The NEW Standard For Penn State & Matt Campbell After James Franklin!

Penn State football has a new standard under Matt Campbell, and the conversation starts with what James Franklin built, where the program stalled, and what Campbell now has to prove in big games. Zach Seyko is joined by Pat Koerbler (https://x.com/Poerbler) of Black Shoe Diaries to discuss Campbell’s expectations, Franklin’s legacy, Steve Sarkisian’s comments about Penn State, and whether the Nittany Lions made the right move. Topics include Matt Campbell’s first-year pressure, Penn State’s big-game struggles under James Franklin, Steve Sarkisian criticizing the Franklin firing, the importance of Michigan, USC, Washington and the White Out game, and ESPN’s comparison of Rocco Becht to Sean Clifford. Zach and Pat also discuss Rocco Becht’s fit, Penn State’s quarterback history with Trace McSorley, Sean Clifford, Drew Allar and Christian Hackenberg, plus what Becht needs around him to succeed. This conversation matters now because Penn State did not make a major coaching change to stay in the same place. The Nittany Lions do not need Campbell to win a national championship immediately, but they do need proof that the program can win the games that define Big Ten and College Football Playoff contention. What should the standard be for Matt Campbell at Penn State: 10 wins, a big-game win, a Big Ten title appearance, or something else? Drop your thoughts in the comments and subscribe to Locked On Nittany Lions for daily Penn State football coverage. Become an every-dayer! Subscribe to Locked On Nittany Lions on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lockedonnittanylions?sub\_confirmation=1 Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast   Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LONittanyLions?sid=YouTube Locked On College Conferences, HBCU, Basketball & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnCollege Follow the show on X! https://x.com/LockedOnNittany https://x.com/zach\_seyko #lockedonnittanylions #pennstate #nittanylions #pennstatefootball #collegefootball #bigtenfootball #ncaafootball #lockedon #weare #football #recruiting #footballrecruiting #pennstaterecruiting #collegerecruiting #collegefootballrecruiting #weare #highschoolfootball 0:00 Matt Campbell’s Penn State standard 1:34 Big-game wins define the next era 4:33 Penn State’s 2025 collapse changed everything 6:21 Michigan, USC and Washington as Campbell’s first tests 8:05 What kind of 9-3 season would fans accept? 9:51 Penn State had to take the risk 10:40 Ad Break 12:25 Why Franklin’s Penn State tenure had run its course 13:09 Sarkisian’s Penn State criticism misses context 15:39 Would Texas have tolerated Franklin’s results? 18:38 UCLA and Northwestern made Franklin’s exit unavoidable 19:43 Andy Reid comparison and the fresh-start argument 22:04 Why major jobs did not chase James Franklin 23:52 Rocco Becht enters the Sean Clifford zone 26:04 What ESPN’s QB tier says about Becht 28:26 Can Penn State keep Rocco Becht healthy? 29:09 Why Becht has a better Penn State supporting cast 30:30 Ranking Penn State quarterbacks under Franklin 32:42 Final thoughts and next QB debate tease Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.