New coach, same story. For the second straight year, Penn State football is 3-3 at the start of the season.

Despite coming close in 2024, the Nittany Lions have not won a national championship in 40 seasons. Generations of fans have been starved by decades of shortcomings and a constant failure to meet the sky-high expectations of the blue and white faithful.

With Penn State once again sitting unranked, it begs the question: is the standard for success in Happy Valley too high?

Two of our staffers debated whether fans should lower the bar for Penn State’s most historic program.

Jake Speicher: Yes, Fans Should Temper Expectations

Some might see the statement, “Penn State’s definition of success needs to change,” and dismiss it as a reactionary claim made in the heat of frustration or anger.

But the reality is that Penn State football’s issues run deeper than a few bad seasons. Until those issues are fixed, or at least we take the first steps to fix them, Penn State football fans need to lower our expectations of modern-day Penn State football as a perennial top-10 team with aspirations of winning a national championship.

This modern expectation, of course, truly began in 2016, at the beginning of the James Franklin era. In a thrilling season, Franklin and Penn State rode an upset of No. 2 Ohio State to a Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl appearance.

This season ended the early-2010s ups and downs and turned Penn State into an annual New Year’s Six bowl and later College Football Playoff threat.

Fans grew accustomed to 10-win seasons under Franklin, and while his exit left a bad taste in most fans’ mouths, the problems go deeper than Franklin or new coach Matt Campbell, more than most want to admit.

As fans, we have to admit that installing a new culture will take time.

Penn State’s one black mark, even during periods of success, is that the team couldn’t win “the big one,” beating Ohio State, Michigan, or any top-10 team Penn State played in a given season.

The start of Campbell’s first season showed it will be hard to meet even baseline expectations. The reason, however, is that those expectations were too high to begin with.

As fans, knowing how things went last season and recognizing the massive changes to the team, the coaching staff, and the transfer portal, we have no right to be furious that Penn State isn’t suddenly competing for a national title just because that’s what it used to do.

Building on that, roster turnover is quickly eroding Penn State’s identity.

After starting 0-3 in conference play in 2026, it’s clear the defense cannot compete with physical Big Ten offenses, and the team as a whole lacks big-game talent and the clutchness needed to compete in the conference.

With a massive roster upheaval, it’s harder to build that culture.

Most importantly, the new landscape of college football in the NIL age will likely be a major roadblock to Penn State’s recruiting for the foreseeable future.

The Nittany Lions face a much bigger financial gap than the Big Ten and SEC schools they’re trying to match.

For example, Penn State didn’t even make the top five in Big Ten NIL spending this season, according to The Athletic. In this day and age, when recruits will always gravitate to the highest bidder, Penn State will struggle to attract top-tier talent.

The harsh reality is that it seems easy and logical to blame Penn State’s struggles on Campbell, Franklin, quarterback Rocco Becht, athletic director Pat Kraft, or offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, but none of them are to blame.

Or at least not on their own. It’s a bigger identity and financial issue that, unfortunately, may take years to recover from.

I hate to sound so incredibly negative, and there will certainly be ups on this rollercoaster, but in the meantime, fans just need a bit more patience.

Enjoy what you can in a 6- or 7-win season, and before we know it, we’ll be back in the Rose Bowl.

Jamie Lynch: No, Fans Should Demand Excellence

Every fan of every team should demand the most out of their program.

Settling for mediocrity breeds complacency, and tempering expectations can affect where an athletic department chooses to invest its money.

We can talk about Penn State’s history and debate its blue-blood status all we want. The reality is, Penn State averaged nearly nine wins over 46 seasons under Joe Paterno, and slightly below that threshold in 12 seasons under Franklin. 

These numbers are well above average, and despite the lack of championships, there have been plenty of historically worse teams who have found more recent success.

But I don’t think the teams of Penn State’s past should even matter when talking about standards. In fact, I think the modern landscape of college football has made it less relevant than ever, and perhaps even given fans a reason to demand more.

Everyone knows the story of Indiana.

The Hoosiers were the losingest team in the history of college football before the university nailed a coaching hire that changed the course of the program, sparking a flash rebuild that would carry it all the way to a national championship.

In an era of NIL and revenue, teams can change the narrative on a dime. I’m not saying Indiana’s situation was the norm, but finding quick success could generate more donor support and, in turn, sustained success.

Penn State’s biggest problem isn’t coaching; it’s NIL. Despite having the second-largest alumni base in the country, behind — wouldn’t you know it — Indiana, it consistently ranks low nationally in donor contributions. 

So for the folks complaining that we need to lower our standards, maybe point the finger elsewhere and ask why a university with such broad reach is failing to compete in an area where Penn State should have an advantage.

This season, I don’t think anyone expected Campbell to run the table in his first year. He wasn’t given the opportunity to sign a true recruiting class or construct the roster.

Fans must give him time to acclimate, but time and standards aren’t the same thing.

In no world should Penn State be a .500 football program. It’s fair to be restless and critical of another subpar start while still accepting the fact that we are in the midst of change. 

This is especially hard when we watch schools like UCLA start the season undefeated under new leadership.

Ultimately, a program is judged by the expectations it has created for itself and the potential it has to meet them. A fan base should always push the standard one step higher than the norm. 

No coach, record, or amount of money will ever be enough until Penn State can reach the college football summit. That’s why we play the game after all, right?