Every team with playoff ambitions has two key goals by the end of non-conference play. That’s not to say there aren’t countless other things they want to achieve, but these two are necessities.

Win the games you’re supposed to and stay healthy.

These two points are part of why you see teams schedule “buy games” against vastly inferior opponents to pick up an easy win, pull starters early, and give reps to young backups.

Unfortunately for Penn State, as its non-conference play officially concluded with their romping over Buffalo on Saturday, they didn’t entirely meet their second goal.

The Nittany Lions exit Buffalo with chinks in the armor.

Tight end Andrew Rappleyea and starting center Brock Riker both departed with injuries, with the former being in question for practice this week, while the latter seems to be all right.

The biggest news, though, was the unspecified injury to the team’s young star receiver, Koby Howard.

“Koby Howard got dinged up on that long touchdown run,” Matt Campbell said at his weekly media availability on Tuesday. “I think right now we probably don’t know exactly where it will be by the end of the week.”

Campbell added that the team went through a couple of things on Monday to determine where he is, but acknowledged they won’t have a true idea of his status until later this week, something that sounds pretty daunting with the close proximity of the Big Ten opener on Saturday against Wisconsin.

Howard has been a revelation for the Nittany Lions in 2026. The uber-talented sophomore was a seldom-used depth piece under James Franklin last year, but showed flashes late in the year after the coaching change.

He’s opened this season with explosive play after explosive play, with 12 catches for 344 yards and three total touchdowns, two of which came on Saturday against Buffalo. He’s given the offense an element they’ve lacked for a long time — really since Jahan Dotson was drafted into the NFL.

A short-term absence isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it would handicap an offense that will suddenly see a big jump in opponent difficulty as Big Ten play begins. That’s why it was so encouraging to see the all-around dominance in the run game against Buffalo: if you can’t run the ball on the Bulls, why would you be able to run the ball on a Big Ten defense?

But even if the Nittany Lions don’t have Howard in the lineup on Saturday, they’re confident they have the depth to navigate his absence.

“I have a ton of confidence in that room,” Rocco Becht said on Tuesday about the wide receiver group outside of Howard. “You talk about Zay Robinson, Amarion Jackson, Brett [Eskildsen], and Chase [Sowell]; I mean, those are four guys who are trusted, who’ve been able to practice well, and have been able to go out and have good reps in a game.

With Howard out, those names will take on added importance. Sowell has been Becht’s second-favorite option among his receivers, with the Iowa State transfer the team’s big deep-ball threat.

He’s had a few drops, most notably the would-be touchdown against Temple that was broken up at the last possible second, but he’s also made some big-time plays.

Eskildsen is another player with tremendous familiarity with Becht from their days at Iowa State, but hasn’t had as big of an impact as some of the other receivers. After catching a touchdown in the opener, Eskildsen was limited to four catches for 35 yards, which Campbell said was partly because he was banged up.

“I think Brett Eskildsen got off to a great start,” Campbell said. “He got kind of dinged up and was really limited the last two weeks, but I think you guys have seen Brett. I think you know that every opportunity he’s got, he’s made some dynamic things happen.”

The player most crucial to stepping up in that room might be the guy who replaces Howard in the slot, redshirt freshman and starting punt returner Robinson. He’s shown his dynamic athleticism and shiftiness in open space while returning punts and has had some good moments early in his Penn State career.

“Zay Robinson’s been a great piece,” Campbell said. “Him and Koby have been a one-two punch in the slot at times, and both of them made some really big plays in some critical moments for us.”

In those three, Penn State fans will hope they can still produce more than the makeshift receiver cores the team had throughout the Drew Allar era.

What Campbell and the rest of the offense like, though, is that this team is not only deep in effective receivers, but also has capable tight ends in Rappleyea, Ben Brahmer, and Gabe Burkle.

“You talk about the tight end room, I think that group’s off to a great start,” Campbell said. “I think that room’s done an unbelievable job.”

“We have three guys who can run routes and block, so there’s no worry anywhere around that situation,” Becht said about his tight ends.

All of this could be a bunch of nothing if Howard is wearing pads on Saturday night, but even if he isn’t, as long as this isn’t a long-term ailment, the Nittany Lions, and particularly Rocco Becht, are confident in their ability to stay upright in the passing game while he recovers.

“There’s a bunch of trust in that room that I feel comfortable with if they were to go out there.”