Was starting Big Ten play with a loss to Wisconsin on anybody’s bingo card?

Penn State football blew a 17-0 lead en route to a 24-20 decision against the Badgers in Week 4. The Nittany Lion defense picked off Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph three times, and Rocco Becht went 12-for-29 on pass attempts, but Penn State felt like it needed that early gut punch to turn the page and move forward.

The late-game collapse made the sky fall in Happy Valley well after the final whistle. Here’s what our staff has to say about some social media reactions following Matt Campbell’s first Penn State loss.

The Loss Is A Fireable Offense For Matt Campbell

Cadyn Gill: Oh please. Was it a maddeningly frustrating loss plagued with fixable mistakes? Yes. But in reality, Campbell was never going to be perfect for Penn State, and damn sure wasn’t going to be in year one.

However, it is extremely worrisome that Campbell preached all offseason about being ready to battle adversity and not let it fester into losses like the Wisconsin game.

The adversity was Koby Howard’s injury. It was Rocco Becht’s interception on the Nittany Lions’ first play of the second half. It was the Colton Joseph-to-Eugene Hilton Jr. touchdown that brought Wisconsin within one score with three minutes to play.

Those were the moments of adversity Campbell and his team should have been ready to respond to in order to stay undefeated. Instead, they repeatedly failed to regain control of what was thought to be an unloseable game, and now, they’ll likely be on the outside looking in as far as the college football playoffs go.

Jamie Lynch: Campbell was hired for a very specific reason: to win “big games,” and one day, hopefully, lead Penn State to a National Championship.

There were risks associated with firing James Franklin, a man who had coached Penn State to three consecutive 10-win seasons prior to the 2025 debacle. One of those risks was consistency in early-season matchups, being able to knock out lower-caliber opponents before taking on the big boys.

However, Franklin was terrible at rebounding after losses. Whether it was the Ohio State hangover from losses to Michigan State in 2017 and 2018, or the entire 2020, 2021, and 2025 seasons, Franklin’s squads were rarely equipped to handle adversity.

That’s why I’m so excited to watch this team play on Friday in Evanston, Illinois.

I can almost guarantee that Penn State would lose this game against the Wildcats if Franklin were still the coach. If Campbell can make the proper adjustments from the Wisconsin letdown and string together an impressive performance and victory, it will be clear to me that Pat Kraft hired the right man.

Oscar Orellana: Yes, it was horrible. No, it is not a fireable offense.

Anybody calling for Campbell’s head after one game simply does not know ball. Give him a break.

Northwestern Is Now The Biggest Game Of Campbell’s Career

Cadyn Gill: I see the parallels to James Franklin’s unraveling after losing to Oregon and UCLA back-to-back in 2025, but to call Penn State’s squabble with Northwestern the biggest game of Campbell’s career when he’s played in a conference championship is just stupid and dramatic.

The brutal truth is that Penn State isn’t as good as some expected, so accept the lowered stakes that come with that. This season will be teeming with growing pains as Campbell lays an entirely new foundation in Happy Valley.

Jamie Lynch: From a fan toxicity perspective? Absolutely. From a hot seat perspective? Sure. From a pure stakes perspective? The 2024 Big 12 Championship was objectively bigger. But pure stakes aren’t the defining factor in this conversation.

For the same reasons I stated in the last hot take, Campbell overcoming adversity and defeating Northwestern is pivotal if he wants to avoid the Franklin treatment. If he drops two consecutive games to unranked opponents, people will get antsy quickly and question whether Penn State went down the right path.

If the Cyclones had defeated Arizona State in 2024, they would have been in the College Football Playoff, the first berth in program history. However, nobody ever expected Iowa State to be a contender before Campbell’s arrival, so everything he did during his time in Ames, Iowa, to me, was an added bonus.

The expectations aren’t the same in State College. This game could be classified as the biggest in his career if he foresees a long future in blue and white.

Oscar Orellana: Hard disagree. I see the sentiment, but Campbell coached in two Big 12 championship games and won some upper-echelon bowls in his time at Iowa State.

Campbell knows Northwestern is now an absolute must-win after dropping the conference opener, but it isn’t the “biggest” game of his career in purely technical terms. He needs to treat it like any other game and just maintain his weekly process to try to bounce back.

Taylor Mouser Is Unfit To Be A Big Ten Coordinator

Cadyn Gill: I think unfit is too harsh. He’s unseasoned, and he’s coming from the Big 12.

Unfortunately, I do think that is to blame for the complete lack of adjustments and playbook layers he displayed against Wisconsin. Specifically, the four straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter were inexcusable.

It feels like his offense truly doesn’t do anything it does at a high level, and it has no identity.

For example, Wisconsin’s offense is built on Joseph as a rushing quarterback, forcing defenses to devote extra attention to his legs. That opens the playbook up with run-pass options and lets them manipulate defenders into favorable matchups.

Mouser’s offense hasn’t demonstrated that at all, and I believe that’s why Becht struggled against the Badgers.

Something that worried me at the time, and worries me even more now, is Mouser saying on September 15 that “85-90%” of the offense had been shown. That was after Marshall and Temple, and in neither game did I see any sort of identity or schematic intent. It felt like it was a “my guys are better than yours” approach that obviously wouldn’t work against better teams.

I’m a firm believer in the expression “X’s and O’s beat Jimmy’s and Joe’s”. Manipulating defenses with motion, timing, and unique route concepts is so important with the increasingly level playing field from NIL, and I fear Mouser hasn’t showcased any of those nuances.

Simply put, he must learn from the awful outing against Wisconsin and not allow it to happen again, or else some conversations will have to be had in December.

Jamie Lynch: He pounds beers at hockey games; of course, he’s fit for the Big Ten. I’m only kidding (kinda).

I’m gonna echo most of Cadyn’s sentiment here. Mouser has not put forth anything all that exciting this season, but at the same time, I think Penn State fans should have had more tempered expectations about the hiring in the first place.

In his two years as offensive coordinator at Iowa State, Mouser oversaw the ninth-ranked total offense in the conference on both occasions. Last season, the Cyclones were No. 13 in the conference in explosive plays, per CFBTrack.

I didn’t mind Campbell bringing someone over whom he felt comfortable with for his first season in Happy Valley. But with the athletic department pledging to commit a $17 million pool for hiring a football staff, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Mouser gone at the end of the year if what we saw against Wisconsin persists.

I do think the young coordinator can find his place in the Big Ten. Time will tell if that place is Penn State.

Oscar Orellana: Taylor Mouser is only 35. He spent 10 seasons with Campbell at Iowa State before joining along the move to Happy Valley, including the last two as the Cyclones’ offensive coordinator.

I, like many others, can acknowledge the fact that Mouser hasn’t made adjustments to get more out of the run game and make the offense more explosive as a whole. I also think he didn’t properly prepare for the massive hole left by Howard’s absence.

But I also think it’s outrageous to say he doesn’t deserve to be a Big Ten coordinator. He’s young and still learning. Campbell clearly trusts him and has consistently dubbed Mouser one of the best offensive minds in the country. Relax on him. Let’s see the entire season fold out before making harsh proclamations like this.

The Penn State Offense Is Doomed Until Koby Howard Returns

Cadyn Gill: I would love to know how Penn State’s offense would have looked with Howard in the lineup against the Badgers because we could have confirmed at least one of two things: either Howard is truly a difference-maker and brings a Jeremiah Smith-level impact to Penn State’s passing attack, or Mouser doesn’t have an effective scheme and simply beat up on really bad programs in the first three weeks.

Either one would have been great to know. Instead, we’re just standing here upset and confused.

Jamie Lynch: I’m still holding out hope for some of the young wideouts on this team, and I want to see guys like Zay Robinson get more targets.

That being said, I have my fair share of concerns about some of the more seasoned players that were non-existent last week. I’m looking at you, Brett Eskildsen.

It’s clear Howard’s injury leaves a hole in this offense, but it’s really hard for me to make a judgment on whether the unit is “doomed” until the Northwestern game. That has more to do with coaching adjustments than anything, as I’d like to believe Campbell and Mouser will learn from the shortcomings of the Wisconsin game and make the proper personnel adjustments.

Oscar Orellana: I can’t say that I have much confidence in anybody outside of Benjamin Brahmer, Chase Sowell, or James Peoples for explosiveness with Howard out.

The Penn State offense and Rocco Becht distanced themselves from Brahmer against Wisconsin after he had an extremely productive first quarter, which didn’t make much sense. Sowell was the only receiver to receive a pass, but he looked good with 7- yards. I think Peoples should be Penn State’s RB1, but who knows if that will even happen at this point.

Even with those three, I still think it’ll be a rough few weeks as Howard recuperates if there aren’t adjustments made.

D’Anton Lynn Should Take The Majority Of The Blame

Cadyn Gill: Did we watch the same game? Don’t even factor in how well they did at containing the mobile Joseph; D’Anton Lynn’s defense spotting the blue-and-white offense three extra possessions was enough on its own. This is a horrible take.

Jamie Lynch: I don’t necessarily agree with this take, but I can understand where it’s coming from.

Penn State’s inability to finish plays in the backfield has been a season-long theme. In the first three games, the Nittany Lions generated just five sacks on 50 pressures. Against Buffalo, 18 pressures resulted in just one sack. It was clear that the pass rush would be unsustainable come Big Ten play, and nothing was done to address the issue.

Despite nearly getting to Joseph on numerous occasions, Penn State took him to the ground just once, and the Badgers were able to turn quarterback hurries into completions and extended drives.

Then there’s the issue of Marcus Neal Jr., a player who has not been known for his success in off-man coverage. Lo and behold, Neal was burned on the Wisconsin touchdown that cut the lead to 20-17, a play that once again showcased his weakness.

That being said, the offensive playcalling was borderline atrocious. Multiple runs of the football on 3rd-and-long situations did not help Penn State’s cause, and bringing Manske into the game, only for the offense to commit a false start before removing him, was straight out of the Andy Kotelnicki playbook. It didn’t help that Becht was having the worst game of his career, either.

At the end of the day, the defense accounted for three interceptions and kept Penn State in the game. Could Lynn have made some adjustments? Yes. Does he deserve the majority of the blame? No.

Oscar Orellana: The defense had three picks. The offense continuously gave the ball back behind horrible clock management and play calling. It did not take advantage of the turnovers.

Lynn’s unit could not get off the field. That isn’t their fault. Wisconsin should never have even had the chance to come back in those final two drives if the offense had just done its job and worked the clock. At that point, it just felt like the Badgers’ win was destiny.

There’s no use in pointing fingers, but this is not Lynn’s fault in the slightest.