38 Random Thoughts On Penn State’s Blowout Victory Over Marshall

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A lot has changed at Penn State, but one thing that won’t ever change: me having some random thoughts.

1. Should have known the game was going to go well just based on the kickoff return. Get it all the way out to the 35-yard line and then the flag isn’t for holding or a block in the back but a sideline infraction on Marshall. Foreshadowing for what was going to be a day of fortune for Penn State.

2. I like to think I’m in the 1% of Penn State fans when it comes to knowledge of the team, but man there were multiple times throughout the afternoon I saw someone make a play and I had to double-check on the number. No. 2 … Zay Robinson. No. 17 … Josiah Zayas. No. 6 … oh, Koby Howard changed his number. A lot of new names, a lot of new faces, a lot of new numbers.

3. It was likely PTSD from the last couple of seasons, but that first curl route from Chase Sowell, I was fully expecting to be a drop. When he snatched it with ease, tucked it in, and broke a tackle — I was already in my living room giving a standing ovation.

4. Frustrating to end that first series with just a field goal. On 2nd & 4, they likely have Benjamin Brahmer in the flat for a completion to make it 3rd & short or a 1st down. Then they go with a conservative run call on third down, probably thinking they can at the least get ~2 yards to make it a super manageable fourth down. Instead, stuffed.

5. I’ll get to the running backs later, but I actually thought the offensive line did a solid job run blocking. The team as a whole averaged 3.6 yards-per-carry on the day which isn’t great, but it didn’t feel like the offensive line was getting blown up. They just didn’t have those big 20+ yards run plays from the running backs to skew the averages in their favor.

6. Plus, Marshall was selling out to stop the run. Pretty clear Tony Gibson and his staff decided going into the game that if they were going to get demolished, it was going to be through the air, not the ground.

7. Spoiler alert: they got demolished through the air.

8. Nothing too surprising with the starting defense other than true freshman Josiah Zayas getting the starting nod over Zion Tracy at the nickel. If you remember back in the spring, Matt Campbell called Tracy “one of the best football players I’ve coached.” Like, word-for-word. Lofty praise, right? So just weird that Tracy went from that in the spring to being behind a true freshman coming out of fall camp.

9. I’ll be curious to watch that nickel spot battle moving forward. Perhaps Zayas just outplayed Tracy during camp and (first Franklin reference of the article) we have a head coach who is just playing the best players from snap one. No Akeel Lynch over Saquon Barkley to start the 2015 season. No Koa Farmer over Micah Parsons in 2018. No Keyvone Lee over Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to start the 2022 season. No…Liam Clifford…over Koby Howard in 2025. But there’s part of me that thinks maybe this is a bit of motivation for Tracy, to light a fire under him as we go throughout the season.

10. To be clear, Zayas played very well. He had the SAWFT holding call, but other than that, was very solid. Two TFLs coming from the secondary. Super intriguing kid at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. He’s from New Jersey and played his senior season at Piscataway, and somehow it does not seem like Rutgers was involved with him at all? I put the “?” there, but I guess it makes sense after seeing what a train wreck Rutgers is on Thursday night.

11. Kooper Ebel was credited with just 3 tackles, but it felt like he was everywhere. That first defensive play he sees the tight end crossing, trails him, and then just FIRES away with closing speed to make the tackle. Ah, beautiful. Fans are going to love him.

12. Linebacker is one of those spots I don’t want to hear diddly-squat about how someone has a 38-inch vertical or he runs a 4.43 forty. Give me a kid who knows where the ball is going, gets there, and makes the tackle. Micah Parsons is/was a freak athlete, but what made him special was that he diagnosed what was happening before anyone else. That’s how he was able to blow up plays. And if you lack that, well, you are just Lance Dixon.

13. Larger thought on the defense: not a ton of missed tackles. Did a great job cleaning up and gang tackling throughout the day.

14. The touchdown to Koby Howard had the stumble from James Peoples which caused the play to break down originally, but everything after that was quite honestly perfect. Howard realizes the play is semi-broken and breaks off to find open space. The offensive line does a terrific job winning their blocks and giving Rocco Becht a clean pocket. And Becht does a great job not getting flustered, readjusts his spot in the pocket, and scans to find Howard wide open.

15. I have to say, I was not overly optimistic about the wide receivers heading into the season. I thought it had the potential to be similar to previous years where it’s an OK group but it has WR2s and WR3s trying to be WR1s. If Saturday was any indication, Koby Howard may be *that* dude though. Everything you could have hoped for he showed on Saturday — getting open, making tough catches, being a terror after the catch with the ball in his hands. Just a terrific performance.

16. I am choosing to ignore that Penn State has had some really good wide receiver performances in Game 1 in 2024 and 2025 that ended up being fool’s gold. Trey Wallace had 5 receptions for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns against West Virginia two years ago and Kyron Hudson had 6 receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown against Nevada.

17. I mean I literally said this about Trey Wallace after the WVU game: “Speaking of Trey Wallace, wow! Five receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns and he was doing it all over the field with different throws — out routes, posts, curls, fades, etc. He might be a dude. He very well might be a capital D “Dude”. He VERY WELL might be a legit bonafide Wide Receiver #1, which would be a major coup for this team.“

18. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I can’t be fooled again. So I will need to see some more of Koby Howard before I start really believing.

19. (OK, listen, I’m really trying not to be head-over-heals for Koby but COME ON)

20. The numbers thing again: Yvan Kemajou switching from No. 99 (a cool number for defensive ends) to No. 19 (a whatever number for defensive ends and the same number Chaz Coleman wore last year) isn’t ideal.

21. The starting defensive ends are wearing No. 1 and No. 19. Bad.

22. I do love that Jackson Ford — the LONE 2026 prospect who committed to Penn State and stayed committed to Penn State and eventually signed despite the coaching debacle — wears No. 89 as a defensive end. Maybe it’s just my early memories of Michael Haynes wearing No. 81, but I love a defensive end wearing a number in the 80s.

23. The Brett Eskildsen touchdown to put Penn State up 17-0 felt frickin’ good, folks. With everything that happened last year and how long this offseason felt, to see this team come out and the first three possessions to just dominate on both sides of the ball and race out to a 17-0 lead — we deserved that.

24. Just one game in and I already feel vindicated for my Caleb Bacon Is Going To Awesome agenda I had this offseason.

25. Defensive end is one of those spots a few months back I felt a little uneasy over. But Granville back and looking 100% healthy, Ikenna Ezeogu looking svelte and moving well, and the Bacon move to the position, and that has quietly become a pretty solid position group that has 5 real rotation players.

26. They ended up converting the fourth down and ended up scoring a touchdown on the drive, but I have to be honest: I didn’t like going for it there. Yes, I understand the idea of “instilling culture” and “showing toughness” and “if you can’t get a yard against Marshall, what are we even doing this for?” But Penn State was up 17-0, had all the momentum, and turning the ball over at your 22 yard line would have been quite the momentum shifter. I just didn’t think it was worth it, but hey, Matt Campbell is smarter than I.

27. Running backs: I’d like to see more of everyone. I think it was an OK day for Carson Hansen and James Peoples, but they’ll need to break some tackles.

28. This was kind of my concern with those two. I think their above-average, competent running backs, just not sure either offers you the upside that we see from someone like Quinton Martin — who I thought showed a little more juice, even playing behind the backup OL for much of the day.

29. It was largely Hansen and Peoples with the starters during the first half, so I’d like to see Martin and even Cam Wallace get some carries with the real first team the next couple weeks.

30. I think it’s awesome that the offense looked as good as it did and Benjamin Brahmer and Andrew Rappleyea had one catch apiece. Two of the focal points of the ideal offense and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser basically kept them in the garage.

31. Thought Tony Rojas did not look like a guy coming off of a torn ACL, which is fantastic. He played 35 snaps, which was the most on the defense. Good sign for where that knee is at.

32. Made it this far, let’s talk about Rocco Becht having a near perfect day. 13-fo-18 for 271 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no turnovers. He did exactly what a veteran QB should do against a defense that was daring the passing game to beat them. Professional, workmanlike effort and performance.

33. Next up: Temple. The last time Penn State played in the Linc, they gave up 10 sacks to Temple in a game I refuse to ever admit actually happened. But look who might have a makeshift offensive line this time around…

Ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun, huh?

34. By the way, Pat Kraft is REALLY fishing for some donations…

35. If this is a safe space, I don’t have much of an opinion on the Success With Honor refreshed rebrand or the 409 stuff. Like if they want to do it, that’s fine and great. Doesn’t impact me one way or another. But it is hilarious James Franklin leaves and they IMMEDIATELY break it out.

36. Again, not something I care about one way or the other, but I’m not surprised Matt Campbell opted against announcing himself as the head football coach.

37. Nor that Matt didn’t “lead” the team out.

38. It truly is a new era.

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