Head coach Matt Campbell made his Penn State football debut in a 45-0 shutout of Marshall on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, marking the start of a new era for the Nittany Lions. With new beginnings on the field, the gameday experience for fans also differed from what they saw under former head coach James Franklin.

Penn State announced its starting lineups on the video board before the runout, as always, but the segment ended without introducing Campbell. Franklin was always introduced right after Drew Allar in previous years.

On top of that, Campbell didn’t run out onto the field locked in arms with the game captains. He didn’t run out at all, actually. He snuck his way onto the field to prepare for kickoff as the players got the spotlight heading into his debut.

“I’m good on that. The scoreboard’s for the players,” Campbell said postgame.

That was pregame. Let’s fast-forward to the fourth quarter.

We all remember Penn State’s typical fourth-quarter shenanigans under Franklin. The Mic Man would get up, get the student section hyped with, “Are you ready for the fourth quaaaarter?” and they would wave a fourth-quarter flag in the south end zone.

That flag and hype moment were also absent on Saturday. Instead, a Big Ten flag was waved as fans simply looked at the clock to know what time of the game it was.

Some people didn’t mind the fourth quarter flag. Others hated it. The fact is, it’s gone.

While the 4th Quarter flag is gone, there is now a Big Ten flag. Take that, SEC.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) September 5, 2026

It also seemed that the Beaver Stadium music operator isn’t over Penn State and Franklin’s bad breakup.

The set list wasn’t much different from previous years, but the added context to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone,” Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” made an interesting extra layer to Penn State’s opener.

Visually, new signage also covered the stadium. The famous 1-0 plastered on the ceiling of the players’ tunnel was replaced with “success with honor,” a nod to legendary head coach Joe Paterno.

New sections were also added as part of Beaver Stadium’s revitalization project, set to finish in 2027. As a result, folks may have noticed the new “Section 409” sign in dark blue, compared to the bright white of the rest of the stadium. Another nod to Paterno.