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Greg McElroy believes Matt Campbell could lead Penn State to Playoff in Year 1
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Greg McElroy has been paying attention to Matt Campbell from a distance for quite a while, and the college football analyst is a big believer in what the longtime Iowa State head coach has done.
What Campbell did during his decade in Ames is become the winningest head coach in Iowa State football history. Campbell reeled off a 72-55 record in his 10 seasons at Iowa State from 2016-25, and while that might not have caught the attention of the college football world on a national level, it hit McElroy hard.
Hard enough for McElroy, the former Alabama star quarterback, to declare that Campbell could very well lead Penn State to a College Football Playoff berth very soon … like, how about this season, in Year 1, in the rugged Big Ten?
Don’t think that’s really possible? Well, McElroy, who hosts a podcast called Always College Football, would beg to differ.
“It was one of those years (last year) when it was national title or bust. And it went bust in spectacular fashion,” said McElroy about Penn State’s nightmarish 2025 season before spinning it forward to Campbell and 2026.
“What did Penn State do? They went out and hired a coach that has done more with less for a very long time,” McElroy said. “Campbell rebuilt the roster in his image, bringing in one of the best transfer classes in the country, headlined by his own quarterback (from Iowa State), Rocco Becht. He brought Iowa State’s leading rusher and four leading receivers to Happy Valley with him.”
But beyond the players on the field, there is an X-factor for McElroy for why Penn State has a sneaky good chance to be a Playoff team in 2026.
“Why are they a Playoff contender? Well, one reason — the schedule. Penn State does not play Oregon, Ohio State or Indiana,” McElroy explained. “If the transfers can gel early and Matt Campbell does what he does, then the Nittany Lions could be 6-0 before they head to Ann Arbor.”
That trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan comes on Oct. 17, and if Penn State is in fact 6-0 when it heads to Michigan then McElroy might just be onto something with his preseason take on the Nittany Lions.
If McElroy believes Campbell can get Penn State to the Playoff immediately, then that means the Nittany Lions could be a factor in the Big Ten title race, too. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Penn State’s chances to shock many and capture that Big Ten championship in 2026:
