University Park, Pa. – The Matt Campbell debut can be considered an extreme success following a 45-0 win over Marshall to kickoff the 2026 season.
Here is everything Campbell said postgame:
Matt Campbell:
Okay, just really quick, and then I’ll open it up to you guys. Just a sincere thank you to our fan base and our student body. It was really special to be a part of this for the first time.
I know so many people have said how special it is to play football here, but it was really special to coach here today. The environment was second to none. So, I just wanted to say that, and certainly thank all of you who cover us and make it really special as well.
I’ll turn it over to you guys.
Q: Matt, how much of a luxury is it to be able to play as many kids as you did in an opening game?
Campbell:
Yeah, I certainly think those have positive results. I think we were a little worried about the heat today. We didn’t know what that was going to look like, so I think there was a plan early to try to play as many guys as we possibly could.
I think the bigger credit is the amount of guys that were prepared to go play and play really well from the start of the game to the finish.
We keep talking as a program about not playing to a scoreboard, but playing to a standard every day. I think we’re starting to understand that. There’s still a lot of work to do, but I think there was a great growth process for us today.
Q: How would you evaluate your offense today? Rocco had four touchdowns to a number of different receivers. You only had 62 rushing yards in the first half but were better in the second half. How would you define the offense overall?
Campbell:
Well, I would just say there’s a reason there were 62 rushing yards, because there were probably 310 passing yards.
I say that because when you have a quarterback who has played extensively, I think he has the ability to take what the defense gives him. I thought Rocco was really efficient today. You were getting eight or nine guys in the box. You were getting a lot of pressure. We kind of didn’t know exactly what to expect.
For Rocco to be able to handle that and distribute the ball — sometimes being a great quarterback is like being a great point guard, right? You’ve got to be a great distributor of where the ball needs to go. I thought he was outstanding today. I thought he was outstanding from the beginning. A lot of those plays, he put us in really great positions to be successful. My hat’s off to him.
I thought the O-line did a great job. We were pass protecting really well. [Carson Hansen] had an incredible pickup on the corner pressure on Koby’s, I think, first touchdown, which was really awesome. Hats off to those guys.
Again, offensively, I don’t really care how it happens. We just care that the ball is going where it should go and that we’re efficient. I thought that’s what really happened today. I thought they did a great job.
Q: What was it like for you to walk into the stadium for the first time, hug your family and experience that from an emotional standpoint?
Campbell:
Yeah, and John, I know everybody is looking for that magic answer, and I hate to tell you this: For me, that was awesome early, but now you’re responsible.
This team had earned the right, at least, to get to a game. I probably was so anxious about watching who this football team could be and how we would respond.
Obviously, we know just a little bit more now. We’ve got a great video game of evidence now in a chaotic game environment. How is this team going to respond? How is our coaching staff going to respond?
Hats off to our coaches. I thought [Taylor Mouser] did an unbelievable job. I thought [Danton Lynn] did a great job.
For me, there was more anticipation of, “What is this going to look like, and how efficiently can we continue to navigate ourselves?”
Q: You’ve talked about the kind of fall camp Koby Howard has had, but to see him perform the way he did today on this field, what does that say about him and his potential in this offense?
Campbell:
Yeah, I think Koby has been a guy — again, you get to see today, but I get to see, man, it’s 5:15 in the morning and the first guy in the facility catching JUGS is Koby Howard.
That’s been that way since spring ball. That’s been that way almost every day in the summer, and that has a flavor as we’ve gotten into the start of the season.
I think Koby’s work ethic allows him to have real confidence. The biggest thing for Koby is just the ability to continue to understand today is awesome and the ball found him. There may be days where the ball doesn’t find you, and how you block and how you do all the other things really matter.
I think the sky’s the limit for Koby Howard. I’m really proud of him because it’s a great reward. You were ready for the moment. You were ready when the opportunity came your way.
I do think that is college football, though, right? Your shot’s coming. Your moment’s going to come. Will you take advantage of it?
Koby’s a guy who has worked so hard behind the scenes to take advantage of those moments. I’m really happy for him, and I think he’s got a chance to have a really special year for us.
Q: On the fourth-and-one at the 22 coming out of the timeout, Marshall thought you were going to go for it. What did you learn about your team on that drive and in that moment? The two drives before that, the offense had kind of stalled.
Campbell:
Yeah. Well, you kind of felt like we were trying to — I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know if that was a great call or not. We’re all being honest.
I think the biggest thing from my end of it is I thought it was a lot closer. We had a fourth-and-one a little bit earlier in the game, and it was like a long one. I felt like we were playing such good defense there that I didn’t want to mess the rhythm of the game up.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.But I just wanted to see: Who are we?
Obviously, that was a great step forward because we were able to go down and score. I think those were good moments. Those are moments where we can bank it, take it forward and grow ourselves from, for sure.
Q: Can you talk about the defense? I think the longest gain for Marshall today was 14 yards, so there were no explosive plays. They also had a pretty established dual-threat quarterback, and you took away his ability to run the ball. What was the plan going in, and what was the key to limiting him?
Campbell:
Yeah, so much credit goes to Coach Lynn and that defensive staff.
Again, I think the ability to try to be multiple in terms of what we show them, but simple in terms of our ability to execute, especially in Game 1.
I think that really evolved over the last two weeks as we started to get some of these guys back and get them healthy, starting to see the multiplicity that we could have in what we do.
I just thought our guys were really keyed in. We knew the running game started with the ability to stop the run. I thought we did a great job of that from the start of the game really through the end of the football game.
Then we had the ability to be really efficient when they got to third down, getting off the field. I thought we did some really good things there.
Q: Following up on John’s question, it looked like you were alone in your thoughts when you first came out around the 35-yard line for a while. Were you just soaking it all in? Also, did you pass on the chance to be introduced on the scoreboard?
Campbell:
Yeah, I’m good on that. The scoreboard’s for the players.
What I would tell you is, for me, I did take it in. Jordan Hill — he works with our leadership group, with myself and Jordan — and I thought he did a great job on Monday talking to our players about, “This is a special place to play football. It means something, and this crowd and this fan base mean something. Take a second and soak it in.”
I heard that because I thought there were probably a lot of moments of insecurity in my own journey as a coach at times where you’re so worried about everything else that you don’t have a chance to sit there and soak it in.
So, it was really special.
To come out and watch our fans and watch what this place feels like, and then look up and see those teams on our press box and what it’s meant, some of the great coaches and players who have played here — you’re just grateful to have the opportunity to be a football team and continue to try to represent our fan base and the past of this program the right way.
Q: Caleb Bacon had three TFLs and a sack before halftime. We saw him up front, but we also saw him back in coverage. Can you talk about the versatility he gives you and where he is now compared to when he was a full-time starter at linebacker for you at Iowa State?
Campbell:
Well, if you go back to [Iowa State] the last two years, you saw there was a lot of multiplicity in what he did there. You saw him in some very similar modes.
I think Caleb, he’s such an incredible story. He started as a walk-on. He was a guard coming out of the middle of nowhere, Iowa. The reality is this guy has earned the right to be where he is.
He was a great player in the past. Sometimes he doesn’t get the recognition of everybody else. He got injured two years ago in the opening game, literally play three, runs down on punt and breaks his leg.
This guy’s resilience to come back, the way he played the second half of last season — I think you guys got a chance to see a little bit of just how special this guy is.
He’s tough. He’s worked for everything he’s got. Nobody has ever given him anything.
I think the great thing I love about (Bacon) is, like I said about some of our players, Zion Tracy’s got a little bit of this. Tony Rojas has got a little bit of this. They’re just so multiple. They do so many different things.
It’s about doing a great job of putting those guys in position to be successful. That’s where Coach Lynn, I thought, was masterful today. Obviously, we took advantage of some of those great opportunities.
Q: So many people took a leap of faith to join you here in Happy Valley — players, staff and their families. To have this win for them in their debut as well, what does it mean to watch 10 months of work come together here?
Campbell:
Yeah, that’s probably the gold comment of the day.
There was probably a little bit of reflection for me earlier this week. It’s been a long road, right?
You’re picking up families from our nutrition staff, to our academic staff, to our strength and conditioning staff, to coaches. There are a lot of young families that picked up and moved across the country because of their belief in what we were doing together.
That’s got nothing to do with me. That was a we thing.
I think what’s always been great is we’ve always been a great team together. I’m so grateful for them because they set the standard. They helped demand a standard of excellence in all of our areas, and they’ve done such a great job developing real relationships with our players so far and really holding a great standard for our program.
I’m certainly really grateful for each one of them. I really appreciate the question. Thank you.
Campbell:
Awesome, guys. Thank you.
