Penn State QB Rocco Becht’s Big Mistakes in The Big House: In His Own Words

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht’s three second-half turnovers in The Big House were the biggest kind of mistakes. Interception, interception, lost fumble. And in a span of 24 minutes, they led to 21 Michigan points. Game over.

Becht, who started his 46th game as a college QB — and is now 29-17, with a 63% win percentage — was upstaged by true Michigan freshman Tommy Carr, who just turned 19 in August. Becht is three years, nine months and 19 days older. 

But it was Carr — with his grandfather Lloyd, who was 9-2 vs. Penn State as Michigan’s head coach, looking on — who was the one who played mistake-free football while coming off the bench to start the second half and guide Michigan (4-2) to a 21-18 win over Penn State (now 3-4 for the second season in a row). It went like this:

Game: Becht’s first pass of the second half was picked off. Two plays later, Carr led Michigan to a TD to go up 7-3.

Set: Becht’s sixth pass of the second half was picked off. This time, Carr led the Wolverines on an 11-play scoring drive to go up 14-3.

Match: On Penn State’s second possession of the fourth quarter, Becht was sacked from behind and fumbled. Michigan recovered and three plays later Carr ran it in himself for a TD and a 21-11 lead that held up even after Penn State scored a touchdown with 71 seconds left on the clock.

When it was all over, that new Carr smell of victory permeated The Big House.

CAMPBELL SAYS ROCCO IS STILL QB1: The Nittany Lions are on a four-game losing streak and have yet to win in the Big Ten under first-year head coach Matt Campbell and last-year quarterback Becht. They are now under .500, but Campbell said after the game that Becht is still his QB1 and won’t be giving Penn State freshman QB Alex Manske a shot — the opposite of Carr’s opportunity when he subbed for ineffective Michigan starter Bryce Underwood, who also threw two interceptions.

“I think you watch the football game and obviously Rocco would be the first guy to say he’s got to do a better job of taking care of the football,” Campbell said. “Obviously, it was an emphasis. But, man, how that guy continues to compete and fight and even gave us a chance at the end of the football game.

“He’s gotta be better. He will continue to grow and be better. But no, there’s never a consideration [of benching Becht] from my end.”

CARBON COPIES: Campbell and Becht went through this last season at Iowa State. After a perfect 5-0 start, Iowa State lost four straight games, before finishing the year with three consecutive victories and an 8-4 record.

• During Iowa State’s four-game losing streak in 2025, Becht was playing injured, and he completed 90 of 153 passes (58.8%), with four TD passes and five interceptions.

• During Penn State’s four-game losing streak in 2026, Becht — fully healthy — has completed 87 of 146 passes (59.6%), with three TD passes and five interceptions.

Eerily, sadly similar.

WHAT ROCCO SAID: Give Becht credit for meeting with the media after the game. He was humbled by the Michigan defense, and repeatedly said so. Here’s what he said in the jam-packed Michigan Stadium visitors’ media room, sitting at a dingy worktable, his back literally against the wall:

1. HANDLING THE LOSS: “It’s rough. This game is super-humbling. That’s why you play. That’s why you love it. For me, unfortunately I’ve been in this position before, last year. I got out of it. I’m going to be strong. I know this team is going to be strong. We’re continuing to get better, but we’re not having the results we want. It’ll come, I know that.”

2. FEELINGS & DETAILS: “Hurt, disappointed. You know, there’s plays I want back. To be better for my team, I need to be better in the details. We fight, but at the end of the day, whoever’s more detailed wins the game. And unfortunately, we weren’t today. But we’re going to continue to grow.”

3. UNLUCKY & HUMBLING: “I’m out there, playing free. I feel good. Some plays just aren’t there for me. They just don’t work out for me. I get unlucky. It happens. Like I said, it’s humbling. I’m going to continue to get better and grow.”

4. PICK NO. 2 & THE LOST FUMBLE: “The second one, I tried to get it out to the left late. Obviously, I wasn’t on-time with it. On third-and-2, I got to be able to use my legs there.” On the fumble, “the guy made a good play coming from behind and I didn’t see him. Popped the ball out. Just got unlucky with it. It happens; it’s humbling. Need to continue to move forward.”

5. THE IOWA STATE LOSING STREAK: “I went through it last year and I wasn’t expecting to go through it again. It’s humbling.”

6. RUNNING THE BALL. “It kind of sort of happens. I’m not going out there thinking, ‘Run on this play, be ready to run.’ I’m thinking, ‘Be ready to hit this route, hit that.’ It’s kind of an instant thing. It has to hit me more. I need to have that in the back of my head. I do have my legs; that’s something I can use and that’s something I’ll have to use in the future.”

7. WORDS FOR HIS TEAMMATES: “I got to be better for you all. We’re going to keep our heads up and we’re going to continue to grow. This team has fought their asses off the past four weeks. We don’t have the results. But this team has a bunch of great leaders who want to win and know their whys and have a love for the game like nothing else.”

8. NO BICKERING: “Even in the [post-game team meeting with Campbell] before I came in here — no bickering, no fighting. It was all continuing to keep each other’s heads up, patting each other on the back and continuing to grow because we’re so close. That’s the type of team we have here.”

9. HIS FAITH: “I believe in God. I’m deep in my faith. That’s a role I’m going to continue to follow because I know there’s light at the end of the road.”