Matt Campbell set the standard in Ames. He quickly became the most successful coach in Iowa State football history over his 10-year run, and despite NFL chatter at different points in his tenure and interest from major programs, he didn’t make the jump until this offseason, when Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft circled back after whiffing on BYU’s Kalani Sitake.
Now, all the good vibes of the offseason and Campbell’s efforts to pander to a certain sect of the fanbase with his embrace of tradition and Joe Paterno have largely been replaced by frustration and skepticism after Penn State’s Week 4 loss to Wisconsin. That’s the difference between a program where you are the standard and one where the standard is a place you’ve never reached.
It appeared that Campbell understood that dichotomy this offseason, but now he’s learning in real time just how big the chasm is between Ames and Happy Valley. The clearest example was his message at his Tuesday press conference.
“Win-loss, it’s not always about the result; it’s about who we are becoming throughout this journey, so we can learn from our mistakes and not make the same mistakes twice. That’s really my belief system in it, and really kind of been our messaging in the locker room.”
Campbell is new to leading a major program with championship expectations, however realistic those expectations are, and the thing is, at Penn State, it is about the results.
Matt Campbell might need a new perspective now that he’s at Penn State
The whole idea behind hiring Campbell is that you’re taking an overachiever from an under-resourced program like Iowa State and giving him the resources a program like Penn State can provide to, hopefully, level up the coach and the program. The jury is still out on how effective that will be, and Campbell needs time to implement his system, but he also needs to realize that he’s not in Ames anymore.
The only reason Campbell is at Penn State is that it’s all about the results. He’s at Penn State because, a year after leading Penn State to its first-ever College Football Playoff, winning two games in the CFP, and coming within a drive of making the national championship game, James Franklin started 3-3.
That’s not a program interested in incremental growth and the journey of a group of young men - all the familiar tropes that Campbell routinely spouted at Iowa State press conferences, and which some Iowa State fans even grew tired of despite his unprecedented success. That message plays on a program that had won just three bowl games prior to his arrival and had never won 10 games.
On Wednesday, he was asked to address the frustration in the fanbase after just one loss, which was probably an unfamiliar place for him to be. His response may show a bit more awareness than his comments yesterday:
Matt Campbell is asked about his message to frustrated Penn State fans after loss...
— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) September 30, 2026
"I don't know what I can say other than do (through on-field work). I think the biggest thing is, A, we believe in our staff, B, we believe in our players, and, C, I believe in the process."
Because he’s right, there’s nothing he can say if he’s not winning games. So, maybe he does realize it’s all about results, at least for the fans, or maybe he's just trying to quiet the chatter that began emerging throughout the fanbase on social media after the loss on Saturday and has grown much louder since his comments on Tuesday.
It's hard to know if this is a sign of change or a bit of exasperation facing newfound pressure after just one loss. It seems only time will tell. And that's the thing: Campbell needs some time.
Penn State fans need to have patience through this reset
There are plenty of head coaches who hit the ground running with a championship-caliber team in Year 1. Lane Kiffin has vaulted LSU back to the top 10, Jon Sumrall has Florida in the top 10 after knocking off Ole Miss in Week 4, and UCLA has done a 180 under Bob Chesney, though nobody would confuse the Bruins for a title threat.
Recent transfer portal era results have sped up the timeline, but Campbell is a program builder with a long-term vision, and Penn State was bound to undergo a fairly significant reset in 2026 even if James Franklin were still in town because of how much veteran talent it shed after 2025.
This isn’t a Year 0 situation; that’s disrespectful to Penn State and to the decent talent Campbell imported from Iowa State. But it is still just Year 1. So, Campbell seeing the bigger picture and selling that to the locker room is fine - for now. He’ll need to change that internal expectation once the roster is good enough to play up to Penn State’s standard, but in the meantime, he’d better change his tune with the media, or he’ll quickly turn a fanbase that was largely desperate for anyone but Franklin against him.
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