Penn State head coach Matt Campbell frustrated that his team didn't meet their standard in an embarrassing loss to the Northwestern Wildcats.
The Penn State Nittany Lions were thoroughly beaten down on Friday night at the grand opening of the new Kyle Field in Evanston. It was never a close contest, and waking up on Saturday morning, there were way more questions than answers in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions' new head coach Matt Campbell answered questions from reporters after the game, and he explained why he is so frustrated by the performance that the Nittany Lions put out on the field. He said that what is so frustrating to him is that the standard of Penn State football was not even close to being met by the team. They lacked toughness, attitude, and effort, and it showed.
For as much as it was a magical night for Northwestern fans, it was equally a nightmare for the Penn State faithful.
This start to Big Ten play is absolutely the worst-case scenario under a brand-new head coach, Matt Campbell. The hype was through the roof for Campbell, and the skeptics were out, waiting for their first performances in Big Ten play.
Well, anyone who was skeptical about Campbell and the new staff was completely right. This Nittany Lion program is just as low today as it was last year, when they lost six straight games, which marked the end of the James Franklin era.
Penn State came into the season with high expectations because of the perceived lighter schedule, and a lot of people fell in love with the Penn State brand again. Well, they have their work cut out for them now.
Penn State is not a good football team right now, and they are staring down their hardest stretch of the year. They welcome USC next week, followed by road trips to Michigan and Washington.
Those are three teams that are wounded, and everyone feels like they need a victory. For Penn State, there is a long look in the mirror at what they need to do to turn the tide this season.
Any thoughts of the College Football Playoffs are out the window. Now, they need to lock in, figure out what they do well, if anything at all, and find a way to repeat it on a weekly basis.
It simply hasn't been good enough yet and the worst fears for this Penn State program are coming true. They have to put an end to it as soon as they possibly can and try to get on a winning streak soon. A good start will to be meeting their standard in the next game.
