can handle more than one job and do it with force. That approach gives Penn State flexibility as it rebuilds up front, but it also puts a premium on how quickly the newcomers and holdovers can adapt to the same standard. The bigger question now is how far that versatility can go once the snaps start getting divided in earnest. [Read more 🡒]