A MAC Team on the Road Against a Ranked Power 4 Foe? For Matt Campbell, Been There, Done That

Matt Campbell has been in this situation before. Just not at Penn State. And not on the highly-favored team’s sidelines.

In 2015 — Campbell’s fifth and final season as head coach at Toledo — Campbell took an unranked team. From the MAC (Mid-American Conference). On the road. Early in the season. To play a ranked opponent. From a Power 4 conference.

And in that challenging situation, Campbell and the Rockets came home with a win.

After Toledo’s 2015 season-opener against Stony Brook was cancelled due to severe storms after the Rockets took a 16-7 halftime lead, Toledo traveled to Fayetteville, Ark., to play No. 18 Arkansas of the SEC in Razorback Stadium. Toledo won, 16-12, as the victory propelled the Rockets to a seven-game winning streak and a regular-season record of 9-2.

By the time Toledo was set to meet Temple in the Boca Raton Bowl, Campbell was off to Iowa State. Not-so-coincidentally, earlier that season Toledo hosted Iowa State and won, 30-23.

Campbell certainly paid his dues on the way to that big upset. In his tenure in Toledo, the Rockets lost on the road at No. 15 Ohio State, Syracuse, Missouri, Florida, Cincinnati, Arizona and…Iowa State. (To his credit, four of the seven losses were by seven points or less.)

On Wednesday, I asked Campbell how that win over the Razorback colors his view of the No. 14 Nittany Lions’ matchup on Saturday in Beaver Stadium against visiting Buffalo (1-1), which — like Toledo then and now — is a member of the MAC. His reply:

“In college football anybody can beat anybody on any Saturday, and I think the reality of the world we live in today, it’s why you’re straining to be the best,” Campbell replied. “It’s like this competitive endurance. How do you just keep showing up and earning the right to be confident? I think it’s really hard in our sport. You’re dealing with 18- to 22-year-olds. You’re trying to get them to be their absolute best.”

Two weeks ago, Penn State pounded undermanned Marshall 45-0. On Saturday, the Nittany Lions are a 39.5-point favorite against Buffalo, which has been ranked in the Associated Press poll three times — ever. The Bulls were 5-7 in 2025, but they are just a year removed from going 9-4 in 2024. They opened the 2026 season with a 21-17 win over Albany, but lost last week at Florida International, 33-20. Buffalo didn’t give up; it outscored FIU 14-13 in the second half.

“I think you just watch how this Buffalo team plays,” Campbell said. “Their kids play really, really hard. I think they found themselves a great quarterback [backup Jason Wright] in the second half of the game last week, and you see they’ve got great momentum.

“…Everybody’s got guys that can put you in a really tough spot. And from our end, you’re trying to be the best team you can be, no matter who the opponent is, no matter what the situation is. You’re trying to be the best version of yourself every time you step on that field. Which, again, is the great challenge we have. And that’s kind of been our motto from day one that we’ve gotten here.”

HOW THE BULLS GOT HERE

Penn State was originally scheduled to play San Jose State this Saturday. And that game was the rescheduling of a Penn State-San Jose State game originally slated for Beaver Stadium in 2020. Then, COVID hit and the PSU contest with SJS was pushed forward.

Then, in April 2023, Buffalo announced on Twitter/X that it was scheduled to play this Saturday. According to Blue White Illustrated/Penn State On3, Buffalo will receive $1.4 million for making the trip to Happy Valley. (Marshall got $1.5 million.)

San Jose State, meanwhile, will now play Fresno State at home this Saturday night, in a contest to be televised on FS1. San Jose State would have likely been a more formidable foe than Buffalo for the Nittany Lions. The Spartans are 2-1, with wins over Eastern Michigan on the road and Cal Poly at home. San Jose State lost 42-26 to USC in the Week 0 opener. That game was played in scorching heat inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and was big on social media for the empty stands.

CAMPBELL ON NON-CON GAMES

At Iowa State (Big 12), Campbell had an annual non-conference diet of facing in-state rival Iowa (Big Ten). Campbell was 3-6 against the Hawkeyes. He was asked this week by beat veteran Neil Rudel of the Altoona Mirror about his philosophy on scheduling non-conference opponents. Here’s what Campbell said, noting he has not talked about future non-con scheduling with Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft:

“Pat has been unbelievably supportive of conversating on all issues as we move ourselves forward,” Campbell said. “I’m probably not even at the place to even conversate about it because I don’t know if I have my grasp around my own team and program, let alone what is that holistic value, how does that go. I think as the world changes around us, do we go to a 24-team playoff. What does all that look like?

“What’s best for Penn State moving forward? What’s best for our football program?

I think as the landscape settles around us, I probably would have a better opinion knowing what the future of that holds…Once things settle, once I get a year under my belt, what is the landscape moving forward, I can have a better answer for you.”

WHAT’S AHEAD in 2027-28

Penn State will (very) likely go 3-0 in Campbell’s first non-conference slate of games at PSU. The next two years, the Nittany Lions’ non-conference slate doesn’t match the trip Ohio State just took to Austin to play Texas in a battle of top-5 teams that drew over 14 million television viewers.

On the other hand, Campbell & Co. face (very) brutal Big Ten slates in 2027-28. Just take a look at who the Nittany Lions play in Beaver Stadium in 2028: Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon and UCLA (exact dates have not yet been announced). All of which makes the Nittany Lions’ relatively easy schedule in 2026 — both non-conference and in Big Ten play — all the more reason to strike while the iron is hot. 

Of course, the 2027 season will mark the completion of the $700-million renovation of Beaver Stadium, with higher ticket prices, big-time suites and many more amenities. Here is what is on tap for the Nittany Lions the next two seasons:

2027

Non-conference: Sept. 4 – Syracuse, home; Sept. 11 – Maine, home; Sept. 18 – Temple, home
Big Ten home: Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Washington
Big Ten away: Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin

2028

Non-conference: Sept. 2 – Ball State, home; Sept. 9 – Syracuse, away; Sept. 16 – UMass, home
Big Ten home: Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA
Big Ten away: Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, USC