Penn State will bring back the Stripe Out in Week 1, and the Nittany Lions are hoping the setting helps scrub away some of the ugliness left behind from last season.
The program announced that its 11th annual Stripe Out will happen when Penn State opens at home against Marshall. It’s the first game of the Matt Campbell era, while the White Out date is still to be determined. Penn State’s other major atmosphere game, the helmet stripe game, will be announced once the Big Ten’s TV partners lock in kickoff times.
No one is going to debate Marshall the way they would a White Out opponent, but it’s still a curious choice for a showcase game. Penn State doesn’t have many marquee home dates this season, and there isn’t much early in the schedule that feels especially high-profile before the weather turns and, as James Franklin would say, fans can start breaking out their hunting gear.
Even so, Week 1 carries more weight than a normal nonconference opener. Last year’s Stripe Out came in Week 7, and the mood in Beaver Stadium was already sour after losses to Oregon and UCLA.
The crowd had turned on Franklin, the Nittany Lions dropped a third straight game by losing 22-21 to Northwestern, and Drew Allar’s season ended late in that game. Franklin was fired the next day, closing the book on a stunning collapse after Penn State entered the year with the highest expectations it had carried since 1997, when Joe Paterno’s team opened the season No. 1 in the AP Poll.
That’s the backdrop for this one. Penn State is not trying to prove everything against Marshall, and it would be a stretch to say this game defines the Campbell era. But a comfortable win with the Stripe Out crowd fully engaged would give the fan base something it badly needs after Pat Kraft’s coaching search didn’t land the top targets it chased.
Campbell was quickly embraced, as these things usually go in college football, though the optimism got a little bumpier over the offseason when his early recruiting momentum cooled. Questions about his ability to recruit Pennsylvania have hung around, and a sluggish start against Marshall would only stir them back up.
Still, the matchup itself points the other way. Because it’s Marshall, Penn State should have every chance to open with a convincing win, let the Stripe Out do its work, and move into the Campbell era with a little less baggage.
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Rappleyea is now part of a deeper, more interesting picture heading into 2026, with Luke Reynolds and Khalil Dinkins already in the mix and Iowa State transfers Ben Brahmer and Gabe Burkle joining the competition. The result is a position battle that could push Penn State toward a stronger all-around tight end room, and Rappleyeas comeback gives that storyline a built-in edge. If he can keep building on what he showed before the injury, the Lions may have one more productive option in an offense that has room for it. [Read more 🡒]