Penn State football's 34-13 loss to Northwestern in Week 5 looked even worse than its Week 4 loss to Wisconsin, mainly because the Nittany Lions' (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) defense played poorly consistently throughout all four quarters rather than start off strong and fall off in the second half. One thing that stayed on par to what was put on tape in Week 4 was Penn State's offense — and that's not a good thing.
The Nittany Lions put up 291 yards of total offense in comparison to the Wildcats' 506. Of that 291, only 48 yards came from the run game while quarterback Rocco Becht and his pass catchers were responsible for the other 243. Against Wisconsin, Penn State had 233 total yards of offense in the 24-20 loss from 114 passing yards and 119 rushing yards.
Week 5 was a step in the right direction for the Nittany Lions' pass game, but still wasn't enough. According to head coach Matt Campbell in his weekly media availability, he's holding the entire offense accountable for the lack of expected production. However, he's taking the weight off Becht's shoulders, too.
Penn State HC Matt Campbell continues to hold the offense as a whole accountable and implies that it is affecting Rocco Becht's play.
— Zach Seyko (@zach_seyko) October 6, 2026
Matt Campbell suggests Penn State's offensive struggles stem beyond Rocco Becht, but hasn't called out Taylor Mouser
Lexie Linderman of The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Campbell from his press conference as well: "[Becht] certainly needs to be better. But we need to be better with the other 10 people around him too. We need to be better in our pass protection, at times we certainly need to be better in terms of our run game.”
There's some truth to Campbell's suggestion that it's not all Becht's fault why the offense can't find a rhythm and stay consistent for a full 60 minutes.
Penn State's offense line allowed four quarterback hurries and Becht was under pressure quite a bit in Friday night's contest. Pass catchers have also struggled getting open and giving Becht options. On top of that, the Nittany Lions' run game is a concern as well. Both the pass and the run have to reach a new level in Happy Valley to compete in the Big Ten, and they have both struggled to get there.
All of these things can coexist with another thing Campbell has avoided saying outright.
Becht is the most experienced quarterback in the NCAA, and he isn't playing like it. He played better in Week 5 than he did in Week 4, but that doesn't mean Becht has solved all of his problems. Campbell admitted he needs to be better, but how hard on Becht is he really is the question.
Becht needs to elevate this offense without having Penn State's playmaker in wide receiver Koby Howard available. However, that responsibility isn't entirely on the quarterback. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser has flown relatively under the radar in these two losses thanks to Howard's unavailability, but figuring out what works for this offense without Howard is his job.
Becht isn't making the plays and doesn't have trust that the guys around him will help him do so, and Mouser isn't getting Becht into a rhythm. Everything on offense, from players to the coaches, has to be assessed. It's not just the 10 players around Becht. If anything, Mouser and Becht come first.
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