Penn State’s road through the next few seasons doesn’t exactly offer much breathing room.
The Nittany Lions are staring at a run of 29 games that, on paper, is packed with opponents more than happy to pile on another loss. With the Big Ten growing, the upside comes with the downside: no Michigan on the slate in some stretches, but Ohio State and Oregon are still waiting, along with trips to Indiana and USC.
That’s the backdrop for Matt Campbell’s program as it tries to get its footing after an 0-4 start in Big Ten play. The path ahead is loaded enough that it’s hard to confidently circle many wins, but there are still games that stand out as especially demanding.
One of the first is Penn State’s trip to Washington. It would mark Campbell’s first real taste of the cross-country travel that comes with Big Ten football.
The Huskies have issues of their own, so this one is hardly impossible, but it doesn’t exactly feel like a friendly landing spot either. The uncertainty around Koby Howard only adds to the uneasy tone.
The schedule then keeps rolling into a mix of high-profile home dates and difficult road trips. Penn State is set to host Michigan and later deal with visits to Indiana, Oregon and Wisconsin.
The order isn’t known, but the list alone tells you the challenge. Michigan should improve from its rough patches this season.
Indiana and Oregon, meanwhile, look like programs that aren’t exactly stepping backward.
Wisconsin is the kind of road trip that never comes gently, even if the Badgers are a little less intimidating than some of the other names on the slate. If Luke Fickell can keep his job, that is.
And the next two seasons don’t get much kinder. In 2027, Penn State’s home schedule includes Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon and UCLA. The road slate also brings Nebraska, USC and a non-conference trip to Syracuse.
The 2028 schedule looks just as unforgiving. The exact order is still unknown, but the big picture is clear.
Iowa is rarely a soft touch, Ohio State is Ohio State and Oregon likely will be Oregon. Indiana, UCLA and USC are all shaped like wildcards, though all three have reason to be solid in the near future.
There’s plenty that can change before any of this plays out, and probably will. But right now, it isn’t hard to build a case that Penn State could lose at least 11 of its next 29 key games.
Still, there’s a recent reminder that fast turnarounds can happen. Penn State went from the struggles of 2014 to a Big Ten Championship in 2016 over roughly the same span of games.
The difference, then, was the weight of NCAA-implemented obstacles fading over time. Now, Campbell is pointing the focus inward.
“We are not wavering,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said. “We are going to build the right foundation, standards and expectations on how we do things.”
In Other News...
Cael Sanderson Just Raised A Serious Penn State Wrestling Concern
Cael Sanderson used Penn State wrestlings media day to voice a concern that has lingered around college athletics for some time: whether the rules are being enforced clearly enough for programs to know where they stand. The Penn State coach sounded frustrated by the NCAAs uncertainty, saying the lack of consistent standards can make it hard to tell whether playing by the book could actually leave a team at a disadvantage.
The immediate wrinkle for Penn State involves former wrestler Levi Haines, whose eligibility status remains unclear even as he continues preparing for international freestyle competition. Sanderson pointed to that uncertainty as part of a bigger problem, one that affects not just the Nittany Lions but the broader landscape of college wrestling, where clarity on who can compete and when still seems frustratingly out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Marylands Next Hire Could Create A New Big Ten Problem For Penn State
Marylands coaching search is suddenly one of the more interesting items on the Big Tens offseason board, and it matters far beyond College Park. After firing Mike Locksley, the Terrapins are expected to explore a wide range of candidates, from rising assistants to proven head coaches, each bringing a different kind of upside and risk. For Penn State, the name attached to Marylands next move could shape how competitive the East side of the league feels in the seasons ahead.
Among the possibilities being discussed are JaMarcus Shephard, Jason Eck, Jake Dickert, Bryant Haines and Billy Napier, a mix that shows Maryland could lean either toward upside or experience. The fit question is the real one here, because a strong hire could help stabilize a program that has struggled for consistency and make the conference landscape a little tougher to navigate. For Penn State, that is the part worth watching: Maryland does not need to become a powerhouse to affect the Nittany Lions, only steady enough to make one more Big Ten game harder than it should be. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Wrestling Is About To Dominate The National Spotlight
Penn State wrestling is set to spend plenty of time in the national window next winter, with the Big Ten Network unveiling its 2026-27 television schedule and putting the Nittany Lions front and center. Penn State leads the conference with seven nationally televised matches, a fitting setup for a program that has turned marquee duals into routine appointments for the sports most invested fan base.
Three of those broadcasts will come at home at the Jordan Center, while four more will follow the Nittany Lions on the road for Big Ten matchups. BTN will also carry the 2027 Big Ten Championships from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, giving Penn State another high-profile stage as it continues to navigate the conference slate that usually decides everything in March. [Read more 🡒]