ESPN picks Penn State's x-factor for 2026 football season

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Penn State football is entering the 2026 season on a very different level than it did a year ago. A year ago, the Nittany Lions received national championship hype after coming off a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal. But this year, after a coaching change and significant roster turnover with the transfer portal activity, Penn State is being billed as a team that has ot work its way back up the Big Ten pecking order. Despite the lower expectations for the program on the football field, Penn State is still receiving consideration as a top 25 program for the 2026 season.

So who may be the x-factor for the Nittany Lions in 2026? Not surprisingly, a lot seems to fall on the quarterback position.

ESPN singled out one x-factor player for each team in its preseason top 25 ranking for the 2026 season. Penn State's x-factor, according to ESPN, is quarterback Rocco Becht. Becht is an experienced starter and was one of the top transfer quarterbacks this offseason. He followed his Iowa State head coach, Matt Campbell, to Happy Valley along with a good number of his Cyclones teammates and coaches. If Penn State is going to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, or perhaps the Big Ten championship game, it may be because of the performance of Becht leading the offense.

"One of the most effective ways to jumpstart an offense is to hire a coach or coordinator who then brings along a QB they coached before," ESPN's Kyle Bonagura said. "With Becht following Matt Campbell to Happy Valley, Penn State looks like the latest program that will benefit from coach-QB familiarity."

Bonagura mentioned a handful of successful high-profile quarterback transfers to deliver big results, including Cam Ward (Washington State to Miami) and Caleb Williams (Oklahoma to USC). I would throw former Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner and national championship quarterback Fernando Mendoza into that mix, but expecting that kind of ceiling from Becht is a bit much.

But Penn State would certainly take it!

Kevin McGuire is the lead writer for Nittany Lions Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on BlueSky, Threads or any of these other platforms.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: ESPN picks Penn State's x-factor for 2026 football season

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