Big Ten · Matt Campbell, year 1 (2-0) · Beaver Stadium · 106,572 · 108,489 avg in 2026
LastW 27–9 at Temple · Sat Sep 12 · Rocco Becht 268 pass yds, 3 TD, 11 rush yds
Nextvs Buffalo · Sat Sep 19 · 12 pm ET · Beaver Stadium · Penn State by 39.5 · series 3-1, won the last 3 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #46 | #23 | -23.5✓ | Marshall | W 45–0 126 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #39 | #91 | -24.5✗ | @Temple | W 27–9 116 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #36 | #145 | -39.5 | Buffalo | |||
| 4 | Sep 26 | #35 | #90 | Wisconsin | ||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | @Northwestern | ||||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | USC | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | @Michigan | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Purdue | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | @Washington | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | Minnesota | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | Rutgers | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | @Maryland |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | @Temple | W 27–9 | 416 | 0 | 28:49 | +0.207 | 43.8% | 118.1% | |
| Sep 5 | Marshall | W 45–0 | 487 | 0 | 36:13 | +0.422 | 51.4% | 129.5% | |
| Season average (2 games) | 452 | 0.0 | +0.315 | 47.6% | 123.8% | ||||
Penn State spent a decade as the program that could win every big game except the biggest — and in 2025 the wait finally broke the man who embodied it, ending the Franklin era mid-season and handing the job to someone hired to do the one thing the program never could.
Fans will point to the scoreboard: a decade of being the Big Ten's clear third program behind Ohio State and Michigan, the two rivals who kept finding a way in the fourth quarter when Penn State could…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 7-6 · last season
✓ measured from 13 games · ranks are among Big Ten teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Hot. 6-4 over the last 10, and won the last six.
I think Ajani’s strength has been him pulling the ball down and running and some of those designed runs
Next Sep 19
vs Buffalo · at home
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questioncan a new staff change the trajectory?
Campbell, who led Iowa State to a 7-6 record and a #7 AP ranking, inherits a Penn State program with only 8% production returning — the standard built by Franklin.
our readdeveloping
Matt Campbell begins his first season at Penn State, inheriting a 7-6 record and a program that must redefine its identity without its legendary predecessor.
our readbackground
Kaytron Allen does NOT see a usage spike in garbage time -- his workload holds steady regardless of score, and he's also efficient in competitive snaps -- the production isn't just garbage-time padding.
our readdeveloping
Matt Campbell begins his tenure at Penn State, inheriting a 7-6 record and a program that must redefine its identity without its legacy-builder.
our readdeveloping
Franklin's top-2 Big Ten portal class adds Becht at QB and Brahmer at TE — filling gaps after 8 NFL exits in a program still rebuilding its identity.
our readfront page
James Franklin enters his 10th season at Penn State with a 7-6 record, tasked with maintaining the program's national power status built on a legacy that must continually be rebuilt in his absence.
our readdeveloping
James Franklin's sixth season sees Penn State's win total dip from 9.5 to 8.5, testing whether his reputation can sustain a program built by one man.
our readdeveloping
Kaytron Allen: a short yardage signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Nicholas Singleton converts 3rd/4th-and-short at a below-average rate.
our readbackground
Campbell inherits a 7-6 roster and 56% returning production, but Penn State's standard was built by Franklin's legacy — the program must now prove it can thrive without him.
our readdeveloping
Outcome band · Penn State · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Terry Smith took over as Penn State's head coach, replacing James Franklin. It is replaces 12-year head coach James Franklin (104-45). It's not the hire that's the story anymore — it's everything it set in motion. The coverage is thin so far; the story is still writing itself.
The 'this hire changes everything' takes -- new-era believers making the case early.
The 'show me the body of work' counter -- resume gaps, scheme fits, and 'not that guy' reads.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 31 of 6581 board posts (0%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Penn State: coordinator change reshaping a unit.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The optimistic read: momentum, and the 'this is real' takes.
The analytical counter: rankings, results, and 'the hype is ahead of the tape' takes.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 888 of 6581 board posts (13%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Penn State is the program whose standard was built by one man's reputation and has to keep being rebuilt in his absence.
The program ledger
since 2025Penn State transfer named VT QB1
Campbell's win-now pressure just got a wrinkle — losing a QB to Virginia Tech's starting spot means one less chess piece as Penn State rebuilds around 8 NFL Draft departures.
Penn State hires D’Anton Lynn as DC
Eight drafted starters out the door and a #65-ranked class coming in — Lynn's hire is Campbell betting that elite defensive scheming closes the gap faster than recruiting depth can.
Aiden Gibson flips to Rutgers
Eight draft exits and Franklin's EDGE room is still bleeding — Gibson flipping to Rutgers is a small wound, but a top-15 class and a top-5 transfer haul can't afford many of them.
Khalil Taylor flips to Nebraska
Eight draft exits and the EDGE room still thin — losing a flip to Lincoln hurts less about the player and more about what it signals when your win total is already down a full win.
Chaz Coleman dismissed from Tennessee
Eight starters gone to the draft and EDGE is still a pressure point — Coleman's dismissal from Tennessee reopens a door Franklin's portal class hasn't fully closed yet.
WR Karon Brookins charged with drug paraphernalia
A WR room already thin after 8 draft departures can't afford this — Brookins off the depth chart hurts a rebuild that's still patching holes from January.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
NE leads the 2026 class with 4 commits. National footprint reaching 9 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
94 signees across 22 states, 2023-2026. PA leads the pull.
That is 9.9% of every high-school FBS signee PA produced over those cycles — the biggest share any program takes — Temple is next. The full map →
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Penn State player grew up 251 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Beaver Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 109 of 112 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top r/cfb community posts · last 12 months
Fan confidence lower than any point since 2025
17th percentile among FBS programs
67 of 68 AP voters have them ranked, AP ballot, week 3 (2026) — from #12, David Paschall (Chattanooga Times Free Press), to #24, Adam Lichtenstein (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). 1 voter left them off the ballot entirely.
Individual AP Top 25 ballots, AP ballot, week 3, 2026 — 68 voters tracked.
The flags have favored them: 9 penalties drawn on opponents vs. 8 committed, 40 yards to the good.
65 penalty yards committed vs. 105 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Penn State · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026