With Bryce Underwood at quarterback in the first half on Saturday at Michigan Stadium, Michigan trailed Penn State 3-0. With backup Tommy Carr at quarterback for the second half, Michigan outscored Penn State 21-15. Kyle Whittingham felt the pressure, saw the struggles, made the QB change, and benefited from it.
There’s no guarantee that Matt Campbell benching his fourth-year starting quarterback Rocco Becht and replacing him with redshirt freshman and fellow Iowa State transfer Alex Manske would yield the same results, but after a 0-4 start in Big Ten play and heading into the bye week, Campbell has every reason to find out.
Yet, rather than leaving the door open to bye week speculation after the 21-18 Week 7 defeat in Ann Arbor, Campbell shut down any idea of Penn State making a QB change in his postgame press conference.
“No,” Campbell said when asked about considering making a change. “Obviously Rocco would be the first guy to say he’s got to do a better job taking care of the football, and obviously it was an emphasis. But man, how that guy continues to compete and fight and he gave us a chance at the end of the football game. He’s got to be better. He will be, continue to grow and be better, but now there was never a consideration.”
Matt Campbell said he isn’t considering benching Penn State QB Rocco Becht pic.twitter.com/i318PeC5nT
— Will Horstman (@WillHorstman_) October 17, 2026
Matt Campbell has every reason to bench Rocco Becht in a lost season
Let’s be very clear about the question that Campbell was asked: “Is there any situation where you would go away from Rocco at this point, as your starting quarterback?”
That’s not: Did you consider making a change today? That’s not: “Is Alex Manske going to start against Purdue in Week 9?” That’s: Is there any situation where you would go away from Rocco Becht? And the answer was a flat “no” after Becht went 28/44 for 267 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions and a lost fumble, which led to all 21 of Michigan's points.
Becht isn’t the biggest problem with the Penn State offense. However, you can’t replace the entire offensive line at this point in the season, and certainly don’t have the depth for that group to be better if you do. You’ve tried all four of your running backs and have gotten limited production from all four. And you’re already getting the most out of a wide receiver group that has lost Koby Howard to injury. You can change the quarterback. Michigan did and beat Penn State because of it. Yet Campbell won’t even take a moment to evaluate his options.
And to be clear, Becht is not without blame for the Week 7 loss, or the three that have preceded it. His two interceptions were ugly, staring down receivers and pulling the trigger far too late. Since the start of Big Ten play, he has five interceptions to just three touchdowns, and Penn State has averaged 18.5 points per game.
Howard could return after the bye week, but regardless, the overall quality of this group is unlikely to materially change. So, give your backup quarterback a chance and see what he can do, if not to save this season, then to clarify your plan for the offseason.
Penn State needs an answer on Alex Manske before the transfer portal opens
Campbell and general manager Derek Hoodjer need to overhaul this roster in a major way. Not only did they effectively miss the 2026 recruiting class because they arrived after early signing day, but many of their most impactful players, Becht, Tony Rojas, Audavion Collins, Chase Sowell, and Anthony Donkoh, are in their final season of eligibility or are likely to leave for the NFL (Rojas and Donkoh’s cases).
Maybe they retain more veteran talent than expected. Regardless, the quarterback isn’t coming back, and this season isn’t going anywhere, so you need to find out what you have in the young backup who is seemingly the heir apparent.
If Manske is the guy, he’ll be cheap to retain and give Penn State freedom to allocate resources elsewhere in the transfer portal. If Manske doesn’t look up to the caliber of the Big Ten defenses he would face down the stretch, you can prioritize finding a veteran in the portal to solidify the position.
However, if you don’t play him and stubbornly stick with Becht as the team attempts to claw to a meaningless bowl game appearance, a goal it may not accomplish, then you’re flying blind in the offseason, and that’s the worst-case scenario.
Upon reflection, Campbell may figure that out. With that said, he doesn’t sound like a coach willing to change his mind, at least not about his longtime starter.
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