Penn State’s opener comes with the kind of wrinkle that can make a supposed mismatch feel a lot less comfortable: Marshall brings back enough proven pieces to make Saturday worth watching closely.
The Thundering Herd enter the season with a roster built around experience, and that starts with quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson. He returns for a second year at Marshall after transferring from Syracuse following the 2024 season, and he’s already carrying major preseason buzz as the Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. That reputation makes sense when you look at the production he put together last year - 661 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground, plus 2,043 passing yards and 17 scores through the air.
That dual-threat profile is the real problem for a Penn State defense that hasn’t yet played together against a live opponent. Del Rio-Wilson is one of only two returning quarterbacks in 2026 to have thrown for 2,000 yards, rushed for 600 yards and completed 65% of his passes last season. For a new-look defense with fresh faces and a new coordinator, that’s a serious early test.
Marshall’s best chance to stress Penn State through the air may come through Demarcus Lacey, Del Rio-Wilson’s top target from last season. The redshirt senior is back after playing all 12 games a year ago and putting up 65 catches for 769 yards and five touchdowns.
At 6-foot, he doesn’t overwhelm with size, but the chemistry with Del Rio-Wilson is the real concern. With Penn State’s likely top cornerback Audavion Collins listed at 5-foot-11, that matchup figures to be one of the cleaner one-on-one battles on the field.
Lacey’s 11.8 yards per catch also shows he can turn routine completions into chunk plays.
Marshall’s veteran presence doesn’t stop on offense. Linebacker Javae Gilmore brings size at 6-foot-4 and production near the line of scrimmage, where he posted 11.5 tackles for loss last season.
He also had two tackles against Georgia in 2025 and delivered a season-high 13 tackles against Texas State on Oct. 18.
If he can help slow Penn State’s run game, Marshall can keep the game on its terms longer than most would expect.
There’s also uncertainty surrounding cornerback Boogie Trotter, whose status shifted during the week. He was removed from Marshall’s roster Wednesday after a preliminary injunction denied his eligibility opportunity for 2026, then added back Thursday, putting him back in line to potentially play Saturday.
If he’s on the field, that’s a major boost. Trotter finished last season with 74 tackles and five interceptions, and two of those picks went back for touchdowns.
He’d give Marshall another experienced defender capable of disrupting timing and making life difficult for the Nittany Lions’ top receiver.
For a Marshall team that went 5-7 a year ago, the headline here is simple: there’s more proven talent on this roster than the record suggests. And with Del Rio-Wilson, Lacey, Gilmore and possibly Trotter all in the mix, the Thundering Herd have the kind of veteran core that can make a season opener a lot more complicated than it looks on paper.
In Other News...
Penn State Just Lost An Important Young Defender At A Bad Time
Penn States defense took a hit at an inconvenient moment when LaVar Arrington II went down with a knee injury that will require a procedure, a development confirmed by his father on Fox Sports Radio. The sophomore defensive end had been carving out a role for himself through special teams work, and the coaching staff had pointed to his effort and explosiveness as part of what made him an intriguing young piece on the roster.
Matt Campbell has not offered details on the injury or how long Arrington might be out, leaving the Nittany Lions with one more uncertainty as they sort through their depth. For a player still trying to build momentum in his second season, the timing is especially rough, and it now leaves Penn State waiting to see how the rotation and special teams plans hold up without him. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Reopens A Painful Joe Paterno Debate
Penn States decision to expand its All-Sports Museum inside Beaver Stadium is already stirring familiar emotions around the program. The new Paterno Family Football Experience Room will include an exhibit on Joe Paterno, and athletic director Pat Kraft said the space is meant to preserve and present the history of Penn State football, a history that still carries enormous weight for the school and its supporters.
Even so, the announcement has reopened a painful debate that never quite fades on this campus. For some fans, any new nod to Paterno inevitably brings back the universitys ties to the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, making the move feel less like a museum addition and more like a test of how Penn State chooses to frame its past. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Reignited Its Most Divisive Football Legacy Debate
A new permanent Joe Paterno exhibit has opened at the Penn State All-Sports Museum, giving visitors a closer look at one of the most influential and polarizing figures in the schools football history. The display includes items from Paternos office, awards and a timeline of his career, underscoring how deeply his name remains woven into the identity of the program decades after his peak years on the sideline.
The exhibits framing is what makes it impossible to ignore, especially for a fan base that has spent years wrestling with how to remember that era. It does not mention the child sexual abuse charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky or Paternos handling of the situation, and that choice is already shaping the conversation around the museum addition. Penn State coach Matt Campbell noted the importance of the programs history, but the question of how much of that history should be celebrated, and how much should be confronted, remains very much alive. [Read more 🡒]