New coach, massive transfer class, and a softer schedule. Can Matt Campbell elevate Penn State in a challenging Big Ten? Analyst Josh Pate weighs in.
It's not clear how to rank Penn State before spring football.
Because the Nittany Lions had an elongated national coaching search, the program fell behind in high school recruiting for the 2026 class.
How PSU does in the upcoming season will depend on how new head coach Matt Campbell does with a roster that's comprised of 23 transfers he brought from an Iowa State team that finished 8-4 last season.
It'll be a bit of a wake-up call for those players. The Big Ten is more challenging overall than the Big 12.
During his show this week, college football analyst Josh Pate brought up those questions when discussing the tier rankings for the Big Ten. Pate thinks PSU is in tier two, but thinks the team could climb if Campbell develops the roster.
“Penn State brought over a critical portion of the top of the Iowa State roster, decent retention on the Penn State end, the roster that that staff inherited, pretty soft schedule," Pate said.
"Are they able to elevate year one under Matt Campbell?"
Campbell got the best of his roster during his time with ISU. The Cyclones didn't have the resources to compete with the top programs in the conference.
Penn State should give Campbell better resources for Year 2. But he'll have to do an amazing coaching job to put PSU in contention for the College Football Playoff.
With that being said, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti took his team to the CFP in his first season.
Pate named Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon as the three clear tier one programs in the Big Ten. He doesn't think IU will drop off in 2026.
"Indiana, the staff, the culture, what they just did, landed the number one portal class, got Josh Hoover from TCU, really good skill pickups. Yes, Tier 1," he said.
The key is the staff and the culture.
Campbell can't control how the roster looks this spring. But he can build a culture that allows for PSU to be a contender in Year 1.
With a favorable schedule in 2026, it could be enough to fight for a CFP spot.