ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit made a major prediction for the Nittany Lions in the 2026 season.
How does a return to the College Football Playoffs sound to Penn State fans? It would certainly be great, but we are quickly approaching the point where the Playoffs are the expectation for Matt Campbell in his first year.
Penn State got absolutely blessed with the random Big Ten schedule that they received. They avoided all of the "tier one" Big Ten programs, including Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. Beyond that, their out-of-conference schedule is equally as easy, as they face Marshall, Temple, and Buffalo to get the year going.
The only tough stretch in their season comes in the month of October. A couple of weeks into Big Ten play, they take on a stretch of USC at home, at Michigan, and at Washington, all the way across the country.
That three-game stretch is really tough. If they can go 1-2 in that stretch then a final record of 10-2 is definitely on the table.
That is exactly where ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit has them landing.
On Thursday's episode of the Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit laid out his prediction. He said, "I think they go 10-2. They are a Playoff team; I think that the schedule favors them... There are a couple of games there on the road that will be tough for them, but I can see this team getting to 10 wins. If they do, they get into the Playoffs."
Herbstreit went on to rave about how much he loves Matt Campbell and how awesome the hire was for the Nittany Lions. Now, the pressure is on him to turn Penn State back into a winning program.
Up until the beginning of the season. Campbell's first order of business was to re-attach the program to its alumni base, and he did that right away. It has been nearly all positive for Campbell and his staff, as they have taken over the Nittany Lions program
Then he kept the Penn State players who wanted to be here before hitting the recruiting trail to grab whatever he could salvage. Again, he passed that test.
After all of that, the football came, and the early reports are that he has absolutely found his rhythm as a head coach.
The last and final straw is a simple one: just win. If he doesnt win, none of this will matter, and he will be cast out, just as James Franklin was.
