Game one of the Matt Campbell Penn State football era has begun with a bang.

The Nittany Lions shut out the Thundering Herd 45-0 in a perfect start to the 2026 college football season. From a new-look Beaver Stadium to a completely different team on the field, there was plenty to look out for on Saturday.

Our staff was in and around Happy Valley for the contest. Here’s what we saw.

New Signage

Penn State and Campbell fully bought into recognizing Penn State’s history, something former head coach James Franklin took a lot of flak for ignoring.

The physical changes to folks’ gameday experience were the addition of a section 409, the removal of the 1-0 signage in the player entrance tunnel, and no more 4th-quarter flag.

Campbell, however, just went about the day more nonchalantly than Franklin did. For example, Campbell did not introduce himself on the video board during player intros and was not in the lead line for the tunnel entrance. Franklin used to be front and center.

Flyover

Penn State announced a flyover for the game on Friday, which only added to the excitement for the home opener. However, it seemed like a last-minute addition, and the plane looked no different from a commercial flight.

Not sure who decided on the planes to fly, but let’s fix it by military appreciation night.

Koby Howard

Koby Howard.

The second-year wide receiver had himself a day with six receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown. Not only did he look absolutely electric after the catch, but he also showed off his elite hands with SportsCenter top-10-worthy moves.

Same Stadium, New Look

Beaver Stadium is now in its final year of renovations, and it looks amazing. While some of the stadium is still unusable, the capacity was listed at 108,000 for the first game of the season and will only rise.

Everything from the outside garments to the larger concession areas and the new entrance options made the Penn State game day experience even better than it already has been.

Fast Pass Entry For Students Was A Mess

Penn State Athletics continued using a new way to get through Gate A on Thursday: the “Fast Pass” student entry. Student section wristbands were available to pick up Friday, but students still needed to scan their tickets.

However, for a student section made up of 25,000 people, only three Penn State employees handed out wristbands on Friday. The line started in the HUB and wrapped all the way to the library.

Some folks waited multiple hours for the “Fast Pass.” Nothing fast about that.