Matt Campbell made his long-awaited Penn State debut last weekend and it was everything he and the team could have hoped for. He guided them to a 45-0 rout where they played sound, fundamental football for the duration and kept humming even after the backups entered the game.
It was the first shutout for a Penn State coach in his debut since 1915, but it wouldn’t have been possible if not for a heads-up decision by Campbell to ice Marshall’s kicker at the end of the first half. He called timeout a split second before the ball was snapped, Jorge Diaz Nicolas drilled it but then missed the attempt that actually counted.
Campbell wasn’t the only coach making his debut, though, so USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg ranked the performances from every coach at
a new school in Week 1. Penn State’s man came in at No. 7 out of 31 coaches, and the placement is notable for a few reasons.
While you can make an argument that Campbell deserves to be higher, No. 7 is a welcome spot on the list after being ranked around, or behind, James Franklin and Kyle Whittingham all offseason. The Virginia Tech and Michigan coaches were ranked No. 8 and No. 29 respectively, marking a dramatic shift in perception.
Franklin’s Hokies cruised to a 73-3 victory, while Whittingham needed a hope and a prayer to eke out a win over Western Michigan. Those two leaders appear to be headed in very different directions, but both are behind Campbell as of right now. Keep an eye on Michigan and Virginia Tech for their rest of the year, as their head coaches will likely be linked to Campbell for the forseeable future.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Matt Campbell had one of best coaching debuts in college football
