Penn State needs its quarterback to lead it back to winning side
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- There have been Penn State quarterbacks in the recent past who conveniently haven't been available to the media in midweek interview windows after a tough loss.
Rocco Becht is not among them.
Becht arrived at Beaver Stadium on Tuesday well aware of his and the Nittany Lions' struggles in their first two Big Ten games but not hiding from them.
He understands the quarterback -- especially the veteran quarterback -- has the responsibility to set a positive tone in order to reboot a season threatening to careen further south than it already has.
After the listless 34-13 loss to Northwestern, Becht "went in there (PSU practice) with positive vibes throughout the whole facility. And I think that just brings everybody up."
There's a theory of "speed of the leader, speed of the team," and Becht embraces it.
"Whatever I'm doing, that's what the whole team is going to be doing," he said. "So that's how I carry myself every single day. I just got to have faith in myself and this team that we're going to bounce back."
Becht's teammates have noticed.
"I think Rocco has a phenomenal job getting us all together, not just as an offense, but really as a team and just talking through with anybody," guard Cooper Cousins, himself a team leader, said. "From the second the games end to the second the next game starts, you see his leadership."
That said, he needs to play much better. Becht started the year against the Lions' soft non-conference schedule and performed as advertised, throwing accurately up the field and into tight windows.
Through three games (Marshall, Temple, Buffalo), he completed 70 percent of his passes for 751 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions.
But in the last two against Wisconsin and Northwestern, both discouraging losses, Becht has one touchdown vs. three interceptions, and his completion rate has sunk to 54.2.
"Rocco certainly needs to be better, but we need to be better with the other 10 people around him, too," Matt Campbell said. "We need to be better in our pass protection at times. We certainly need to be better in terms of our run game."
Campbell talked about the Lions' lack of offensive identity, and part of that is the absence of Koby Howard.
Their run game and pass game have been equally unimpressive.
"We're going back into the drawing board and figuring out what we can do well," Becht said.
Neither Campbell nor Becht seemed rattled this week and are drawing on their past experience at Iowa State.
The Cyclones lost two straight in 2024 - to Texas Tech and Kansas - before winning four of their last five, including a victory over Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Last year, they lost four in a row before ending the season on a three-game win streak.
"I've been here before," Becht said. "So for me, it's digging back to that 2024 season, what did I change to get out of that slump?"
He may look to run more. Becht's scrambles of 19 and 10 yards - and this is an indictment on the Lions' ground game - marked PSU's longest runs of the last two weeks.
"When something's not there, being able to use my legs a little bit more," Becht said.
Tonight's matchup in the annual White Out game against Southern Cal is a referendum on Becht, who has now started 44 games, most of any FBS quarterback. That comfortability and trust are the reasons Campbell wanted him ahead of potential holdover Ethan Grunkemeyer, who went to Virginia Tech instead.
On Thursday, Becht was named one of 15 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Now would be a good time to start justifying that.
Nitpicking ...
– Like Oregon last year, USC chose to stay in Altoona, operating out of the Blair County Convention Center for meetings and meals. Such pre-game logistics are becoming a trend as Marshall also stayed here for the season opener.
– When they were at Iowa State and Oklahoma, Matt Campbell and Lincoln Riley have coached against each other six times, with Riley holding a 4-2 advantage. The games were always within a touchdown and most of the time with the Sooners ranked. Iowa State's top win was an upset of No. 3 Oklahoma in 2017.
– Big Ten travel nugget: This is USC's second trip to the East coast in three weeks, the Trojans having won at Rutgers, 42-35, on Sept. 19.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.