Matt Campbell seems to have different ideas than predecessor James Franklin did about managing the expectations for Penn State football as a first-year coach.
When Franklin took over in 2014, he exhilarated fans with his fiery rhetoric about restoring a program that had been rocked by the Jerry Sandusky scandal three years earlier. “Dominate the state” was the battle cry of his introductory press conference. “Unrivaled” quickly became the orienting marketing slogan of his 12-year tenure that drew a sharp contrast in how Penn State viewed itself compared to everyone else.
The message was audacious for a program that didn’t necessarily have a reason to be at that time. NCAA sanctions had stripped it of scholarships and postseason access. And the
brand was badly damaged on a national level. Fans, though, were eager for points of pride and embraced Franklin for it.
Campbell has been more circumspect, even as he inherits a program that Franklin had left in a much better place than he found it. He hasn’t run from expectations that Penn State compete for Big Ten Conference titles and College Football Playoff appearances. But rather than invite external comparisons, he’s consistently tried to turn the collective focus inward.
“I think everything that the program is about is, yes, we're trying to win on Saturdays,” Campbell told reporters at Penn State media day over the weekend. “We're equally trying to win in life, but the reality becomes, this is a competitive sport and we are doing everything in our power to win and be the best team we possibly can be each and every Saturday.
“I think even how we constructed the roster has that mindset. We're going to be the best team we can be in 2026. How do we be our best right now. How we live inside of our walls, build the right culture inside of our walls, that's going to build the foundation of our football program moving forward. I think that's the balance.”
You probably won’t find any of those words or phrases printed on T-shirts in downtown State College any time soon. Nor will you likely remember much of anything Campbell has said this offseason once the games begin in a couple of weeks.
That seems like the point.
Franklin’s message softened over the years. He learned that he didn’t need to sell Penn State to the same extent he did Vanderbilt, his previous stop. The results could speak for themselves for a program that already had broad alumni buy-in.
Still, those brash first impressions became something of a rhetorical trap for him as he struggled to win against peer programs like Ohio State, Michigan and, eventually, Oregon in his own conference. Fairly or unfairly, he took on a reputation for talking a lot, but not delivering in the biggest moments against the programs he fancied Penn State a peer of. He was ultimately fired midseason in 2025, when a 3-3 start undid a preseason No. 3 ranking.
Enter Campbell, who has plenty of reasons to talk like his team can immediately compete for a College Football Playoff spot.
The Nittany Lions are ranked 17th in the preseason USA TODAY LBM Coaches Poll and have a manageable schedule on paper. USC at No. 14 is their highest ranked opponent, and they avoid matchups with 2025 CFP qualifiers Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon.
Their transfer portal class was ranked fourth nationally by 247 Sports and includes established veterans from Campbell’s Iowa State program. Quarterback Rocco Becht is one of the most experienced at his position in the sport.
And Campbell’s staff, which retained popular former interim coach Terry Smith from Franklin’s, did a nice job keeping talent from the 2025 roster in Happy Valley. Offensive linemen Anthony Donkah and Cooper Cousins; tight end Andrew Rappleyea; linebacker Tony Rojas and defensive end Max Granville are among noteworthy names who decided to stay put.
There’s a case to be made for this group, even if it’s hardly a CFP lock. Campbell just doesn’t seem particularly interested in being the one making it as he prioritizes instilling his culture with the balance of his public comments so far.
“Every great team, whether I was playing or coaching, have been a part of, man, it's been player led,” Campbell said at media day. “They demanded the standard and the expectation. My job as the coach is really to foster that leadership. My job is to help guide the leadership of our veteran players and guide the leadership in our program, help teach them how do you do these things.
I think some of my great failures as a head football coach at times has been when I failed to say we should be better at this; I didn't do a great job teaching it.”
Time will tell whether that softer touch lengthens Campbell’s honeymoon. Franklin ended up not needing much of one. He produced a Big Ten championship in his third season and remained consistently in the national hunt from that point forward.
What he could have used at the end was a little more equity with fans and donors to shield himself from wins and losses alone determining his fate when times got tough, particularly as the narrative he couldn't win in the biggest games on the schedule flourished.
Campbell seems invested in cultivating that and threading the difficult needle of acknowledging what’s expected of him without adding to that burden for himself.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Campbell's first big move at Penn State isn't Xs and Os. It's changing the conversation
