Trending
Some nitpicking as Penn State kicks off the college football weekend with a rare Friday night game:
Tonight at Northwestern will be a referendum on the Nittany Lions' resiliency.
And how much they've grown in six days following last week's shocking loss to Wisconsin.
Will Matt Campbell play as conservatively the next time he gets a big lead -- presuming he does -- or will his philosophy vs. the Badgers become a trend?
Campbell explained after the game and again this week that he didn't want the offense "to do anything to screw up" what the defense had built in staking the Lions to a 17-0 lead.
Interestingly, he made similar comments prior to the season, and what unfolded against Wisconsin speaks to what happened.
"Man, 12 games of 60 minutes are guaranteed to you," he said Sept. 1 in previewing the season opener. "You've got to win the moments and you've got to win more of them than you do screw them up, right? College football is the greatest game of screw up known to mankind. You have to screw it up less than the team across from you."
For someone who relies on that terminology that much, Campbell and his staff sure screwed it up, right?
They are not going to survive in the Big Ten playing not to lose. Maybe at Iowa State he could, but he's now in the best or second-best conference in the country.
And that's with the Nittany Lions playing a friendly schedule, having avoided Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon.
Nobody outside the Lasch Building expected the Lions to be much better than 9-3 -- maybe 10-2 -- this season, but the way they belly-flopped to the Badgers was alarming.
Perhaps most curious about Campbell's hesitancy on offense last week is the fact that he's got a veteran quarterback in Rocco Becht, who has made more starts (43) than anybody in college football.
If he's not going to trust him to throw in obvious third-down passing situations, how might he operate with a first-year starter?
Regardless, they must turn the page to a game many thought could be dangerous - vs. the Wildcats, who are opening a new stadium in front of perhaps their most excited home crowd ever.
You'll recall the last time the Nittany Lions played Northwestern (2025 at Beaver Stadium), they lost. And we know what happened next.
Campbell is trying to draw on recent history when other high-profile teams suffered early-season defeats -- such as Notre Dane falling to Northern Illinois in 2024 -- and still making the playoffs.
"There's plenty of great experiences over the last five years of teams that lost early, had the ability to use that loss and had the opportunity to grow themselves forward," he said.
Tackle Anthony Donkoh told reporters Wednesday there's a different vibe this year than after the Lions -- a team albeit with higher expectations -- were dealt their first defeat in 2025.
"There were a lot more emotions last year," he said. "You just felt a big negative. But after this loss, everyone is still in good spirits ... everyone still has a positive mindset."
Pundits (like me) looked at this season and thought there was a chance Penn State could beat USC, Michigan or Washington -- the three perceived toughest tests.
But there was also sentiment they could get picked off by an underdog.
Since that happened sooner than later, where do the Lions go from here?
Nitpicking ...
n It's the fifth game of the season and one of the bigger weaknesses the Lions have shown is in their running game as they've tried to alternate four options. It's time to decide. James Peoples has been the most impressive, plus as a former Ohio State transfer, he has Big Ten experience.
n Given the running back dilemma along with the odd timeout Campbell took after the third-quarter break vs. UW -- considering there had already been a five-plus minute stoppage -- you could say the staff, so far, has exhibited indecision.
n As his tenure progresses, Campbell must prioritize Pennsylvania recruiting. By my count, only one player from PA --- guard Cooper Cousins (Erie) - started last week. Running back Quinton Martin and linebacker Alex Tatsch saw 15 and 11 snaps, respectively.
n Northwestern may be without injured tight end Luke Dehnicke, but keep an eye on Griffin Wilde, who caught seven passes for 94 yards and a key TD last year at Penn State. He also caught two touchdown passes at Indiana last week.
n One statistic in the post-game notes that struck me: The Nits are 19-15 in Big Ten openers. Underscores their mediocrity that obviously goes well beyond last week.
n Too bad Pitt's visit to Virginia Tech (7 p.m., ESPN) is head-up vs. Penn State-Northwestern tonight. Would like to eavesdrop on the pre-game coaches conversation.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.