Penn State football: 3 takeaways on 34-13 loss vs Northwestern

Penn State is staring at a lost season after a second straight loss, this time by a 34-13 score Friday night against Northwestern on the road.

With the loss, PSU drops to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten. Here are three takeaways from the defeat.

QB Alex Manske should start next week’s White Out

This may feel like an overreaction. But, at this point, the Nittany Lions are staring in the face of a lost season, and the team’s best bet is to figure out what it has moving forward.

Rocco Becht was off-target and out of rhythm from the opening kick and never really improved. His pass catchers were consistently getting open and he usually had time to throw, so it’s hard to blame the rest of the offense or the play calls. Becht is a veteran who has earned head coach Matt Campbell’s trust, but that can only take him so far. The Nittany Lions are in need of a boost, and Manske has a chance to provide that. Maybe he won’t but, at this point, it can’t hurt to find out.

Run defense is a massive issue

Penn State’s defensive tackles are very different from those the program has had in recent memory, but it hasn’t mattered much. They’re bigger and stronger than they were under James Franklin but still got decimated by the Northwestern running game — with the Wildcats basically running a high school offense in the Wing T. In the first half alone, the Nittany Lions allowed more than 200 rushing yards. (Northwestern finished with 413 rushing yards in the game.)

The team’s linebackers weren’t doing much to help, but the defensive interior was consistently allowing the Northwestern running backs to get to the second level without much issue. Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn has generally done well at adjusting and taking away what an opponent does well, but his defense was a massive problem against the Wildcats and calls into question what the best path forward is.

Passivity will continue to lose the Nittany Lions games

It wasn’t the only reason they lost, but Campbell’s continued passive decision-making on fourth down is going to keep costing Penn State games. The head coach gave the ball back to Northwestern multiple times in the first half when his team was behind and in need of points with a manageable fourth down.

It’s one thing to play it safe on 50-50 decisions, but it seems as if Campbell’s natural instinct is more old school when it comes to fourth downs. That’s going to put Penn State at a disadvantage against most of its opponents this season — until he shifts his philosophy, which is a lot to ask for a coach who has been leading programs for well over a decade.

This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 11:38 PM.