Penn State is taking a ‘prove it mentality’ and struggling run game into Saturday’s matchup with Michigan

Penn State’s season has quickly unraveled in the program’s first season under Matt Campbell. Any hope of a College Football Playoff berth is likely gone, and it doesn’t seem like a top-tier bowl game is in the cards with the way the Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) have been playing.

The players and coaches still hope to right the ship. Saturday’s game against another struggling first-year head coach in Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham is the next chance for Campbell and Co. to earn their first conference win.

Penn State heads to Ann Arbor for the game with the 3-2 Wolverines (3:30 p.m., CBS), marking the first matchup between the two storied programs since 2023.

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“I think we got to prove a whole lot here, right?” Campbell said Tuesday. “I think there’s a prove-it mentality [that] is exactly what I keep talking about. … Adversity is going to hit, and are we tough enough to work through really hard things? And I don’t think that’s just now. I think that’s a reality, as you build a culture, you build a program. There’s got to be standards and expectations.”

After running back James Peoples put together a solid showing in Penn State’s loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener, it’s been an uphill climb for the Nittany Lions’ run game. They finished with just 48 rushing yards in the loss to Northwestern and a per-carry average of 2.2 yards vs. Southern Cal.

Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser again spoke about the struggling run game this week and what it’s going to take to make it a serviceable part of the offense moving forward.

“We’re a run game without an identity, and that’s the reality of the situation,” Mouser said Tuesday. “For us, it’s like, how can we get good at something to be able to hang our hat on what that looks like? And there’s been progress, and there’s been flashes at times.”

Against the Trojans, just Peoples and Iowa State transfer Carson Hansen took snaps at running back, with Penn State returnees Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace completely out of the fold for the first time this year.

Campbell said the two-back rotation was “probably closer to where we’d like to be,” while Mouser said Martin is somebody he feels can still make an impact this season.

“Are we where we want to be?” Campbell said Tuesday. “No, but I certainly think those two right now catching the ball in the backfield, some of the protection things, I think those things started to show itself, and we’ll need to continue to grow in those areas.”

Campbell confirmed that linebacker Alex Tatsch is out for the season. The sophomore returned in Week 2 against Temple from a long-term injury he suffered before Penn State’s Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson last December.

Tatsch had 11 tackles, 1½ tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a sack in four games.

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“I think first and foremost is how disappointed you are for Alex,” Campbell said. “Nobody’s worked harder to get himself back. I really felt like [he] was beginning to play just really the style of football that he wanted to play, and obviously it’s disappointing.”

Campbell provided updates on two other notable injuries on Tuesday: The returns of wide receiver Koby Howard and defensive end LaVar Arrington II will be “post-bye week conversations.” The team will have a bye next Saturday before returning home to face Purdue on Oct. 31.

Arrington (undisclosed injury) has not played this season, while Howard has been sidelined during Big Ten play after leading the Nittany Lions with 344 receiving yards in their first three games.

Tatsch served as the fourth linebacker in Penn State’s rotation, and without him against USC, just three linebackers played.

Campbell admitted his season-ending injury “certainly continues to put stress on the linebacker room,” especially with sophomore Cam Smith, a St. Joseph’s Prep graduate, missing the last three games. The good news is that Smith has practiced the last two days.

“I think [Smith] was one of the guys coming out of fall camp that I don’t know if we could have been any more impressed with where he was at,” Campbell said. “So I do think that’s a positive right now for that room.”

Safety Marcus Neal Jr. is someone who could see time at linebacker moving forward with Tatsch out. Neal didn’t play a snap last weekend due to coverage being “at a premium,” according to Campbell, but his larger frame makes him a good candidate to play some linebacker.

“Those are things that I don’t think just happen at the snap of a finger, but I think incrementally, he’s a guy that can certainly find himself more in the linebacker rotation than just that safety rotation,” Campbell said.