Penn State's Matt Campbell Needs to Go Back to Nittany Lions Old Ways

When Penn State hired head coach Matt Campbell, there was hope and expectation that he would bring over a lot of his better players from Iowa State. 

Iowa State has never been a world beater in college football, but it is a decent program that has earned a ton of respect over the past couple of years. 

Campbell brought over a lot of his guys, but unfortunately, many of them have looked very below average. Unfortunately, as harsh as it might be, the kids he brought over just aren't Big Ten players.

The Big 12 and Big Ten are completely different conferences from top to bottom, with the Big Ten being significantly better all around. 

There's absolutely no debate that the Big Ten is the better conference, and I think over the past couple of weeks, we've seen that be the problem. 

Some of these guys don't even look like they were good enough to play in the Big 12, despite some of Iowa State's past wins.

Regardless, it was clear Penn State was hoping for something that hasn't happened yet. 

That's a significant problem, something that needs to change. Recently, examining how that could be fixed, one writer from The Athletic suggested that Penn State needs to get back to its roots. 

When Penn State is playing its best football, it's because it's a physical team.

“Campbell spent 10 seasons at Iowa State and led the Cyclones to eight bowl-eligible seasons and two Big 12 title game appearances. After an injury-filled 8-4 season in 2025, Campbell brought 24 former Iowa State players with him to State College, including quarterback Rocco Becht. Eight other former Cyclones joined Becht in Penn State’s starting lineup against the Wildcats. It’s a philosophy that worked for Curt Cignetti when he brought a core of James Madison players to Indiana, then won 27 games and a national title in his first two seasons. Whether it’s the former Cyclones, the holdovers or the other newcomers, it’s not working in the same fashion in Happy Valley.

“But Campbell and his ex-Cyclones have an idea for how to fix it: bring back physicality,” Scott Dochterman wrote.

Penn State was out-physicaled in its game against Northwestern, undoubtedly one of the worst showings that we've seen from the Nittany Lions throughout much of their existence.