Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
2 2 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ality of the moment for the program, with Campbell embracing "our expectations not as pressure but as a privilege" en route to "a new era of toughness, discipline, ac- countability and identity." Last year's Nittany Lions started out ranked No. 2 nationally, but they lost a heartbreaker to Oregon on White Out night and unraveled with losses to UCLA and Northwestern in successive weeks. James Franklin was fired, leaving Terry Smith with the unenviable task of holding the team together in the in- terim. Three more losses followed be- fore a late-season resurgence ended the 7-6 campaign with a Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson. In the wake of that disappointment, Campbell wasn't tapped to build anew. Rather, jumping from a decade-long stint at Iowa State in which he consis- tently outperformed his program's re- sources, he was faced with a straight- forward challenge. Could he bring to Penn State the competitive fire that had defined his Iowa State tenure and turn it into the sustained winning expected of the Nittany Lions? "In our 10 years, we rewrote history. Every single step of the way, we rewrote history," Campbell said. "From 3-9 to the greatest era ever in the history of Iowa State football — one of the best Big 12 programs in the country. We went face to face with everybody that had more than us and we competed with them and beat them every step of the way." That was the job at Iowa State. Identify the edge, on the roster or in- game preparation, and exploit it. Build belief through the work. Then use both to beat teams with more resources, stronger tradition, better talent and a larger margin for error. At Penn State, no convincing is nec- essary. Its fans already believe the pro- gram can compete with the best in the country. Some of the returning players have been to the College Football Play- off semifinals. They've played in mar- quee matchups against Ohio State, Ore- gon, Michigan and Notre Dame. They've played for the Big Ten championship. Since 2022, Penn State has repeat- edly reached the doorstep, only to find itself locked out. There were losses to Michigan and Ohio State in 2022. Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss all got the Nittany Lions in 2023. In 2024, PSU lost to Ohio State, then Oregon in the Big Ten title game, and fell to Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals. Then came the breaking point: Or- egon again, this time in double over- time at Beaver Stadium last year. In to- tal, there were 12 games against teams ranked No. 11 or better at the time across those four seasons, and the Lions won just three. They were never ranked worse than 13th in any of them. 'You've Got To Prove It' Owning a top-10 winning percentage over the past decade, and in the his- tory of the sport, the Nittany Lions are well positioned to maintain their track record of success. The fans expect noth- ing less. The frustration isn't with winning; Penn State has done that, repeatedly. The frustration is with winning with- out the payoff of hardware, or even bragging rights with rivals. While the Nittany Lions were accumulating dou- ble-digit-win seasons, a CFP appear- ance and critical victories, the highest stakes went unrealized. Fans don't want Penn State to start over. They want it to finish. The coaches who followed Campbell from Ames understood as much when they arrived at Penn State. If anything, the opportunity to immerse themselves in a culture with such lofty aspirations was part of the appeal. "If I was a fan of this team, if I put my- self in their shoes, I know what the his- tory of this place is. I know the mountain that it's built on, and the rocks that made that mountain, and I would want to win, too," offensive line coach Ryan Clanton said. "That would be my expectation. Assistant coach Ryan Clanton has worked to rebuild an offensive line that lost four starters from last season. He said high expectations are a big part of the appeal of coming to a place like Penn State. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS