Penn State looking to find identity following back-to-back losses
· Yahoo Sports
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WHTM) -- Penn State is trying to bounce back after two straight losses.
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They've had a chance to watch the film of the 3-touchdown loss to Northwestern. Now, head coach Matt Campbell admits his team lacks an identity through the first five weeks of the season in all three phases of the game.
"Somebody asked me in here, maybe after the Buffalo game, are we where we need to be?" Campbell said. "And I said no. And the reality of it is I'm not surprised. I think this is you're trying to morph offensive schemes. You're trying to morph team (and) culture together. And it's a growth process. And the reality of it is we have to be better."
After putting up just 48 rushing yards against the Wildcats, this team is still looking for answers on what they want the offense to be in 2026.
"It's like we just don't really know if we're a run team or a pass team right now," quarterback Rocco Becht said. "And so I think for all of us, we're going back to the drawing board, going back to the meeting rooms and figuring out what we could do well. And I think we could do well in both of those areas. It's just 'How do we complement it on the field?'"
On the defensive side of the ball, the unit gave up over 500 yards of offense last Friday, which defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn said can be attributed to missed tackles, losing the line of scrimmage and having players in the wrong places.
"Regardless of what's going on in defense, regardless of what's going on in offense, when we go out there, we have to have the same mentality," Lynn said. "We have to have the same edge. We can't let the scoreboard change that. We can't let how we're playing change that. We can't let something happening on the opposite side of the ball affect that. We have to have that same attitude every single snap."
Campbell also said that simplicity equals velocity, wanting to regain some of that confidence his team was playing with through the first three weeks of the season.
Everyone says that starts with a great week of practice. The Nittany Lions are going to need it as they host No. 19-ranked USC on Saturday night in The Whiteout Game.
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Here's a look at Penn State's schedule for 2026:
- September 5 - vs. Marshall
- September 12 - at Temple
- September 19 - vs. Buffalo
- September 26 - vs. Wisconsin
- October 2 - at Northwestern
- October 10 - vs. USC
- October 17 - at Michigan
- October 31 - vs. Purdue
- November 7 - at Washington
- November 14 - vs. Minnesota
- November 21 - vs. Rutgers
- November 28 - at Maryland