Penn State fans aren’t happy right now.
The team is coming off the first loss of the Matt Campbell era, and the loss was devastating.
Penn State was up 17-0 at one point and led 20-10 in the fourth quarter with a 98.5% win probability per ESPN.
Game Story: Penn State Sputters in the Second Half Fails To Hold Off Wisconsin 24-20
So while rational people aren’t calling for Campbell’s head yet, there’s no question that people are upset with how Campbell’s Big Ten debut went down.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.At his media availability late Wednesday morning, the last one before Penn State takes on Northwestern Friday night in Evanston, Mike Poorman of StateCollege.com asked Campbell what he would say to talk Penn State fans “off the ledge.”
WHAT CAMPBELL SAID
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“I don’t know what I can say other than do, right? The biggest thing that we believe in, A, we believe in our staff; B, we believe in our players; and C, I believe in a process, right? And you evaluate your team at the end of a football season. Did you reach your full potential? Did you become who you had the ability to be? Every opportunity is a chance to grow. The great teams in college football have the ability to grow each week, and I think that will be a great test for this group this week is our ability to take what we learned this week and move and grow ourselves forward. But I think the fact that everybody in this facility has absolute belief in who we are and where we have the ability to grow, and I think we’re excited to continue to grow forward.”
JUST WIN, BABY
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
At the end of the day, the easiest way for Campbell to remain a popular figure— which he still is, despite the setback— would be to win. He’s replacing a guy in James Franklin who went 104-45 overall and 64-36 in the Big Ten while at Penn State, which is a far different situation than at Campbell’s previous stop, Iowa State. There, he succeeded Paul Rhodes, who went 32-55 overall and 16-45 in the Big 12 while in Ames.
The first step to Penn State getting back to winning is Friday night in Evanston. Penn State-Northwestern is scheduled for 8 on FOX.
