Penn State football's 2025 season was a cry for a new chapter, and new head coach Matt Campbell hopes to be the one who can provide just that.
Athletic director Pat Kraft made it clear, though: a national championship is not the expectation in year one. In fact, a College Football Playoff appearance isn't even the expectation. All Campbell needs to do is start his tenure off on the right foot. That means doing better than 6-6 in the 2026 regular season and building upon a strong foundation laid in his first season.
Since the expectations in Happy Valley are not drastically or unrealistically high, the Nittany Lions could honestly land inside or outside of the Top 25 come the end of the season. Neither would be a surprise, though given their schedule, there's a slight expectation for them to be a top team in the country. Making the CFP is a different story, and it's one that veers on the more unrealistic side the more thought that goes into it.
For Rece Davis, though, he doesn't just believe that Penn State can make a successful run in Campbell's first season. He thinks Campbell can conduct a Curt Cignetti-like regime off the bat.
"If you are of the belief that maybe there is someone who will make an Indiana-like unexpected run. Certainly not a program that has been in the depths of despair for generations as Indiana had prior to Cignetti's arrival, but one who might follow the blueprint that Indiana established for a very quick turnaround," Davis said.
"I submit to you: the Penn State Nittany Clones."
Rece Davis believes that Matt Campbell and Penn State may be better situated than any team in the country to replicate Curt Cignetti and Indiana’s model of rapid success.
— Basic Blues Nation (@basicblues) July 29, 2026
Stellar transfer class. Proven defensive coordinator. Favorable schedule. Davis broke down his logic on the… pic.twitter.com/B9lVy6VA0z
Rece Davis considers Penn State to be the next Indiana-like team in college football
Indiana hired Cignetti in Nov. 2023 after firing Tom Allen. The Hoosiers hadn't had a winning season since 2019 when they went 8-5, and the program was due for a change. Even before the 2019 season, Indiana was down in the dumps.
As Davis noted, that's not the situation in Happy Valley. In 2024, the Nittany Lions were serious national title contenders, making it to the semifinals and being just one play away from being in the championship game. However, like the Hoosiers, Penn State was due for a change and a departure from former head coach James Franklin.
It's not uncommon for players to follow their coaches to their new schools. However, Campbell brought over a whopping 24 transfers from Iowa State. When Cignetti left James Madison, 13 of his players followed him.
He then proceeded to bring the Hoosiers to an 11-2 season and a CFP appearance. Though Notre Dame beat Indiana in the first round of the playoffs in 2024-25, it was more than enough for Cignetti to accomplish in just one season.
Now, according to Davis, it's Penn State's turn.
Logically, looking at the facts, the Nittany Lions are technically on the same path as the Hoosiers were. Campbell has the massive transfer additions and the perfect schedule in year one to start on 4-0 (non-conference slate plus a win against Wisconsin).
"Remember Indiana's first year schedule? Very favorable in the conference with the exception of the trip to Ohio State," Davis reminded.
Penn State's version of that is visiting Michigan. That's the biggest test, even with USC being the week before. The Trojans, however, are coming to Beaver Stadium instead of the Nittany Lions taking the road.
Again, this is all "on paper" so to speak. Yes, things look like Campbell is following in Cignetti's footsteps, even potentially having a greater advantage considering his transfers came from a better school than James Madison.
But it's easy to get lost in hope, and the last thing Penn State needs is to place national title expectations on Campbell in year two no matter how year one pans out. Campbell needs to be on his own path. Things might look similar to Indiana's 2024 and 2025 seasons, but the Nittany Lions have to stick to their own identity.
They're not coming from the bottom of the barrel in the Big Ten. They're coming from a disastrous season, especially when put into a direct side-by-side comparison to the 2024 season. Expectations and comparisons killed Penn State within a matter of seven weeks. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
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