In case you missed it, in one of the most successful marketing campaigns in MAC football history, Akron announced that one lucky season ticket holder will get to script the first drive of the Zips’ season opener against Robert Morris on Tuesday.

The social media post was reposted across every major sports news organization and now has over 20 million views. Everyone from Barstool Sports’ Big Cat to CFBudge instantly spent the $75 to become a season ticket holder.

Make history and be the lucky season ticket holder to design the opening drive of the home opener when @ZipsFB hosts Robert Morris

https://t.co/G5aTUlVpzT#GoZips#MakeTheClimb pic.twitter.com/Qzu1w0R29O

— Akron Football (@ZipsFB) August 4, 2026

While Matt Campbell is unfortunately not letting Penn State fans call any plays this upcoming season (although they might be better than Andy Kotelnicki), we decided to script an opening drive for the Nittany Lions anyway.

Cadyn Gill

As Honorary Offensive Coordinator for the opening drive against Marshall, I’ve got one single mission: Feed Koby Howard and get Rocco Becht into a rhythm. 

The first play of the game is going to be a trips set with Howard, Benjamin Brahmer, and Chase Sowell. It’ll be a bubble screen to Howard with right tackle Anthony Donkoh setting quickly to the outside to send his rusher upfield, and then he’ll immediately crash downfield to inflict a punishing block on the nearest unsuspecting defensive back.

To kick off the Matt Campbell era of Penn State football, we want to set the tone and make Marshall defenders meet us at the point of attack. 

The next few plays will consist of a slant-flat concept with Howard and James Peoples, who will motion out of the backfield into a Wing position. Whoever the defenders choose not to leverage will get the ball for a quick gain, ideally followed by some YAC. 

Then, we’ll toss it for a third straight play, with a tight end jailbreak screen to Brahmer, who will move the chains. 

At this point, we’re around midfield and will get Carson Hansen going with a pair of carries, followed by a strike to Brett Eskildsen on a deep post-curl concept. 

Howard is gonna get another target or two, and by then, it should be time to punch it in for six with a quarterback read option from Becht, who will walk it in and electrify Beaver Stadium. 

Just hand me the headset and clipboard already… 

Jamie Lynch

The key to a successful Penn State offense has always been establishing the run game. For the first play of the 2026 season, I would hand the ball off to Carson Hansen, who would burst up the gut for an eight-yard gain. Why mess with what works? Hansen gets the ball again and crosses the line to gain, netting three yards on the carry.

I’m very high on the Nittany Lions’ tight end room this season, so I’d like to get them involved in the playcalling early on. Because of the strong start to the ground game, I would draw up play-action on first down, utilizing both Benjamin Brahmer and Andrew Rappleyea.

Rappleyea would slot in as the H-back, moving across prior to the snap. With the defense biting on the fake, Brahmer would slip past the linebackers, hauling in a pass from Rocco Becht down the seam. The 6’7”, 250-pounder would muscle through the Marshall secondary for a 20-yard gain. 

Though Brahmer has a knack for making contested catches, Rappleyea would leak into the flat after selling the run, giving Becht a second read if Marshall takes away the seam. Either way, the physicality and versatility of the tight ends will be on full display.

From here, we’ll go with a read option. For the sake of the plot, let’s pretend Becht keeps the ball and races around the edge for a short gain before getting out of bounds.

The next play is where the magic happens. With the offense driving, now second down on roughly the Thundering Herd 40, we’re gonna feed off the confidence and take a deep shot. “KeAndre Lambert-Smith is gone! Welcome to the Drew Allar era! Chase Sowell’s got it! Welcome to the Matt Campbell era! It’s a Penn State touchdown!”

Cinema.