— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — On a list of who’s who in college football, you wouldn’t go far down without including Penn State.
The Nittany Lions won national championships in 1982 and 1986, have compiled 950 all-time victories, including 57 in the postseason, and produced 104 first-team All-Americans.
A new era of Penn State football begins Saturday when the 18th-ranked Nittany Lions play host to Marshall at 3:30 pm at Beaver Stadium in a game being aired on Fox Sports 1.
The contest will mark the debut of the program’s 17th head coach, Matt Campbell, who was hired last December after successful head coaching stints at Iowa State (2016-25) and Toledo (2012-15).
Campbell brought 25 former Cyclones with him to State College, and that group is expected to have a major impact on PSU this fall.
The most notable name of the group is Rocco Becht, an experienced dual-threat quarterback who won 26 games as Iowa State’s quarterback across 39 starts.
Becht has a flair for the dramatic and led the Cyclones on seven game-winning drives.
He struggled at times in 2025, at least some which can be attributed to shoulder troubles. Becht had surgery following last season to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.
“One of my favorite things to say about Rocco, what makes him special, and, to me, what makes great quarterbacks special is when they know who they are and they’re confident in who they are rather than trying to be somebody else,” Campbell said. “Rocco even had that unique challenge at his last institution, being the next Brock Purdy. What I’ve always loved about Rocco is that he’s never trying to be anybody else but the absolute best version of himself.”
Becht is happy to get a shot playing at a prominent Penn State program for his last season of college football.
“Didn’t really know what my future was going to hold,” Becht said. “I’m super blessed. This wasn’t on my agenda. Super excited to be a part of it. Super excited to get the season on a roll and see what it has in store for us.
“I might have a couple of butterflies walking out in front of 106,000. I’m going to embrace it, lock in and get this team ready to roll.”
Campbell is excited for his PSU debut, but has warned anyone taking Marshall lightly not to.
“You’ve got a really good Marshall football program that has stood for what’s right in the world of college football in terms of playing great football,” Campbell said. “They’ve got a great coaching staff and some really talented players. They’re going to put us in challenging situations and we’ll have to see how we respond to those.”