Against Purdue in Week 9, Penn State football left tackle Malachi Goodman missed some snaps. He left the game before halftime then returned in the second half. Earlier in the week after that contest heading into preparation for Washington, Goodman popped up on the midweek injury report.
Goodman was listed as probable for the Week 10 matchup and elevated to active on game day. However, he did not play the full 60 minutes. Instead, backup Garrett Sexton saw the field again and took over in the second half.
The decision from head coach Matt Campbell to swap out the tackles wasn't because of Goodman's performance or a new injury. After the game, Campbell told reporters the team didn't want to push the redshirt freshman too far. He shared that he was good to go for the game, but wasn't at 100 percent full strength. Penn State didn't want to risk further injury with their starting left tackle.
"We knew he would be able to give us some, but how much could he give us?" Campbell said of Goodman. "(Sexton) really had a great week at practice. So, proud of (Sexton). I thought he did a really good job. I think it will be great to watch the videotape, but it wasn't anything (Goodman) did. It was just his physical health."
Campbell on Garrett Sexton filling in for a banged up Malachi Goodman:
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 8, 2026
“Malachi was not at full strength. We knew he’d be able to give us some, but how much could he give us?”
Says Sexton had a strong week of practice, which gave the staff confidence he could relieve Goodman…
Garrett Sexton filling in for Malachi Goodman came at a bad time for Penn State's offense
Penn State had a poised and gritty win over Washington on Saturday. The Nittany Lions (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) won their second straight game thanks to an offensively dominant first half. They scored 28 points and entered halftime with a 22-point lead.
However, things got stickier in the second half. The Huskies turned up the pressure on Penn State's offense, getting to quarterback Rocco Becht and holding the Nittany Lions scoreless for the rest of the game.
Washington forced two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs in the third quarter then made Penn State punt again in the fourth quarter. It took a poised effort from Becht and the offense to eat up the remaining 7:40 of the game when they got the ball back after the Huskies' offense put themselves within a field goal of tying the game. The Nittany Lions went 70 yards down the field in 14 plays while forcing the Huskies to use up all of their timeouts, and finally got under the two-minute warning with the ability to kneel until the clock hit triple zeroes.
Becht had also only taken one sack in the first half, which was on first-and-10 with 47 seconds remaining for a loss of one yards. The play didn't really matter as the score was 28-6 and Penn State was taking the game into the locker room at that point anyways.
In the second half, Becht was sacked twice. The first was on the first drive of the Nittany Lions' third offensive drive of the third quarter. Edge rusher Jacob Lane, who lines up on the left end across from Penn State's right tackle, sacked Becht for a loss of 11 yards. Then on their first offensive drive of the fourth quarter, Becht was sacked on third-and-six for a loss of six yards. Safety Alex McLaughlin and linebacker Jacob Manu joined forces to take down the Nittany Lions' passer.
It wasn't a swap of left tackles, therefore, that resulted in a more chaotic second half for Penn State's offense. Washington's defense turned up the heat, creating a lot more pressure on Becht and the offensive line than it did in the first half.
The decision to put Sexton in and leave Goodman out, though, was interesting. Preserving the starter's health is the priority, but directly out of halftime knowing the Huskies would have a different defensive approach to stop the bleeding is bad timing. While the Nittany Lions won the game, there was definitely a better approach to splitting snaps at left tackle on Saturday. Sacrificing an entire half when the offense is clearly struggling to find a rhythm is a choice, but props to Sexton for holding his own.
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