Well, folks, it’s finally here. Game week in Happy Valley is officially upon us. The Saturday that felt like it was light-years away when Matt Campbell was hired is now just around the corner.

When fans lined the fences of the State College Regional Airport to greet their new head coach in December, it felt like a renaissance for Nittany Nation. As Campbell began to cry during his introductory press conference and when he first laid eyes on Beaver Stadium, Penn Staters instantly knew, “This guy gets it.”

But with gameday on the horizon, the honeymoon phase will soon draw to a close. On Saturday, Penn State and Marshall will battle it out for the chance to start the season 1-0.

While a win will assuredly be the first thing on Campbell’s mind, he won’t let the gravity of the day escape him. When the ball is kicked off, he will officially become the 17th man to coach the Nittany Lions, an honor previously held by some of the sport’s most prestigious names.

“There’s a great sense of gratitude to be here and be a part of a great place like this, and one of the cathedrals of college football,” he said. “To be a part of that is awesome.”

Campbell is an emotional man. As a former defensive lineman, he has been known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, a quality he is admittedly not all that proud of.

But most of the emotions that he will experience this week are a byproduct of the hard work he and his staff have put in to build this team.

“When you love the sport, and you love to watch your guys, and you’ve seen how much they sacrifice for these moments, I’m probably more excited for that,” he said.

Over 30 players on the Penn State roster will don the blue and white during a game for the first time this weekend, an opportunity that nobody is taking for granted.

For quarterback Rocco Becht, Saturday will mark an important milestone in his career as he prepares to make his 40th career start.

His journey wasn’t a straight line, however. After not being heavily recruited out of high school and eventually committing to Iowa State, he never dreamed he’d play in front of 107,000 fans.

“I’m at one of the most prestigious, historic programs in college football,” Becht said. “I was super blessed. This wasn’t on my agenda.”

Echoing his coach’s sentiment, Becht will stick to his typical routine in the coming days leading up to kickoff, despite a natural sense of nervousness. Finding the proper balance between ” locking in” and embracing the emotions of the week will be key for the fourth-year starter.

The same goes for Iowa State transfer and newly named starting left guard Trevor Buhr. He will aim to maintain his schedule and treat Marshall like any other game, despite the circumstances surrounding his first start in a new uniform.

Harnessing excitement as fuel, rather than letting it become a distraction, will be a priority for him.

“They’ve earned the right to get in the stadium, they’ve earned the right to get on this field, and continue to define what they’re going to be and what kind of team we can become,” Campbell said.

A coach always cares about how his players respond in big moments, and analyzing how his team will handle the challenges of a new environment will be the first thing Campbell focuses on.

If there’s one thing he is not doing, it’s downplaying the talent on Marshall’s roster. Campbell has tremendous respect for the program the Thundering Herd has built and acknowledges the challenging situations that await the Nittany Lions during Saturday’s contest.

Finding the ability to face adversity with a lot of variables unknown will be a good indicator of the mental strength of this Penn State football team and its necessary areas of growth.

“When you turn the lights on, and obviously, gameday, there’s only 12 guaranteed opportunities,” Campbell said. “‘How do you handle all of it?’ I think that’s what I’m looking forward to seeing.”

While Campbell and his staff remain optimistic that their team will excel in the first game of the season, the head coach refuses to forget the reason why he was hired, less than a year ago.

The character of this program has, and always will be, based upon merit and hard work. If Campbell can field a team that exemplifies those two traits, Penn State is well on its way to victory.

“We’re not going to win at all costs. We’re going to win the right way,” Campbell said. “We’re going to win with guys that do things the right way. They carry themselves the right way on the field, but they carry themselves right off the field. If not, you’re only going to get beat anyway.”