Campbell's Penn State debut is a first for the series too
Matt Campbell's first Penn State team wraps camp with Rocco Becht locked in at quarterback and opens against a Marshall program the Nittany Lions haven't seen since 1930.
A new coach, a settled quarterback, and one more scrimmage in the books
Matt Campbell's first training camp at Penn State is over, and the headline out of it is what didn't happen: no quarterback drama. Rocco Becht, the senior who followed Campbell east after starting for him at Iowa State, is "locked in" as the Week 1 starter with no surprises through camp, Sports Illustrated's Penn State beat reported — about as clean a resolution as a new staff could ask for at the sport's most important position.
Victory Day 2026 😃 t.co/dNz0bm2uLx
The one job still genuinely up for grabs is left tackle, where five-star freshman Malachi Goodman is the projected starter but hasn't locked it down. Campbell has kept pushing him on finishing blocks rather than just winning the leverage, and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser has liked what he's seen out of Goodman's pairing with left guard Trevor Buhr. The program closed the month out with Victory Day, its open scrimmage inside Beaver Stadium — the account's own recap was simply "Perfect night, Victory Day 2026" — the last live look at this group before it counts.
Last season ended on a four-game run
The team Campbell inherited didn't finish last season quietly. After an October loss to Indiana, 27-24, Penn State closed out last season by winning four straight — a 28-10 win at Michigan State, a 37-10 win over Nebraska, a wild 40-36 escape at Rutgers, and a 22-10 win over Clemson on the road on December 27 to cap the year.
That finishing kick is the last form anyone has on this roster before an entirely new coaching staff took over, which is exactly why it matters here: last season's group proved it could win close (Rutgers) and win big (Nebraska) in the same month. Whether that carries over is the whole point of September 5.
Marshall's QB broke a 43-year-old record, and Brookins is a game-time watch
This is only the third meeting ever between the two programs and the first since 1930, with Marshall making its first-ever trip to Beaver Stadium. The Thundering Herd bring a real player at quarterback in Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, the Sun Belt's preseason Offensive Player of the Year, who broke Marshall's 43-year-old single-season rushing record for a quarterback with 660 yards last year and is one of two returning FBS quarterbacks to throw for 2,000 yards, run for 600 and complete 65 percent of his passes. Second-year coach Tony Gibson is trying to bounce Marshall back from a 5-7 finish after a 10-3, Sun Belt title season the year before.
On Penn State's side, receiver K. Brookins is a game-time watch of a different kind — Covers' injury tracker lists him Questionable for personal reasons, reported last week, with it genuinely up in the air whether he plays against Marshall. It's a hedge, not a ruling out, but it's the one name worth watching on the injury sheet heading into the opener.
A 24.5-point line for a game this series hasn't played since 1930
Penn State opened as a heavy favorite for Campbell's debut, with the line set at Penn State -24.5 and the total at 54.5 — a middling number for a spread that lopsided, which says more about pace than about anybody expecting a shootout.
Kickoff is Saturday, September 5 at 2:30 PM at Beaver Stadium, and it's as clean a measuring stick as a new staff could ask for: a game Penn State is expected to win comfortably, against an opponent the current roster has never actually seen.