Penn State, Matt Campbell Given Horrific Midseason Grade

The Penn State Nittany Lions are reaping what they sowed when they made an emotional decision to fire James Franklin after a 3-3 start to the 2025 campaign just months after the program made an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Under new head coach Matt Campbell, the Nittany Lions are 3-4 entering their bye in Week 8. PSU has yet to beat a Power 4 program under Campbell. Penn State was blown out in a loss to Northwestern but narrowly suffered defeats to Wisconsin, USC and Michigan.

Austin Nivison of CBS Sports gave Penn State an "F" grade for the start to the 2026 season, arguing the only way it could be worse was if the Nittany Lions lost one of their first three games against non-Power 4 teams. It's looking like a losing season could be the outcome in Year 1 for Campbell. 

Iowa State transfer quarterback Rocco Becht was expected to be one of the reliable players on Penn State's roster this season. But Campbell is having to find ways to defend him in a season where he's thrown for 1,664 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Before the season, there was a thought Penn State could make the College Football Playoff thanks to a schedule that excluded Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana. But this PSU team is tied for last place in the Big Ten.

With that being said, the silver lining for Campbell and his team is that the players have not given up the campaign so far despite suffering four straight losses. Penn State played USC and Michigan close. 

Coming out of the bye, Penn State will play Purdue, Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Maryland. The Nittany Lions have to win three of those games to become bowl eligible.

Maryland, who fired head coach Mike Locksley on Wednesday, should wind up being a win at the end of the season for Penn State. Rutgers, sitting at 2-4, is another winnable game for the Nittany Lions. However, the rest of the schedule won't be easy for Campbell.

The start to Campbell's tenure at Penn State has been underwhelming. Certainly, it's not all the fault of the head coach, who was hired late in the recruiting cycle.

But the lack of development from this team has been disappointing. The last thing Campbell needs is for donors at the university to doubt his acumen before Year 2.