Penn State is having a 3-4 season. It may or may not be causing an existential crisis based on some of the comments and feedback we received during our 2026 in-season survey.
Overall, 89 percent of Penn Staters say the Nittany Lions have underachieved in 2026.
But that’s not all you had to say. Here are the results – and just some of the feedback – from our 2026 In-Season Survey, including thoughts on the team, gamedays, NIL and the media. (Some feedback has been edited for length.)
The Team
Overall, Penn State Football has _____ my preseason expectations
- 89% say underachieved
- 10% say met
- 1% says exceeded
What grade would you give Matt Campbell?
- 37% say C
- 33% say D
- 16% say F
- 12% say B
- 2% say A
Will Penn State make a bowl in 2026?
- 65% no
- 35% yes
Team Related Feedback
• Disappointing. Underwhelming. Change might be expected to be tough but they’ve left some games on the field. Never mind the obvious talent disparity, the coaching has been surprisingly soft.
• I had a 7-5 season in the back of my mind all summer long, and here we are, staring down a 6-6 season or worse. I knew this season was going to be difficult, but I’m truly stunned at how poor the quality of play has been on the field at various time across all aspects of the team during any given game. The inability to find the end zone after field-long drives, the hesitant mindset of play calling, all seems to make the coaching staff and players look inept.
• I had very little expectations about the season given everything that happened with Matt Campbell’s hiring but I’m very disappointed in the lack of identity of the team. I knew this year wasn’t going to be good with this roster but I’m really concerned with how many three-and-outs there are. There’s no cohesion on the offense.
• I’m extremely disappointed by the game management decisions which have been made, especially with regard to timeout mismanagement. I was hoping this staff would improve on the prior staff’s issues in this area (a very low bar).
• Worst run game I’ve seen in my 50-plus years as a fan.
Gamedays
Penn State’s Beaver Stadium improvements have
- 48% say not been that noticeable
- 30% say made gamedays better
- 22% say made gamedays worse
Have you changed your in-stadium spending habits on items like concessions this season?
- 71% say no
- 28% say yes
Will you renew your tickets for 2027?
- 34% don’t have season tickets
- 55% yes
- 11% no
Ticket Renewal Feedback
• As prices continue to rise (tickets, parking, and non-football related expenses like utilities, gas, etc.), I’ve opted to not spend any money in the stadium this year. Eat and drink in the parking lots before and after the game. And as it becomes more expensive for tickets/seats in the stadium, I will continue to cut back on spending inside the stadium and on PSU merchandise. There is only so much money the average fan has to spend on fandom.
• At this moment, I do plan to renew, but as the losses pile up and PSU continues to treat longtime fans and alumni as nothing more than wallets to be plundered, I’m increasingly leaning toward cutting my ties,
• Even though I said yes, I had to move my lifetime seats to afford them. I feel ashamed to even have kept them with how things are looking.
What part of gamedays is the most frustrating?
- 54% say team performance
- 22% say ticket/parking prices
- 13% say traffic (pre and post game)
- 9% say outside expenses
- 2% say Stadium concession quality
Gameday Feedback
• Cellular connectivity and bandwidth (both inside and immediately outside the stadium) continues to be incredibly poor. I’m not holding my breath that the promised improvements for next season will be adequate.
• Continue to be frustrated by the lack of bathroom facilities for tailgating. There are plenty of areas that remain available for more facilities, yet the athletic department continues to provide far too few, resulting in long lines and eventually very unsanitary conditions.
• Go back to first-come, first-served when allocating student tickets. No more lottery.
• I like the new lights. Sound is better.
• In what world does $700 million not pay for wifi/cell service? While the atmosphere in the stands can’t be beat, the concourse experience at Beaver Stadium is easily the worst in the Big Ten. Better concessions and restroom upgrades are desperately needed.
• STOP PLAYING THE SAME FIVE SONGS ALL THE TIME, THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR DECADES
• The extended east concourse needs tables and seats for people to be able to sit and eat. Not everyone wants to sit and eat at their seats.
• The overall quality of food in the Mt Nittany Club has dropped substantially.
• Bitter about moving seats. I’m in the lower bowl and still can’t see the boards (TVs don’t show the same things as boards for some reason and they bought tiny 24” (I’m sure more) TVs and there is no sound. A wall was built behind us and our seats are in a choke point. Overall I really should be demanding money back as my seats are almost unbearable.
NIL
Do you donate to Penn State’s NIL fund?
- 79% say no
- 21% say yes
NIL Feedback
• Spending more than $2,000/year as a fan for tickets, parking, tailgating, travel, etc., to games, there’s only so much in the budget.
• They got enough of my money as a student
• We support the team by renewing our 4 season tickets and upgrading our seats. Everything related to coming to games has gotten more expensive. At this time we don’t feel we can contribute to NIL.
• Would you?
Media
I am consuming ___ Penn State football content this season
- 59% say about the same
- 27% say less
- 14% say more
Media Feedback
• I enjoy the coverage that the entire beat provides. I especially enjoy The Nittany Dispatch, PennLive, and Mark Wogenrich.
• I miss when there weren’t ten different Substacks. I’m not going to manage six subscriptions for one team.
• I honestly feel like I was gaslit in the offseason. The way people talked about Eskildsen, Peoples, Neal, and the defensive tackles specifically was a significant oversell. It seemed like some on the beat were so excited to not have to deal with James anymore that they missed the actual quality of the team.
• Hold the feet to the fire. There’s no need to act obtuse about the current situation. “Lobby” for the obvious: changes need to be made to turn the ship around and to have a winning product that actually does more with more
Thank you to everyone who took some time to fill this out. This was one of our most engaged surveys ever.
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