ANN ARBOR, Mich.. – Penn State losing streak reached four this afternoon after dropping a tough one to Michigan 21-18 at the “Big House.”
Penn State dropped their fourth consecutive Big Ten conference game. In the 21st century, this is the sixth time they have had a four or more game conference losing streak: 2003, 2004, 2014, 2020, 2025, and this season.
Here is everything head coach Matt Campbell said after the game:
On whether he considered replacing quarterback Rocco Becht
Q: Was there any situation where you considered going away from Rocco this afternoon?
Matt Campbell: “No. I think you watched the football game, and obviously Rocco would be the first guy to say he’s got to do a better job taking care of the football. Obviously, it was an emphasis.
“But, man, how that guy continues to compete and fight and gave us a chance even at the end of the football game. He’s got to be better. He will continue to grow and be better. But no, there was never a consideration on my end.”
On Becht’s second interception
Q: What happened on Rocco’s second interception?
Campbell: “Yeah, I think on the second one, he’s probably indecisive on whether he should scramble, and all of a sudden Gabe breaks wide open. The ball is kind of—I think he was in between whether he should have gone, and I think it made him late and behind him.
“Obviously, it was a bad interception. I think if he had it back—I know he came right off and said, ‘I should have used my feet.’
“So, tough situation, and again, he’ll have to continue to grow from it.”
On Michigan scoring 21 points off three turnovers
Q: All three Michigan scores came off turnovers. How difficult is that when you have such a small margin for error?
Campbell: “Yeah, again, I think you’re in a game where it’s kind of like the last couple. You’re right there to win the game, and you’ve got to win in the margins right now, for sure. We’re not doing that.
“I think the two areas that we said we had to win the football game were taking care of the football and winning the running game. Those things in the second half kind of imploded on us.
“We didn’t stop the run, and we certainly didn’t take care of the football. Those two things cost us when we needed it the most.”
On Becht’s mistakes as a senior quarterback and moving the offense forward
Q: Is there frustration that your senior quarterback is still making some of these mistakes at inopportune times? How do you move him and the offense forward?
Campbell: “Yeah, and I still think you saw the offense continue to grow in terms of moving the football and finishing.
“I think the ability to make those momentum plays, we have to be better. I have complete faith in who Rocco Becht is and what he’s about.
“Listen, nobody’s more devastated than that guy right now in that locker room. But the reality of it is, that’s the position he plays. He’s got to continue to grow, continue to be the best version of himself because, like we said, the margin for error right now is razor-thin, right?
“You’re going to have to be your best every time you handle the football, and we’re going to continue to need his best as we move ourselves forward.
“We’re not giving up on the season or the team. I think we’re a lot closer to the team we want to be over the last eight quarters we’ve played football, and we’ve got to demand a pathway forward.
“It’s great to get into a bye week and have an opportunity to continue to pound away at some of these detailed things that are costing us.”
On the potential safety and offensive pass interference call
Q: Did you get an explanation on the play that looked like it might have been a safety? What was your view of that?
Campbell: “Yeah, he said it was a quick whistle. He said he felt like there was a stoppage of progress.
“It was the same, you know, that one and then the one where they called Eskildsen for the pick right before half. I think those are two where it’ll be really interesting to get the feedback back from the Big Ten.
“But on the safety situation, he said he called it short because he thought there was a stoppage of progress.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.On correcting recurring mistakes during the bye week
Q: Seven weeks into the season, what do you have to do during the bye week to make sure some of these recurring mistakes get corrected?
Campbell: “Well, I think the only way you do it is you keep practicing. I think you’ve seen this team grow immensely in the last two weeks.
“The reality of it is, obviously, a lot of change, and guys are starting to really settle into what’s being asked of them.
“I think we’ve got to continue to pound away at the fundamentals and details. There’s a lot of season left, a lot of football left for us to grow.
“Again, my focus and sole focus is on this team, these seniors, continuing to lay a foundation of the way we want to play football, the style of football we want to play and who we want to become.
“We have to demand a pathway forward.”
On the receiving corps without Koby Howard
Q: Since Koby Howard has been out, it looks like, other than Chase Sowell, it’s been a struggle for some of your skill players to create big or explosive plays. Do you agree with that? With a bye week coming up, how important is it to get more guys involved down the field? It seems like Chase is the only guy really threatening defenses.
Campbell: “Yeah, I don’t know if I totally agree with that. I would say, obviously, Chase is the guy that has certainly showed up and has had the opportunity, but I think Brett’s made some plays down the field, for sure.
“I think the reality is those two have gotten the bulk of the playing time since Koby’s been out. I think Rap had a big game last week. I think Ben continues to show up.
“So, I do think we have playmakers, and I think Rocco has done a decent job distributing. Chase has played really good football, to be quite honest with you, the last two weeks.
“I’m really proud of what that guy has done. Obviously, yes, Koby is a playmaker, and when he’s out there, we certainly have more threats on the field when he’s with us.
“But I don’t feel like those other guys have let us down in any way, shape or form.”
On balancing team growth with a four-game losing streak
Q: How do you square the team growing and improving with not having the results to show for it?
Campbell: “Well, I don’t think you can flinch right now. You’re building the foundation of a football program, and to be quite honest with you, the foundation of a program that needs to continue to showcase that it has the ability when it gets hard and when it gets tough.
“Again, we’re not there, right? I mean, we’ve proven that. Man, the second half of games, now it was the fourth quarter of a football game. You’re right there with the opportunity to go win the game.
“Man, we have to work through that, and we have to build that from the inside out. That’s what we’re going to do.
“We’re not going to waver from that, and there’s no excuses. We’re not where we want to be.
“But I do believe this group is continuing to pound away, and the way we’ve practiced, the way we continue to grow inside our walls has been huge. We’ll see if we can keep doing it, right? Because that’ll be a challenge.
“Obviously, we’re in a world where results certainly are critically important. We’re not there where we want to be to get the result. Why? And can we continue to find a pathway to get where we want to go and who we want to become?”
On how long it will take Penn State to reach its potential
Q: How long will it take you to get there?
Campbell: “Yeah, that’s a great question.
“I thought we were a lot closer tonight. I think that’s really frustrating from our end of it, that we weren’t able to put together the second half that we wanted to put together.
“Again, from our end of it, we are doing everything in our power to get there as fast as we possibly can.”
