Everybody needs a ride-or-die friend like Matt Campbell.
Someone who defends and protects them like Campbell does Rocco Becht.
Someone who will not call out their mistakes. Someone who supports them no matter what. Someone who somehow misses the obvious.
Because any sensible coach would bench Becht at this point. Not Campbell. It’s not even a consideration.
Likewise, CBS played along during Saturday’s broadcast.
Even though Becht, the most experienced quarterback in college football, had been responsible for three turnovers and badly missed receivers as often as he connected with Chase Sowell inside Michigan Stadium, the broadcast offered up optimism at the two-minute mark with Penn State on offense.
It shared an on-screen graphic that referred to the last time Penn State had made a two-touchdown comeback to win a game in the fourth quarter. The note had no connection to Becht and no likelihood of happening.
It was a good graphic and information, though. Kudos to the CBS researchers, who were spot-on with several such things during the game.
Still, it was nonsense because it was so obviously not happening.
Also at that point, TV analyst Charles Davis discussed Michigan’s halftime QB change, intimating Penn State could make its own decision at the game’s most important position. He fell short of overtly finishing the suggestion, though. It was a halfhearted bit of analysis, rare for Davis.
As has been the case for TV game analysts critiquing Becht’s work (or not critiquing), silence has been the preferred method of speech. When passes fall short or sail high, the images speak for themselves. NBC’s Todd Blackledge did the same during the USC game. He was mostly silent.
Becht might be the coach’s bestie, but he apparently has goodwill all over.
Having met Becht once, for about 20 minutes at Penn State’s preseason media day in August, he came across as honest, likable and sincere. He might be as self-aware as any football player it’s ever been my pleasure to talk with — acknowledging that as the son of an 11-year NFL veteran (tight end Anthony Becht) he never grew up wanting and has a responsibility to give back and support others.
It was a refreshing outlook. He seems to be a nice guy.
Unfortunately for him, those things are not helping complete passes or make decisions on the field.
At this point Penn State has so many problems — with injuries and a lack of top-tier talent — that an underperforming veteran quarterback is not helping. Penn State is winless in conference play and piling up losses with a regularity that’ll be interrupted only by an off week. Mercifully.
With any less-loyal coach, this would be the perfect time to consider a quarterback change. Your team’s entering an off week, so you have two weeks to prepare for the next opponent. You also have a backup who took all the snaps during the spring and summer because Becht was recovering from an injury and unable to play.
In addition, the season is not lost, there’s always time for development and growth, but at this point it’s only a matter of whether your team qualifies for some second-tier bowl (and you get to champion the importance of bowl practices in program development) or coaches and players move on a little earlier to 2027 via golf courses, recruiting duties, graduation and the transfer portal.
Sure, each of the remaining five games could be victories — several should be. Having seen what we’ve seen so far, though, those games also have the potential to be losses.
Maybe your veteran QB helps you win an extra game or two in that stretch. Or maybe not.
Sometimes the football gods have a sense of drama and humor because the stage is perfectly set for a change.
Campbell could not care less.
He’s talking about Becht improving and learning — even though he’s already the most experienced quarterback in college football. Becht has more victories than anyone active at his position, although Penn State fans have seen just three of those in blue and white and none since Sept. 19.
It’s hard to imagine a less experienced QB being worse, but we’ll probably never know.
Maybe five extra games for Alex Manske, who’ll be here next season, could help the team in the long run.
It’s not that Campbell does not care about next season and beyond. He certainly does, and loyalty can be spun as a positive thing when working toward goals like that.
Campbell’s a nice guy too, offering an “excuse me” to an official on the sideline late in the Michigan game as he was jockeying for space to see action on the field.
In a season of unpredictability — this week alone it was Auburn over Georgia, Florida over Texas, Tennessee over Georgia and Boston College over Pitt — the constant at Penn State has been conference losses and Campbell’s consistency.
Becht’s his guy. Ride or die.
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