Penn State defense will be tested by Marshall's dual-threat QB

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Penn State football finally kicks off for the 2026 season this weekend and there is a lot to be excited about. The program is gaining momentum as a College Football Playoff contender in the first year under new head coach Matt Campbell thanks to a relatively light schedule.

That favorable 12-game slate opens with a matchup against Marshall, a team that the Nittany Lions haven’t faced in nearly a century. Fans of the team likely don’t keep track of what’s going on with Thundering Herd football, so we did the work of scoring the opposition for them.

After doing the research, the most dangerous player on the offensive side of the ball appears to be quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson. None of his passing stats jump off the screen with 2,047 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. But it’s his dual-threat ability that makes him frightening.

He also ran for 660 yards and added six touchdowns on the ground, so he can hurt Penn State’s defense in a variety of ways. It might be a good idea to keep a spy around the line of scrimmage just in case Del Rio-Wilson has plans of running around Saturday afternoon.

Another thing to note about the Marshall quarterback is that he previously played at Syracuse. While he didn’t see the field much there, it’s significant that he has experience against Power 4 competition. Del Rio-Wilson will do his best to ensure that the Nittany Lions don’t cruise to an easy victory, so they need to be prepared to scratch and claw for a while this weekend.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State defense will be tested by Marshall's dual-threat QB

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