Obligatory PSU Pregame Show - Blue-White preview

ftbtfn said:
Back for Season 11

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Those guys are entertaining.

Horne says he knew we were going to lose every big game under Franklin and most the guys agreed. They talk about how everybody's sphincter was tight from Franklin on down. Most fans were like Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch thinking this is the year but somehow we always found a way to blow a Q4 lead and lose a close game. USC blew a 15 pt lead. Twice blew 2 score leads to lose to OSU by 1. DB falls down to lost vs Michigan. DBs run into each other to let ND back in the game followed by a horrible INT. It was painful to watch.

It's sad to hear Tengwall say that this is the least talented PSU team since the sanction years. Unfortunately he might be correct and this year could be the best of the next 3 if recruiting + portal doesn't improve. QB Becht, RB Hansen, WR Sowell, TE Brahmer, LB Bacon, CBs Wheatley & Tracy, etc are all seniors so next year could be more of a rebuilding project than this year. That's why this year is so important IMO. Success breeds success and it's going to be difficult to attract top talent in 2027/2028 if we go 7-6 this year.
 
bdroc said:
Those guys are entertaining.

Horne says he knew we were going to lose every big game under Franklin and most the guys agreed. They talk about how everybody's sphincter was tight from Franklin on down. Most fans were like Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch thinking this is the year but somehow we always found a way to blow a Q4 lead and lose a close game. USC blew a 15 pt lead. Twice blew 2 score leads to lose to OSU by 1. DB falls down to lost vs Michigan. DBs run into each other to let ND back in the game followed by a horrible INT. It was painful to watch.

It's sad to hear Tengwall say that this is the least talented PSU team since the sanction years. Unfortunately he might be correct and this year could be the best of the next 3 if recruiting + portal doesn't improve. QB Becht, RB Hansen, WR Sowell, TE Brahmer, LB Bacon, CBs Wheatley & Tracy, etc are all seniors so next year could be more of a rebuilding project than this year. That's why this year is so important IMO. Success breeds success and it's going to be difficult to attract top talent in 2027/2028 if we go 7-6 this year.
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Tengwall should be a reliable source for a roster evaluation but I don't agree with him. Experienced QB's are an advantage and Becht was highly rated by the transfer portal evaluators, although not a 5 star athlete. Every position has talent at the top of it as PSU teams usually do. Sure there's not much super young talent as a good bit of the 2025 class left and the 2026 class wasn't what PSU usually gets. But Campbell did a decent job in the portal and he seems to have some experienced depth at every position largely due to players he brought from ISU but with some key additions otherwise such as Peoples at RB and the big DT's. I just went down the roster again and see depth at every position, including at QB with Connor Barry. And CB is loaded, along with TE and the OL. The weakest positions seem like WR and DE, but those positions do have some decent talent at the top, Granville and kemajou at DE and the ISU transfers and Howard along with some returning unknowns (Gonzalez, Samuel, and the transfer Robinson) at WR.

I'm surprised that some on the above pre practice video mention a legit possibility of a losing record. To me the roster still looks superior to at least two-thirds of the Big10 teams and there are 3 gimmie OOC games.

I do agree that 2027 will be challenging, but Campbell should have some ready to play 2027 freshmen and he'll have a much better idea of what he needs from the transfer portal as well as how to sell portal players on coming to PSU.
 
GregInPitt said:
Tengwall should be a reliable source for a roster evaluation but I don't agree with him. Experienced QB's are an advantage and Becht was highly rated by the transfer portal evaluators, although not a 5 star athlete. Every position has talent at the top of it as PSU teams usually do. Sure there's not much super young talent as a good bit of the 2025 class left and the 2026 class wasn't what PSU usually gets. But Campbell did a decent job in the portal and he seems to have some experienced depth at every position largely due to players he brought from ISU but with some key additions otherwise such as Peoples at RB and the big DT's. I just went down the roster again and see depth at every position, including at QB with Connor Barry. And CB is loaded, along with TE and the OL. The weakest positions seem like WR and DE, but those positions do have some decent talent at the top, Granville and kemajou at DE and the ISU transfers and Howard along with some returning unknowns (Gonzalez, Samuel, and the transfer Robinson) at WR.

I'm surprised that some on the above pre practice video mention a legit possibility of a losing record. To me the roster still looks superior to at least two-thirds of the Big10 teams and there are 3 gimmie OOC games.

I do agree that 2027 will be challenging, but Campbell should have some ready to play 2027 freshmen and he'll have a much better idea of what he needs from the transfer portal as well as how to sell portal players on coming to PSU.
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I think some of their talk was talking down the expectations so that we can over-deliver. That's my take. Yes, on paper there are many fewer 5 and high 4 stars. But I do think that you are correct that most positions have pretty good talent at the top of the depth chart. Maybe we have fewer elite stars, but I think we'll play better as a team. Last year a lot of guys looked like they had been reading their headlines all off season. This year, I think likely their heads are down getting to work.
 
GregInPitt said:
Tengwall should be a reliable source for a roster evaluation but I don't agree with him. Experienced QB's are an advantage and Becht was highly rated by the transfer portal evaluators, although not a 5 star athlete. Every position has talent at the top of it as PSU teams usually do. Sure there's not much super young talent as a good bit of the 2025 class left and the 2026 class wasn't what PSU usually gets. But Campbell did a decent job in the portal and he seems to have some experienced depth at every position largely due to players he brought from ISU but with some key additions otherwise such as Peoples at RB and the big DT's. I just went down the roster again and see depth at every position, including at QB with Connor Barry. And CB is loaded, along with TE and the OL. The weakest positions seem like WR and DE, but those positions do have some decent talent at the top, Granville and kemajou at DE and the ISU transfers and Howard along with some returning unknowns (Gonzalez, Samuel, and the transfer Robinson) at WR.

I'm surprised that some on the above pre practice video mention a legit possibility of a losing record. To me the roster still looks superior to at least two-thirds of the Big10 teams and there are 3 gimmie OOC games.

I do agree that 2027 will be challenging, but Campbell should have some ready to play 2027 freshmen and he'll have a much better idea of what he needs from the transfer portal as well as how to sell portal players on coming to PSU.
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I agree about the experienced QB and our chances for a reasonably good season against a weak schedule. I've been predicting 9-3.

The problem is the 2026 class was ranked 43rd by 247 and that includes the Iowa State transfers. To make matters worse most of the top transfers like Sowell, Becht, and Brahmer are in their final year of eligibility. None of the early commits for 2027 are ranked higher than 90. Campbell is going to need an amazing portal class in order to keep PSU competitive in 2027.
 
I do think we will need an infusion of talent likely mostly from the portal for 2027. There isn't enough top young talent waiting in the wings unless we have some major surprises (could happen). But there are lots of starters for 2026 that will be in their final year.

Analyzing a schedule 2 seasons out is tough because you don't know how other teams will project. But starting the year with Syracuse isn't the same as a D2 or non-power conference team. Starting the conference slate @Illinois could be tricky if the talent is limited. @Indiana, @Oregon, and Michigan all could be probable losses. Don't know yet what we get out of Wisconsin, Purdue, Mich St, and Washington but there is a chance 2 of those 4 could be pretty decent. Yes, I didn't mention Maryland because it's Maryland.
 
LudicrousSpeedGO! said:
I do think we will need an infusion of talent likely mostly from the portal for 2027. There isn't enough top young talent waiting in the wings unless we have some major surprises (could happen). But there are lots of starters for 2026 that will be in their final year.

Analyzing a schedule 2 seasons out is tough because you don't know how other teams will project. But starting the year with Syracuse isn't the same as a D2 or non-power conference team. Starting the conference slate @Illinois could be tricky if the talent is limited. @Indiana, @Oregon, and Michigan all could be probable losses. Don't know yet what we get out of Wisconsin, Purdue, Mich St, and Washington but there is a chance 2 of those 4 could be pretty decent. Yes, I didn't mention Maryland because it's Maryland.
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2027 Schedule

Syracuse
Maine
Temple
@ Illinois
@ Indiana
@ Oregon
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
@ Purdue
@ Washington
@ Wisconsin

We better beat Syracuse because we could be lucky to win one of the next three. If we lose to Michigan we still have Michigan State, Washington, and Wisconsin as toss ups. 8-4 would be great unless we have a huge talented portal class. The way Kraft handled the Franklin firing left the cupboards bare and I expect a minimum of 3 years to recover.
 
bdroc said:
2027 Schedule

Syracuse
Maine
Temple
@ Illinois
@ Indiana
@ Oregon
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
@ Purdue
@ Washington
@ Wisconsin

We better beat Syracuse because we could be lucky to win one of the next three. If we lose to Michigan we still have Michigan State, Washington, and Wisconsin as toss ups. 8-4 would be great unless we have a huge talented portal class. The way Kraft handled the Franklin firing left the cupboards bare and I expect a minimum of 3 years to recover.
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What I don't understand is how do we get 6 of 9 B1G opponents away? I thought that was not permitted, that they fight very hard to balance the home/away such that schools don't end up with only 6 home games in a season. 6 home games in 2027 is really going to hurt State College's economy.
 
So we get 5 home, 4 away games in 2026
3 home, 6 away games in 2027
5 home, 4away games in 2028

Why the extra away game in 2027? I checked the 2026/27/28 schedules for several other B1G teams and saw no instance where they didn't go 5 home, 4 home in alternating years.
 
bdroc said:
I agree about the experienced QB and our chances for a reasonably good season against a weak schedule. I've been predicting 9-3.

The problem is the 2026 class was ranked 43rd by 247 and that includes the Iowa State transfers. To make matters worse most of the top transfers like Sowell, Becht, and Brahmer are in their final year of eligibility. None of the early commits for 2027 are ranked higher than 90. Campbell is going to need an amazing portal class in order to keep PSU competitive in 2027.
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Yes, Campbell will need to bring in talent from the transfer portal more so for the 2027 season than what he would like if he has inherited a more fully stocked roster. That's just what happens with coaching changes in the transfer portal era, but there is talent at every position to build around on the current roster that can return for 2027.

Talent likely to still be at PSU for 2027. Strongest positions look to be CB, Safety, OL. WR could surprise if a couple of the young WR's break out in 2026.
CB: Dixon, Joseph, Johnson and Thomas will be 3rd year players, and Zayas, Chatman and Sowel will be 2nd year players.
Safety: Toure, Davis, McDaniels, Neal, Askew, Williams
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Burnett, Arrington, Ford and likely McPherson
DT: Brewer, Andrews, Cook, and possibly Carnell, Blanding, Nnodim, Vakalahi
LB: Tatsch, Smith, Brezena, Feleppo, Kaiser and likely Brezina (assuming Rojas goes to the NFL)
OL: Goodman, Sexton, Harbour, Aliciene, Fiker, Kuol, Ikakourla, Thomkins, Bandhauer, and possibly Cousins, Onoh, Buhr (Donkoh to NFL)
TE: Kortovich, Alexander (Rapp to NFL)
WR: Howard, Samuel, Brookins, Gonzalez, Jones, Robinson, Whitver, Jackson, and possibly Eskildson
RB: Martin, Peoples, Wallace (RB is a position where talented true freshmen can contribute)
QB: Manske, Evans, Falzone,

I fully expect Campbell and his staff to bring in some key 2027 contributors from the transfer portal (DT, LB and TE particularly). And we could also see some true freshmen play in 2027, possibly at DE, LB, TE, WR and RB. Campbell and his staff seem to have build some nice momentum with the 2027 and I expect a big class (up to 30 players) that will provide some talented depth in 2027 and some 2028 starters)
 
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GregInPitt said:
I believe the Washington game is at home. The 9 game B10 scheduling alternates between 4 home, 5 away, and 5 home, 4 away. No teams get 6 away games in a year.



Yes, Campbell will need to bring in talent from the transfer portal more so for the 2027 season than what he would like if he has inherited a more fully stocked roster. That's just what happens with coaching changes in the transfer portal era, but there is talent at every position to build around on the current roster that can return for 2027.

Talent likely to still be at PSU for 2027.
CB: Dixon, Joseph, Johnson and Thomas will be 3rd year players, and Zayas, Chatman and Sowel will be 2nd year players.
Safety: Toure, Davis, McDaniels, Neal, Askew, Williams
DE: Granville, Kemajou, Burnett, Arrington, Ford and likely McPherson
DT: Brewer, Andrews, Cook, and possibly Carnell, Blanding, Nnodim, Vakalahi
LB: Tatsch, Smith, Brezena, Feleppo, Kaiser and likely Brezina (assuming Rojas goes to the NFL)
OL: Goodman, Sexton, Harbour, Aliciene, Fiker, Kuol, Ikakourla, Thomkins, Bandhauer, and possibly Cousins, Onoh, Buhr (Donkoh to NFL)
TE: Kortovich, Alexander (Rapp to NFL)
WR: Howard, Samuel, Brookins, Gonzalez, Jones, Robinson, Whitver, Jackson, and possibly Eskildson
RB: Martin, Peoples, Wallace (RB is a position where talented true freshmen can contribute)
QB: Manske, Evans, Falzone,

I fully expect Campbell and his staff to bring in some key 2027 contributors from the transfer portal (DT, LB and TE particularly). And we could also see some true freshmen play in 2027, possibly at DE, LB, TE, WR and RB. Caplayers mpbell and his staff seem to have build some nice momentum with the 2027 and I expect a big class (up to 30 players) that will provide some depth in 2027 and some 2028 starters)
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Absolutely. There's no other path. Players leave, gaps will need to be filled, and if the talent is not already on the roster, players will be brought in from somewhere else. A natural occurrence with no regulation.
 
bdroc said:
2027 Schedule

Syracuse
Maine
Temple
@ Illinois
@ Indiana
@ Oregon
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
@ Purdue
@ Washington
@ Wisconsin

We better beat Syracuse because we could be lucky to win one of the next three. If we lose to Michigan we still have Michigan State, Washington, and Wisconsin as toss ups. 8-4 would be great unless we have a huge talented portal class. The way Kraft handled the Franklin firing left the cupboards bare and I expect a minimum of 3 years to recover.
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I believe the Washington game is a home game.

The 9 game B10 scheduling alternates between 4 home, 5 away, and 5 home, 4 away. No teams get 6 away games in a year.
 
GregInPitt said:
Tengwall should be a reliable source for a roster evaluation but I don't agree with him. Experienced QB's are an advantage and Becht was highly rated by the transfer portal evaluators, although not a 5 star athlete. Every position has talent at the top of it as PSU teams usually do. Sure there's not much super young talent as a good bit of the 2025 class left and the 2026 class wasn't what PSU usually gets. But Campbell did a decent job in the portal and he seems to have some experienced depth at every position largely due to players he brought from ISU but with some key additions otherwise such as Peoples at RB and the big DT's. I just went down the roster again and see depth at every position, including at QB with Connor Barry. And CB is loaded, along with TE and the OL. The weakest positions seem like WR and DE, but those positions do have some decent talent at the top, Granville and kemajou at DE and the ISU transfers and Howard along with some returning unknowns (Gonzalez, Samuel, and the transfer Robinson) at WR.

I'm surprised that some on the above pre practice video mention a legit possibility of a losing record. To me the roster still looks superior to at least two-thirds of the Big10 teams and there are 3 gimmie OOC games.

I do agree that 2027 will be challenging, but Campbell should have some ready to play 2027 freshmen and he'll have a much better idea of what he needs from the transfer portal as well as how to sell portal players on coming to PSU.
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I don't think Barry will be the back-up. I believe Manske will win that in fall camp and Barry will be #3. I wonder if Falzone is rethinking his desire to be a QB. He is athletic and could probably be a really good WR, ala Becker @ IU. Similiar size/weight and Falzone is probably more athletic. Campbell indicated Falzone is a very good runner. That could possibly translate to YAC as a WR.
 
RickinDayton said:
I don't think Barry will be the back-up. I believe Manske will win that in fall camp and Barry will be #3. I wonder if Falzone is rethinking his desire to be a QB. He is athletic and could probably be a really good WR, ala Becker @ IU. Similiar size/weight and Falzone is probably more athletic. Campbell indicated Falzone is a very good runner. That could possibly translate to YAC as a WR.
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I'm in the camp that still believes Barry has a 50-50 chance to be the PSU 2026 backup QB. Experience is a big plus for a backup QB and Barry has loads more of it than Manske who basically missed all of Spring practice, part of it by recovering at his home and not even being able to attend team and the QB meetings.

I didn't attent the B/W event but I seem to remember from something I read about it that Falzone may have come out off the Spring ahead of the other true freshman QB Evans. Anyone know anything about what transpired regarding the competition between Falzone and Evans for the #2 Spring practice QB depth spot (i.e. with Becht and Manske out) ??
 
GregInPitt said:
I'm in the camp that still believes Barry has a 50-50 chance to be the PSU 2026 backup QB. Experience is a big plus for a backup QB and Barry has loads more of it than Manske who basically missed all of Spring practice, part of it by recovering at his home and not even being able to attend team and the QB meetings.

I didn't attent the B/W event but I seem to remember from something I read about it that Falzone may have come out off the Spring ahead of the other true freshman QB Evans. Anyone know anything about what transpired regarding the competition between Falzone and Evans for the #2 Spring practice QB depth spot (i.e. with Becht and Manske out) ??
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The reports that I read from the BW practice indicated Barry, Falzone, and Evans all struggled throwing in the rain and Barry had a few issues when pressured. But Becht had no issues throwing a wet ball. Manske probably knows the playbook based on his time at ISU. We shall see. Always appreciate your views.
 
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