Matt Campbell’s first season at Penn State is kicking off with a setup so sweet, it’s almost unfair, and if things break right, they could absolutely find themselves squarely in the College Football Playoff conversation. Just looking at that schedule, they’ve somehow dodged Big Ten heavyweights like Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. Seriously, all three of those squads are perennial conference championship and CFP contenders, with the Hoosiers even trying to pull off back-to-back titles, which would be wild for the Big Ten. That schedule alone is a major win for Campbell as he steps into Happy Valley.
Culture Shock and Senior Leadership
Let’s be real, State College, Pennsylvania, and Ames, Iowa, are not even in the same universe. Campbell needs to figure that out fast to get some early wins. He’s super particular about leaning on his senior leaders to get the team where it needs to be, especially after Penn State fell short of CFP expectations last year. “I still would tell you that great leadership starts with your seniors, and that group has been tremendous,” Campbell told reporters. He’s banking on their “abundance of knowledge and wisdom” to “infiltrate our team.” It’s a top-down approach, and he’s hoping that veteran presence can bridge the gap from what they were to what they need to be.
Defense Holds the Key
The biggest question mark, though, is without a doubt the defense. Last season, they faltered down the stretch, struggling to get off the field in crunch time, right up until the regular-season finale. And we all know it, to win in the postseason, your defense has to be rock solid. Campbell is particularly hyped about hybrid defensive back Jeremiah Cooper Jr. When Cooper Jr. is 100 percent healthy, Campbell sees him as an absolute anchor for a defense that just didn’t deliver when they were called upon. “We have some great chess pieces , guys who can do a lot of different things based on the game plan, based on the week , and I think Coop is one of those guys,” Campbell said. He’s talking about a guy who can play corner, nickel, or safety, giving them tons of flexibility. It’s just about finding that perfect fit week-to-week, which Campbell admitted isn’t “100-percent certain where that even starts.”
The stakes are simple: 12 teams are getting into the CFP. If Penn State can win the games they’re supposed to win, and somehow split against the monster programs like Michigan and USC, that should be enough for the CFP committee to give the Nittany Lions a berth, even if they don’t make the Big Ten Championship. This Big Ten is gonna be top-heavy, and that could actually play right into Campbell’s hands in his first year. This program was just a few plays away from a national title two years ago. Now, they’ve got this favorable schedule, and they absolutely need to capitalize on it and become one of the conference’s biggest surprise teams.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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