League schedule will provide real gauge of Campbell’s style
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What are you most looking forward to as Big Ten play begins?
Now we'll get to see Matt Campbell actually have to coach.
Over the years, I've had a lot of people sarcastically tell me, "Giger, you think you're so smart, why don't you go try and coach at Penn State!"
Well, I'll guarantee that I could have coached the Lions to a 3-0 record against that awful non-conference schedule. Neil could have gone 3-0 also, plus you reading this at home, your next-door neighbor, your barber, your wife and some random folks you run into at the grocery store.
Point is, there wasn't much Campbell and his staff really had to do in the first three games in order to secure wins, other than merely show up with vastly superior talent.
Starting this week, with the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin and especially after losing stud young receiver Koby Howard, we'll get to see how Campbell and the Lions handle game day when the opponent is someone a little more their own size.
What will Campbell and his coaching staff do on crucial third- or fourth-down calls in the fourth quarter?
When will he go for it, try a long field goal or punt?
How will he handle clock management in key situations?
How will the handoff distribution to the group of running backs look at the beginning, middle and end of games?
Who will be the targeted receivers with Howard out?
How well will the Lions do in two- and four-minute offense situations?
This is the fun stuff that we judge coaches on. These are the decisions and strategies that decide games in the Big Ten.
Whether or not Campbell can win big games AND lesser ones in conference will largely come down to how well the team is prepared from the get-go, as well as adjustments made at halftime and during the course of play.
A key part of learning about a new coach is simply seeing how he responds to all circumstances — big, small, even mundane. So far, Campbell looks like a home run of a hire when it comes to just focusing on football instead of making everything about him, but again, it's been easy with this cupcake schedule.
James Franklin was excellent at so many things as a head coach and CEO of a college football program. His biggest problem was that he's just not a very good coach on game day, and after watching him for 12 seasons, he became predictable in so many situations.
Over time, we'll learn about Campbell's tendencies and how much or not he's willing to adapt his philosophies to the situation at hand.
To be honest, this learning process is probably the thing I'm most excited to see after so many years watching Franklin. The same way I'm excited to see how Mike McCarthy does things differently with the Steelers after watching Mike Tomlin be so stubborn for years.
Change can be for the better or worse. Now that Penn State is playing real opponents, we'll get to see just how much change Campbell will bring.
Cory Giger hosts the Blue & White Wrapup postgame show following each PSU game on JACK-FM 107.1