Matt Campbell Discusses Bye Week Full of Hard Truths for Penn State

Midway through a grueling season in Happy Valley, the reality of Matt Campbell’s first year at Penn State has set in. Sitting without a win through four Big Ten games, the Nittany Lions entered their bye week facing adversity that tested their foundation.

When Campbell met with the media Tuesday morning inside Beaver Stadium, the tone was steady and grounded in the principles that built his reputation at Toledo and Iowa State. There were no quick-fix promises or panic buttons.

Instead, the message was about tearing into the data, leaning into uncomfortable truths and finding out who is willing to pull the rope in the same direction.

Ground Control

The most glaring symptom of Penn State’s offensive slide has been a dormant rushing attack. Through four conference matchups, the running backs have failed to generate a carry of 10 or more yards, an astonishing drought for a program accustomed to explosive ground games in recent years.

While struggles were evident even during nonconference play, James Peoples’ 67-yard performance against Wisconsin remains the high-water mark for any individual back in conference play this fall.

Campbell insisted the solution can be found on tape, provided the staff and players can identify and learn from it.

“It starts with coaching, identifying what can we do,” Campbell said. “We now have a collection of data, seven games … going into the bye week, the opportunity to really digest that information and have a clear plan, both schematically and fundamentally, moving ourselves forward.”

Campbell said there was an equal demand from coaches and players during the bye week to identify the primary issues with the rushing attack and remedy them.

Culture Crafting

Amid his 15th season as a college head coach, Campbell is no stranger to reclamation projects. His career path is defined by taking over programs needing structural overhauls, including his early tenure at Toledo and three rebuilding opportunities at Iowa State.

While he didn’t mention specific years, Campbell was likely referring to his initial campaign in Ames in 2016 (3-9), a 7-6 season in 2019 and a 4-8 year in 2022. In the following seasons, the program found its footing by leaning into its identity and went 8-5, 9-3 and 7-6.

“I still think leadership is not when it’s going great,” Campbell said. “Leadership is the ability to build culture, and when you’re not getting the results you want, identifying why you’re not getting them, but certainly not leaving the plan of how you want to build the team and what the expectations are in terms of standards and expectations.”

That track record doesn’t make the current skid any easier to digest for a restless fanbase. Campbell acknowledged that frustration, noting that the external noise matches the internal disappointment within the locker room. But the vision, he maintained, cannot waver just because the initial returns are disappointing.

Film-Room Focus

With the bye week, Penn State had the opportunity to take a hard look inward for some self-evaluation. The staff and players spent extra time rewatching game film to identify issues.

“I thought we really had a great Tuesday practice,” Campbell said. “Wednesday gave us a great opportunity. We had self-scouted ourselves a lot, and really gave us a great opportunity to give that information back to our players and videotape evidence of what we’re saying, rather than just saying it, both individually and collectively.”

By pairing one-on-one player meetings with collective team corrections ahead of high-intensity practices, the Nittany Lions attempted to bridge the gap between concept and execution.

“You know, not only do we have individual meetings with a lot of our players, but we also have the collective whole of, these are our challenges, and this is what we need to fix,” Campbell said. “And then being able to come back again on Thursday and have another great practice. And so, you know, I thought our kids intend and want to, and I thought our coaches did a great job at self-reflecting.”