No. 13 Penn State football comes off another win, defeating Buffalo on Saturday, 55-13. There were highs and lows to this contest, but the Nittany Lions have their sights set on the Big Ten slate that awaits them starting with Week 4. As head coach Matt Campbell's squad prepares for its next battle, other Penn State teams are sorting out their inconsistencies and flaws.
Here's a few pieces of news around Penn State athletics from this past weekend.
Three names that came out of Penn State's Week 3 win
After the game, Campbell shared injury updates on two players: tight end Andrew Rappleyea and center Brock Riker. Both left the game, Riker in the first quarter and Rappleyea in the second, but Campbell wasn't worried about their availability if Penn State needed more bodies.
Their injuries have yet to be disclosed, but the fact that Campbell was confident both could go back out if necesssary is a good sign heading into this week. The Nittany Lions need to stay healthy, especially their starters, as they take on Big Ten play.
Another positive update doesn't have to do with injuries. Running back Quinton Martin Jr. was impressive in Week 3 after not playing the week prior. He had 10 carries for 100 yards, including a 61-yard explosive run on his second touch.
Martin's success is further proof that Penn State's offensive backfield is extremely dangerous, but Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser can't be blinded by loyalty over momentum when it comes to snap counts in that running back room.
Matt Campbell prepares for first Big Ten conference play of the 2026 season
The three non-conference games are behind and Penn State enters Big Ten play with a 3-0 record. It meets Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 26 first, so that should help Campbell ease into conference battles before meeting USC, Michigan, and Washington. The Trojans (No. 12) and Wolverines (No. 18) are still in the AP Top 25 Poll, but the Huskies are just at the cusp having received the next-most votes.
The Nittany Lions are still unknown in terms of how good they really are. They didn't have the best performance vs. Buffalo, so Campbell has helpful film to critique ahead of Big Ten play. The silver lining of flaws from non-conference play is Penn State has the information it needs to fix them.
More: Penn State women's volleyball puts up a fight vs. Tennessee
On Sunday, the Nittany Lions took on the Volunteers in a ranked match. It's still a loss tallied on their record, but there were a lot of positives to take away from the contest.
Right-side hitter Kennedy Martin and middle blocker Ryla Jones had season-highs in kills with 20 and 10, respectively. Jones also led the team in blocks with eight. Freshman Haley Burgdorf notched two aces, the only ones of the whole match for the blue and white.
Penn State turned up the heat in set three after falling 25-19 and 25-23 in the first two sets to Tennessee. Both teams traded points throughout the whole match, but the Nittany Lions have struggled closing out and putting up a true fight even if their opponent is ahead. After taking set three, 25-20, and trailing late in the fourth, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley substituted some of her starters out. The score was 24-16 in favor of the Volunteers, but some of those players off the bench kept the game alive as long as possible. Penn State forced a fifth match point and showed a good fight despite not pushing the game to five sets.
Add us as a preferred source on Google