Column: It’s a Long Way Down for Penn State Football

Have you ever been scammed before?

Merriam-Webster defines a scam as a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. Joel Haas defines it as Penn State football in the first half of 2026. We were promised one thing, but we’ve gotten a second, much less enjoyable thing instead.

I like to think I’m good at avoiding scams — I’ve never sent money to a Nigerian prince, never invested in sketchy cryptocurrencies and I also don’t respond to the hundreds of message requests I get on Twitter from “single women.”

So while I may have missed out on a few opportunities for generational wealth, I’ve been pretty scam-proof for as long as I can remember. But I can’t help but feel I — along with many others — have been deceived by the Nittany Lions this fall .

In fact, this scam convinced AP voters, a collection of some of the world’s top college football experts, into ranking Penn State No. 13 following three nonconference victories by a combined score of 127-22.

It’s like purchasing a parachute off a shady website advertising a 90% off sale, testing it out in the backyard and thinking it works. But when you jump out of an airplane, you find out why it only cost $19.99 plus shipping — and now, there’s a long way down.

Penn State fans were promised a team that would compete at a high level this season, and paired with one of the easiest schedules in the conference, that meant a potential playoff push. The unit would be disciplined and play a physical, hard-nosed, tough, blue-collar, lunch-pail style reminiscent of some of the greatest teams in school history.

To be fair, Matt Campbell himself never made any promises about on-field results, just that the players would be the best versions of themselves and “grow forward.”

But offseason buzz indicated the Iowa State transfers were gelling well, there was depth on all sides of the ball, and most importantly, the coaching staff would succeed where the previous regime fell short — in close games and against ranked opponents.

What this staff lacks in recruiting firepower, it makes up for in player development, scheme and in-game decision-making — we were told.

Just like how the reviews on the parachute website looked good, even if they came from anonymous accounts and were filled with misspellings. Wait a minute…

Penn State fans were willing to overlook some early flaws on the recruiting trail, like a disastrous 2026 recruiting class and several misses on top targets in 2027 and beyond. The staff came in late in the cycle, and they turned even worse classes into winners at Iowa State.

That trade off was expected, because this staff would win games through sheer coaching genius. But through three games, that hasn’t been as advertised.

After mounting a 17-0 lead over Wisconsin, Penn State curled up into a ball and attempted to run out the clock — beginning in the second quarter. The “let your nuts hang” offense that was promised looked more like a prevent offense. The best defense is a bad offense, as the saying goes.

We don’t need to relitigate the 34-13 loss at Northwestern the following week, which was such a poor all-around showing that the coaching can’t be solely blamed for the loss.

But Saturday night’s USC game was another winnable contest washed away in part by coaching malpractice. In addition to questionable play-calling decisions, like rushing three players consistently, the Nittany Lions may have set a program record with four wasted timeouts, including all three in the second half.

Two were burned because the Nittany Lions were late to substitute, which let the Trojans take their sweet time with their own substitutions as the play clock dwindled.

One came when Penn State tried and failed to draw USC offsides on fourth down, only to keep the offense out for the next play.

And the worst came when USC trotted out its offense on fourth and 4 from its own 13-yard line, a scam so obvious all 114,419 fans in attendance knew it was a bluff, but Campbell didn’t.

Those timeouts certainly would’ve come in handy when Penn State was searching for a late-game stop in the fourth quarter while trailing by a touchdown.

So through three Big Ten games, all losses, two were arguably given away by coaching shortcomings. To make matters worse, both came against opposing head coaches who entered the season on the hot seat — Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell and USC’s Lincoln Riley.

In a way, Campbell has sacrificed himself to help other coaches keep their jobs. And with Washington’s Jedd Fisch, Rutgers’ Greg Schiano and Maryland’s Mike Locksley still on the docket, maybe he’ll save a few more.

There’s still time to figure things out for Campbell and Co. But right now, the moment feels too big. Ironically, the Big Ten feels a lot bigger than the Big 12.

So despite all the investment from fans, what was promised hasn’t been delivered. That sounds like a deceptive act or operation.

And now, it’s a long way down for Penn State.