No. 18 Penn State crushes Marshall in coach Matt Campbell's debut

Field Level Media|published: Sat 5th September, 19:18 2026

Sep 5, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Brett Eskildsen (4) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Rocco Becht threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns as No. 18 Penn State opened the Matt Campbell era with a 45-0 romp over Marshall on Saturday at University Park, Pa., in the teams' season opener.

Becht, who arrived with Campbell from Iowa State, completed 13 of 18 passes without an interception, getting Penn State off to a quick start with touchdown passes on two of the Nittany Lions' first three possessions.

Koby Howard caught six passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, while Iowa State transfers Brett Eskildsen, Ben Brahmer and Zay Robinson each caught scoring passes.

Quinton Martin and Cam Wallace contributed 6-yard touchdown carries in the second half for the Nittany Lions, who amassed 487 yards compared to 147 for the Thundering Herd.

After going 72-55 in 10 seasons at Iowa State, Campbell replaced 12-year head coach James Franklin, who was fired in the middle of a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025.

Marshall struggled to generate offense against a defense led by Caleb Bacon and Tony Rojas, who each had a sack and combined for five tackles for a loss.

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson completed 17 of 25 passes for 102 yards and rushed for 30 yards for Marshall. Toby Payne added eight catches for 55 yards.

Marshall's deepest penetration was to the Penn State 34 and ended with a wide 52-yard field goal attempt to close the first half.

Penn State played a nearly flawless first quarter, taking a 17-0 lead before Marshall got a first down.

Ryan Barker put the Nittany Lions up with a 38-yard field goal to cap the opening possession, then Howard made it 10-0 when he scored on a crossing route that covered 42 yards.

Eskildsen followed, taking a wide receiver screen to the end zone on a 25-yard play that gave Penn State a 17-0 lead with 4:49 left in the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions used an 87-yard drive, highlighted by a 42-yard reception by Howard, to take a 24-0 lead. Brahmer, a 6-foot-7 tight end, capped the march with an 8-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone.

On Penn State's first possession of the second half, Robinson scored on a 39-yard touchdown reception to boost the lead to 31-0.

With that, Campbell replaced Becht with another Iowa State import, Alex Manske, who completed passes on his first four snaps to fuel a 54-yard touchdown drive.

It was the teams' third meeting and first since 1930.

--Field Level Media

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