Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
6 N O V 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 F ollowing Penn State's 31-23 loss to USC on Oct. 10, Matt Campbell took to the podium with the same stoic approach that had become way too familiar over the preceding month. Once again, the talk was about learning from mistakes, making the corrections and, of course, growing forward. The Nittany Lions' third consecutive Big Ten loss was decidedly different from the 34-13 defeat at Northwestern eight days earlier. Penn State was able to hang with USC, which has a talented offense and a better overall roster, for the duration. A fumble by junior receiver Brett Eskildsen with four minutes to play, shortly after the rain started to cascade down upon Beaver Stadium, destroyed the dream. Had the rain come earlier, maybe the result would have been dif- ferent. Maybe Penn State would have grounded the Trojans, who have been dreadful traveling east since joining the Big Ten. But that's the crux of the issue with these Nittany Lions. They need all the breaks. They need the sustained drives. They need a little bit of every- thing. In recent years, talent could blend with a little bit of luck. But it's natu- rally a sliding scale. Penn State's tal- ent is down, so the need for outside intervention goes up. Cultivating luck hasn't been an option, either. While the demand isn't necessarily perfection, the margins are smaller, the windows tighter, than we're used to seeing around these parts. Penn State isn't good enough to let any of its op- portunities slip away this year. What's also unfortunate is that in its clash with USC, Penn State showed incremental improvement. Granted, things looked to be at rock bottom against Northwestern, and going any- where was going up, but the Nittany Lions showed a pulse in the passing game, and redshirt senior quarterback Rocco Becht did have somewhat of a bounce-back performance. He still missed some throws, but Penn State showed a commitment to moving him around or out of the pocket and it looked to be a good decision. Another good decision: being more aggressive. In its first five games, Penn State was passive when it came to borderline fourth-down calls, but the Nittany Lions went 5-for-5 on them against USC. Now they know they can do it, and they did it in different ways. There was trust in the short-yardage run game as well as in Becht throw- ing the ball. Does that open things up for Campbell and offensive coordina- tor Taylor Mouser to be a little more confident in those situations moving forward? That's the hope. This team is going to have to take the extra possession or the extra play to make up for its lack of top-end talent. That's a way to get it done. Of course, coaching decisions are never fully understood, and reactions are often driven by hindsight, but the first half of Campbell's first season hasn't been a ringing endorsement for the game-day coach reputation. There are differences to being a football guy and a tactician. Campbell is looking purely like the former, and in the process showcasing strategic holes that could come back to haunt him in the long run. Don't get me wrong; the Nit- tany Lions didn't lose to USC because Lincoln Riley tricked them into squandering a time- out by keeping his offense on the field in an obvious punting situ- ation deep in Trojans territory. Decisions like that often end up being trivial in the long run. But with that microscope being so much larger in State College than it was in Ames, those moments will be dis- sected to the point where Campbell's reputation could take a hit in talent- acquisition circles. We're not there yet, but the TV re- play of Riley — famously noted as one of those guys who comes up short in big situations — laughing on the other sideline while Campbell burned his fi- nal timeout was the kind of lasting im- age that can end up hurting a coach's credibility. When transfer portal guys are looking for a new, short-term home, that's a moment that can come back to bite you. So much of what Campbell preaches is about belief. With the benefit of the doubt eroding by the week, how much longer will his own guys buy in? And how will he sell the program to the next batch of guys? ■ Matt Campbell took a more aggressive approach to Penn State's matchup with USC. The Nittany Lions attempted 5 fourth-down conversions against the Trojans and were successful on all of them. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL There's No Margin For Error This Season JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM