We’re still 5 months away from Penn State football returning to Beaver Stadium, but I thought it would be a good idea to take a way too early look at the schedule and see if we can sort out what record the Nittany Lions may have in 2026.
Here’s the sched:
- September 5: vs Marshall
- September 12: at Temple
- September 19: vs Buffalo
- September 26: vs Wisconsin
- October 2: at Northwestern
- October 10: vs USC
- October 17: at Michigan
- October 24: BYE
- October 31: vs Purdue
- November 7: at Washington
- November 14: vs Minnesota
- November 21: vs Rutgers
- November 28: at Maryland
The first 3 weeks should be wins. Given the quality of coach that Matt Campbell is, and the quality of the roster he inherited, I don’t see a world in which the Lions drop any of the first three games. The visit to Temple should be fun, but otherwise
not much to write home about.
The Big Ten schedule begins with a home game against Wisconsin, whose coach is on potentially the hottest seat in the country. A road trip to Northwestern on a Friday night to showcase their new digs is another fun game, and I’m sure revenge will be on some people’s minds. Home vs USC and at Michigan is the toughest two-game stretch in the season before the bye week. Of these 4 games, I think the Lions go an even 2-2. They take down the Badgers and Wildcats before stumbling for the first time against a USC team that has its eyes on the playoffs, and can’t quite get thier feet back under them at the Big House.
The team gets right against Purdue following the bye week, but then heads all the way to the west coast to play Washington, another playoff contender, where they drop another. The last three weeks include home games against Minnesota and Rutgers, before a road trip to Maryland to finish things off. I could see Minnesota being another difficult game, coming off what I’m projecting as a loss to the Huskies and a cross-country road trip. I don’t believe the Scarlet Knights or the Terrapins have it in them to upset the Lions.
I’ll go 8-4 for the record next year. A solid first year under new head coach Matt Campbell, as he works to implement his scheme with his coaches and begins to mold the roster to his liking. If the Lions can do better than 0-4 in those two back-to-back tough stretches (USC-Michigan and Washington-Minnesota), potentially holding serve at home, then it’s possible PSU quietly gets to 10-2 on the season. At 10-2, the playoffs are at least a possibility, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. I’d expect a decent-to-good bowl game to end the year.
But what do you think? What’s the prognostication for the Lions next year?
