Matt Campbell‘s honeymoon period at Penn State may officially be over.
The former Iowa State head coach heard boos from the Beaver Stadium crowd as Penn State left the field following a stunning 24-20 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.
And this wasn’t just any loss. Penn State led 17-0 in the first half before Wisconsin scored 24 of the game’s final 27 points, handing Campbell his first loss since leaving Iowa State for Penn State.
WATCH THE REACTION BELOW:
Campbell’s Nittany Lions entered the game ranked No. 13 in the country and were 9.5-point home favorites, making the reaction from Penn State fans even more noteworthy.
Penn State’s 2026 Campaign
Campbell’s first season at Penn State had been going smoothly before Saturday.
The Nittany Lions opened the season 3-0 with wins over Marshall, Temple and Buffalo, outscoring those three opponents 127-22. But none represented the type of test Penn State was expected to face once Big Ten play began.
That made Saturday’s conference opener against Wisconsin the first real measuring stick of the Campbell era, and Penn State couldn’t finish the job. The Nittany Lions led 17-0 before being outscored 24-3 the rest of the way, falling to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play.
And the schedule is about to get much more difficult.
Penn State has a short week before traveling to Northwestern for a Friday night game on Oct. 2. After that, the Nittany Lions return home to face USC on Oct. 10 before traveling to Michigan on Oct. 17.
So Campbell doesn’t have much time to get things corrected.
After cruising through the first three weeks, Penn State has now lost its Big Ten opener and faces two of the biggest games on its schedule over the next three weeks.
For a coach who arrived in Happy Valley with enormous expectations, the pressure just got turned up in a hurry.
