Penn State’s offense looked sharp enough against Marshall to leave the easy takeaway on Saturday: the Nittany Lions can move the ball. But the bigger picture coming out of that opener is a little more layered than the final score suggested, especially when it comes to the ground game and how the staff views its personnel heading into conference play.
Matt Campbell spent Tuesday and Wednesday making one point clear: he’s not ready to sound any alarms about the running backs. The production on the field wasn’t where Penn State wanted it to be, but Campbell said Marshall’s plan had something to do with that, and he emphasized that the room still has his confidence.
“I thought those running backs played really good last week,” Campbell said Tuesday. “I’m not too concerned about where those guys are.”
That room - led primarily by Carson Hansen, James Peoples and Quinton Martin Jr. - has already shown it can do real damage at this level. Hansen was Iowa State’s lead back in the Big 12 last year, Peoples opened the 2025 season as Ohio State’s starting running back, and Martin finished his 2025 with a 103-yard game against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.
So one quiet outing doesn’t change much internally. Campbell said he didn’t sense any frustration from the backs after the game, either, and pointed to the way the workload was spread around.
“I didn’t see that,” Campbell said when asked if the running backs were frustrated postgame. "That room’s a great team room.
I think you see that even with the amount of guys that played. I think there were four guys that got all those guys got eight-plus carries in the game, which is awesome for those guys. ...
I think all those guys were really excited about where we were by the end of the football game.”
Even so, Hansen made it clear Wednesday that there are details he wants back.
“There was just a couple reads that I wanted back. There was a couple runs that I wanted back, in there. You just got to keep refining little details, and we’ll get it sorted.”
If the run game left a few questions, Koby Howard gave Penn State something far more concrete at receiver. His performance against Marshall was the loudest breakout from the opener, and it came after a winding road that made his name one of the talking points of the 2025 offseason.
Howard entered camp with plenty of buzz, but he hadn’t turned that into meaningful production last season in a receiver room that struggled. Expectations only climbed once the new staff arrived, and he spent August earning more and more praise before finally delivering when the games started for real.
Against Marshall, he put the numbers behind the hype: six catches, 161 yards and a touchdown.
That matters even more because Penn State’s offense is expected to rely heavily on two-tight-end looks, which can squeeze the third receiver spot off the field. Howard’s showing may force that conversation to change.
“I think what Koby’s doing is proving that he should be on the field no matter what the personnel is, and at least have the right to be on it,” Campbell said. “So I think those things are certainly really exciting for him.”
On the other side of the ball, Jeremiah Cooper is working back into form after injury and already looks like a piece Penn State wants on the field as much as possible. Campbell said Cooper was on a snap count against Marshall, but the expectation is that he becomes a major factor once he’s fully healthy.
Cooper’s recovery matters because of what he can do for defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. Campbell said Cooper was really emerging before he tore his ACL last season at Iowa State, and he’s spent the last three weeks flashing again.
“He’s had an exceptional last three weeks, has made some huge plays in practice,” Campbell said. “I would say maybe a little bit of the catalyst coming out of fall camp. Made a great interception on a two-minute drill about two weeks ago, and just watching his confidence build back by the day.”
His teammates have noticed it, too. Safety Jameson Patton pointed to Cooper’s ability to move around and create problems all over the field.
“He’s changed from safety to corner and corner back to safety, and he’s an athlete and he’s a great playmaker,” Patton said. “I think that’s what kind of stands out.
The first practice he was back, he had an interception. He’s just always making plays and putting himself in positions to make those plays within the system.
I think that’s what makes him so good.”
There were also a couple of injury updates to note. Campbell said linebacker Alex Tatsch and tight end Gabe Burkle are both available this week after sitting out the season opener, and both are expected to have major roles once they’re fully back in the flow.
LaVar Arrington II, meanwhile, is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after what Campbell called a “cleanup surgery” following an injury suffered in the second to last week of camp.
In Other News...
Penn State Mourns A Former Star As New Details Emerge
Matt Suhey, one of Penn States most respected former stars, was found dead at his home in Deerfield, Illinois, a loss that adds another somber note to the programs long football lineage. Suhey went on to become a fixture with the Chicago Bears, remembered most for his work as a lead blocker for Walter Payton and for scoring the first touchdown in the Bears Super Bowl XX win.
The Lake County Coroners Office said there were no suspicious circumstances and that his death was due to natural causes tied to a significant medical history. For Penn State fans, Suhey was part of an era that still carries weight in the schools football story, and his passing is likely to prompt the kind of reflection that follows whenever one of the programs former standard-bearers is lost. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Sirianni Has A Surprising Penn State Tie Coming To The Linc
Matt Campbell and Nick Sirianni have traveled a long way from their days as roommates at Mount Union, and now their careers are set to cross again in a much bigger spotlight. Sirianni has already climbed to Super Bowl-winning status with the Eagles, while Campbell has settled in as Penn States head coach, giving their old relationship a new layer of intrigue whenever the schedules and sideline duties line up.
Campbell recently spoke with Sirianni after Penn States debut win, a reminder that the two still lean on one another as they navigate the demands that come with leading major programs. Now Campbell is bringing his team to Lincoln Financial Field, where Sirianni coaches, adding a personal twist to a game that already carries plenty of attention for Penn State fans following the programs new chapter. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Is Leaning Back Into Its Past In A Big Way
Penn State has quietly spent the early part of the season leaning back into its history, and not in a subtle way. Matt Campbell has made clear he wants the program to honor the legacy of former coach Joe Paterno, with Jay Paterno around practice, Sue Paterno addressing the team, and the school opening the Paterno Family Football Experience Room as part of that broader nod to the past. Even the season opener carried a familiar visual, with the team running out under a banner tied to Paternos era.
Campbell has framed it as a matter of respecting where the program came from and the value system that helped shape it. Still, the move naturally invites a bigger conversation about how Penn State balances celebration of its football lineage with the scrutiny that comes with it, and how far the program is willing to go in reconnecting with one of the most defining figures in its history. [Read more 🡒]