It’s not going to get any easier for Penn State.
That was evidenced by Matt Campbell’s Tuesday press conference, where he revealed that Koby Howard, one of the nation’s leading wide receivers from a statistical point of view, will be out for an extended period of time.
Nor will it get any easier for Penn State as it shifts schedules from non-conference to the heartier portion of its 2026 Big Ten play through the course of the next four weeks.
But that’s the point.
As Penn State enters Big Ten play with partially answered questions about where and how this team will perform, this is when the Matt Campbell era truly begins.
Yes, there has been pomp and circumstance since Campbell descended the steps of a jet at the State College Airport. There was an offseason of good feeling and good vibes. And there was a quasi-preseason slate of games where Penn State briefly struggled before it proved it was a bigger, faster, better football team.
Penn State winning non-conference games is the entry-level expectation.
The last few guys did that.
But where, in particular, the last guy failed was the part that comes next for Penn State, and that is what Campbell is here to change.
Even in year one – and with the body of efficient work that Penn State has put together in the season’s first three weeks – there now become expectations that Penn State should succeed quickly.
Its roster is worth a reported $30 million-plus. That doesn’t include the amount of investment – likely more than $100 million when it’s all said and done between base spending and that NIL spend – being poured into this program already.
Yes, there was the obvious question around how this team, mostly built of transfer players, would work together. But even aside from Howard’s play, it’s clear that this Penn State football team is a team.
On offense, Rocco Becht looks like the most confident quarterback Penn State fans have seen since Trace McSorley. While Howard’s absence will sting, many didn’t even project him to be the third pass catcher on Becht’s target list. Penn State also has depth at this wideout for the first time since the 2022 season. That showed last Saturday as Penn State had 10 different pass catchers against Buffalo. In particular, Becht’s connection with the tight end room seems to be blossoming as well.
Because of a shaky start to the season on the ground game (though quelled by last weekend’s 295-yard performance) Penn State’s reliance on the pass game has shown that this team has players who can get open and catch the ball. Those two are key factors in the key fundamental principles of playing football, which have been a struggle for the last few Penn State teams.
On defense, the Nittany Lions are among the top five in several categories nationally, including the one that matters most at 7.3 points per game. Its secondary ranks second in the country as one of two teams allowing less than 100 yards per game at 90.0 so far. The more things change, the more they stay the same there.
All of that together are the questions that are answered for Penn State.
Now the questions about whether or not that it translates into Big Ten play will rapidly get answered against Wisconsin, and so too will questions about Campbell’s ability to coach in the perceived tougher “Big” conference.
There is a buffer of the first-year honeymoon and there was always going to be one. But the first tastes of the meaningful parts of a season are something that this fanbase has been waiting for and wondering about. Moreover, the start of this season has Penn State fans also wondering what this team can achieve.
Penn State fans are anxious and they are eager for what comes next. There is optimism. There is anxiety. Message board trauma bonding is a real phenomenon after all.
It won’t get any easier for anyone involved but the better Penn State handles the hard part, the higher the potential this season goes.
vs 
Time: 5 p.m.
TV: Peacock, NBCSN
Announcers: Dave Flemming, Matt Cassel, Ashley ShahAhmadi
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Announcers: Steve Jones, Jack Ham, Brian Tripp
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