A Game of Firsts: Penn State Opens New Chapter in Win Over Marshall

Penn State’s season-opener against Marshall on Saturday marked more than just the return of football season in Happy Valley. It stamped the beginning of the Matt Campbell era, complete with new coaches, players, uniforms and a revamped stadium. And it began with a resounding 45-0 win over the visiting Thundering Herd.

“Just a sincere thank you to our fanbase, our student body,” Campbell said after the game. “It was really special to be a part of this for the first time, and I know so many people have said how special it is to play football here. But you know it was really special to coach here today. The environment was second to none.”

First Team Arrival

Kicking off the afternoon was the first team arrival of the season, where Campbell delivered many high-fives to an eager crowd gathered outside Beaver Stadium hours before the game. However, leading the pack was quarterback Rocco Becht — the first player into the stadium.

First adidas Game

That led into warmups, where players took the field ahead of their first game wearing adidas uniforms. New three-stripe signage was plastered across the stadium, and many of the 108,489 announced fans in attendance ditched older gear to don the Nittany Lions’ new provider.

Many of those fans also ventured to the renovated west side of the stadium, which was open to fans apart from premium seating areas that remain under construction. Those zones were tarped off with Penn State and adidas logos.

First Team Entrance

Then came the first team entrance of the era — though some things stay the same with Zombie Nation’s “Kernkraft 400” serenading the players’ runout. The newcomers had some semblance of what to expect, but hearing about it only goes so far.

“I kind of knew what to expect, just what some of the returning guys have said,” linebacker/defensive end Caleb Bacon said. “But it blew everything out of the water that first run out. It was super cool … I got goosebumps for sure. It was crazy hearing the crowd roar when we ran out. The fans really brought the juice today, so I really appreciate all of them for doing that.”

First Game

Penn State began with possession after Marshall won the coin toss and deferred, leading to the first snaps for many players.

Quarterback Rocco Becht’s first pass was a 20-yard completion to wide receiver Chase Sowell. His first touchdown was a 42-yard strike to Koby Howard, also marking Howard’s first score as a Nittany Lion.

Becht finished the day completing an impressive 13 of 18 passes for 271 yards with four scores. He also found Iowa State transfer wide receivers Brett Eskildsen and Zay Robinson and tight end Ben Brahmer for their first touchdowns wearing blue and white. For Robinson, it was the first of his career.

“It exceeded my expectations,” Eskildsen said. “Like it was an unbelievable atmosphere, filling that stadium up … it’s insane. So yeah, just being able to see all the fans in the stadium with us, you know, having our back and supporting us coming out here.”

The defense was also dominant in its debut, led by new coordinator D’Anton Lynn. The unit posted a shutout, totaling two takeaways and nine tackles for loss while holding the Thundering Herd to 147 total yards.

First Win

When the dust settled on Campbell’s inaugural contest, he came away with his first win as head coach at Penn State.

“To me, this team earned the right to at least get to a game,” Campbell said. “And I was so anxious watching who this football team could be and where we can respond, and obviously we know just a little bit more. We got great videotape evidence now in a chaotic game environment.”