College football is dependent, now more than ever, on what the world revolves around: money.
Either you have it, or you don’t. The elite college football programs in the NIL era are finding every million-dollar investment and every penny inside the couch cushions to improve their rosters and facilities.
Indiana emerged into a recognizable brand, and Miami resurfaced from the bottom half of the ACC to play in the National Championship Game last year.
The doors of opportunity are open for programs that want to spend the resources. There are questions about whether Penn State and its boosters will sign a high enough check.
College football analyst Josh Pate said on “Josh Pate’s College Football Show” this week that the Nittany Lions must be significant spenders.
“A decision has to be made up there, and it’s your decision to make; you have to decide how much you’re going to invest in football,” Pate said. “You’ve got to be a big spender at Penn State. You just have to.”
Penn State doesn’t benefit from being in central Pennsylvania and hours away from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Penn State University is all that State College has to offer, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an elite place to go to school and play football. Recruiting may be more difficult than playing in Miami, Columbus, or a big city.
Asking around the Big Ten, Penn State is expected to lag behind.
“I will tell you, the expectation around the rest of the Big Ten, just to let you in on a little secret, is that Penn State’s not going to be serious enough to back Matt Campbell and that coaching staff, but also that talent acquisition mechanism there,” Pate said.
The Athletic reported in September that Penn State is spending between $29-32 million on its roster, 7th highest in the conference. Penn State isn’t even spending as much as Nebraska ($31-35 million) and ranks 22nd throughout the country.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“You do with that what you will, but I’m just telling you talking to some folks around the Big Ten, they flat out don’t think you’ll lean in and invest enough,” Pate said.
The Nittany Lions are 3-3 and have dropped their first three Big Ten games for the second year in a row.
Matt Campbell’s debut season is off to an uninspiring start and it’s clear that Penn State lacks elite talent. 24 transfers from Iowa State and virtually no recruiting class.
“Sometimes this sport’s really, really difficult to understand. Other times it’s not,” Pate said. “This is one of those times. Penn State’s players are not good enough. That concludes the breakdown of Penn State right now.”
Campbell joined Penn State late in the recruiting process and was one of the last head coaching vacancies filled. Penn State also invested $700 million to revitalize Beaver Stadium, leaving the athletic department in a financial bind.
Football is the backbone of Happy Valley and two disappointing seasons in a row could hurt morale and buy-in for the new era.
“I don’t doubt Matt Campbell an ounce more than I did when he took the job,” Pate said. “This is not a Matt Campbell thing to me. It’s a talent deficiency thing, and they’re not going to fix it overnight.”
If anything is going to change, it starts with the finances. Ohio State spends the most money at an estimated $49-52 million. Penn State has to up its game to compete in the new world of college football.
