Penn State football is winless through two Big Ten games for the second consecutive year despite a new coaching staff.

The Nittany Lion faithful had high hopes for Matt Campbell’s first season. Some expected Penn State to take advantage of the weaker-than-usual schedule and maybe sneak into the Big Ten Championship or the College Football Playoff.

Neither of those objectives seem reasonable for the Nittany Lions anymore following backbreaking losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern.

But were they ever really in the cards?

“The reality of it is, I’m not surprised. You’re trying to morph offensive schemes, you’re trying to morph team, you’re trying to morph culture together, and it’s a growth process,” Campbell said Tuesday. “And the reality of it is, we have to be better, and it starts with my leadership.”

Penn State played arguably its worst game of the decade against the Wildcats in primetime on Friday.

The Nittany Lions let up 413 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, the third-worst mark in program history. However, Penn State fans shouldn’t have been surprised by Northwestern’s dominance at the line of scrimmage.

The transplant of Iowa State players in Campbell’s roster overhaul showed signs of immense struggle against Wisconsin. The transition to Big Ten play is proving to be a steep hurdle in the team’s development.

“There is a little bit of a process of those guys getting back to where we need them to play with the physicality, the detail … Those aren’t excuses, and that happens to every team in the country,” Campbell said. “The reality is we have to continue to find a way, and we’re making sure simplicity equals velocity. How do we keep simplifying to allow our guys to play fast and confident right now?”

That lack of physicality has seeped its way into each and every one of Penn State’s operations.

There really isn’t a standout wide receiver outside of Koby Howard, who isn’t set to return for a few weeks still. The running game has been unproductive the whole season. Rocco Becht has looked like a shell of his former self. The defense had no answers for the Wildcats.

“You can’t just pinpoint this group, or this group, or that group. The reality is we lack an identity. We lack who we want to be and where we need to be,” Campbell said. “And I think all of those things come back a little bit fundamentally … That is real, and that’s really where we are right now.”

Campbell mentioned that he is confident in the coaching staff to right the ship and get back on track soon, but Penn State really hasn’t shown anything to instill that hope in the fan base.

It’s hard to put into words just how badly the Nittany Lions were beaten on Friday.

It’s a demoralizing, season-derailing kind of loss. Some players attributed the horrid performance to a lack of intensity in practice because of the short week, but Campbell felt that Tuesday’s practice was a “step in the right direction” in erasing inconsistency.

“You’re doing that at the pace of getting ready for a really powerful opponent. That’s going to be a challenge, to all of those inconsistencies, and so, what a great opportunity for this group to really grow itself forward,” Campbell said.

All of Penn State’s issues could make it easy for Campbell to call it quits and ride out the rest of the season as best as he can before pounding the recruiting trail and crafting a true Penn State-level roster.

But Campbell doesn’t want to do that. He also can’t afford to do that. Not at Penn State. Results are expected. There’s still a whole lot of football left in 2026.

“We know what the standard of this program needs to look like and where we want it to be, and I think the frustration that is global, I think, is the same frustration we have because we don’t want to let down this fan base and we don’t want to let down our players and our coaches,” Campbell said.

Campbell and his coaching staff are only five games into their Penn State tenure. The Nittany Lions can still pull out a positive season with some big wins down the stretch.

After all, there’s still a White Out to be played the next time the Nittany Lions hit the gridiron.

If Penn State manages a win over No. 19 USC and Michigan the following week, that’d be a good stepping stone in erasing the bad taste of the last two weeks for Penn State fans.

Those are some good chances to form that “identity.”

“We’ve got an unbelievable fan base. I’m grateful for it and really appreciative for them. The great thing is they’ve been with us from day one, and my guess is they’ve always been with this program, good days and tough days,” Campbell said. “So I’m really grateful to be in a program like that.”