It’s still early in his first year at Penn State, but already Nittany Lion fans have caught on to Matt Campbell’s conservative approach. Campbell tried to sit on a 17-0 second-quarter lead in a 24-20 Week 4 loss to Wisconsin, and then, in a 34-13 blowout loss to Northwestern, Campbell was almost inexplicably cautious.
Campbell punted from his own 44-yard line on fourth-and-2 in the first quarter, already down 10-0, not a cardinal sin, but far from aggressive. Then, behind 24-7 with 6:55 left in the third quarter, he punted on fourth-and-10 from the Northwestern 43-yard line, which was questionable at best and allowed Northwestern to expand its lead to 31-7.
The real mind-boggling piece of game management came after Penn State’s second touchdown of the game, an 18-yard pass from Rocco Becht to Chase Sowell, which made it 31-13 after a horrendously bad attempt at a Philly Special from wide receiver Brett Eskildsen. Trailing by three scores with 7:53 left in the fourth quarter, Campbell opted to kick the ball away to a Northwestern offense averaging over seven yards per carry.
Even if Northwestern wasn’t on the verge of rushing for 400 yards, which it eventually did, it’s hard to imagine Penn State getting three more possessions from that point. But considering how abysmal his defense had been all game, there’s no reason whatsoever for Campbell not to attempt an onside kick.
Ultimately, Northwestern milked 5:36 on an 11-play, 56-yard drive resulting in a field goal. Penn State responded with an interception and was probably never going to come back in the game regardless, but Campbell conceded when he kicked it away, and that’s unacceptable.
Benjamin Brahmer didn’t understand why Penn State didn’t onside kick
Iowa State transfer tight end Benjamin Brahmer was open with reporters postgame. He spoke about a lack of physicality in practice potentially contributing to Penn State’s lack of toughness against Northwestern, and he shared his perspective on the surprising decision to kick away.
“I went over and asked and didn't get an answer, so I mean, it's not my decision. Whatever the coaches want, I agree with."
After Chase Sowell scored to make it an 18-point game with 7:53 to play, TE Benjamin Brahmer asked the coaching staff about an onside kick.
— Noah Aberegg (@aberegg_noah) October 3, 2026
"I went over and asked and didn't get an answer, so I mean, it's not my decision. Whatever the coaches want, I agree with."
Brahmer said the right thing agreeing with his coaching staff’s decisions, but that an onside kick didn’t seem to be considered in that moment is wild. Not only is Campbell’s lack of aggressiveness a problem, but Penn State also seems disorganized and poorly coached.
Matt Campbell needs to get aggressive to survive the Big Ten
There’s a lot that needs to change in Happy Valley for Campbell to restore this program to the levels it had reached just two years ago in 2024. That improvement is primarily about the talent level because it’s not as though James Franklin was some analytically-driven, hyper-aggressive game-day coach.
But until Penn State can improve its talent level, Campbell will need to step out of his character and be more aggressive. And even when he has a better roster, he should still do that too. The margins are slim, even at the top, so you have to play to win, because if you play not to lose in this current landscape of college football where everyone has access to high-level talent, you will.
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