For many Penn State fans, they will be looking for answers to an inexplicable loss to Wisconsin. Most would say those answers would come from new head coach Matt Campbell. The reason for a large portion of Penn State fans' transparency in the last stages of the Franklin era was due to the lack of ownership, leadership, and being up front about issues facing the prorgam. They thought they were getting better with Matt Campbell. Turns out it may just be the same old story.
Instead of completely owning the loss and taking the blame, moving forward to the next week, Matt Campbell instead decided to take a more positive spin. When asked about the play of his quarterback, Campbell avoided being critical in the immediate aftermath of the Saturday evening
loss
"It'll be interesting to answer that question even a little bit better after you watch the videotape. But I thought Rocco made some tremendous plays," Campbell said when asked to evaluate the play of his quarterback, Rocco Becht. "I thought he kept us in the football game. Some scrambles at the time, maybe some scrambles and throws".
I think not many Penn State fans, myself included, would agree with that statement. Rocco Becht in his first Big Ten game went 12-of-29 for only 129 yards. Sure, the tipped interception could be excused, but there were far more mistakes from Becht that you should not want to see out of the most experienced college QB in the nation, as the Peacock broadcast pointed out on numerous occasions. There were blatant missed throws and tons of miscommunication issues with his receivers. Most importantly, the previously unflappable Becht looked rattled at various key moments.
Most surprising were Campbell's comments on the overall flow of the game.
"I think there was just a weird flow to the game, especially in the first half of the football game, where you're in more situational football," Campbell said in his postgame press conference. "I think some of it will be really interesting to see what happened in the second half. I think I'll have a better answer for you guys on Tuesday to that question," Campbell said.
While some might see his comments on Becht as defending his QB, these could be seen as more inexcusable. As the head coach, you're supposed to have answers for everything, not just off the field, but on it. The fact that Campbell can't quite explain what transpired from the first half to the second is not encouraging, but truly worrying. The bottom line is that while Campbell should not fear for his job, comments like this have become too much of a theme for Penn State over the last couple of years, whether it be from Franklin's mouth or his.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Matt Campbell searches for positive spin on stunning loss to Wisconsin
