Did anybody think Matt Campbell could turn us into Iowa State football this quickly?

[Chumboshifko1]

I don't recall any of the infamous 3 losses being blowouts. I also can't recall the last time a PSU team got blown out and pushed around like they have the last 6 quarters. Are we on sanctions?

Yes, we're on sanctions. You're here, constantly puffing on BGJ spinky.

 

[Chumboshifko1]

For the record jerkoff, i firmly believe that Franklin deserved to be fired and it was absolutely the right decision. What I take issue with was the hiring process coupled with driving off all of our players and thinking an average Iowa State roster and a few Depth Chart DTs could compete in the B1G

🫟

,🫵 StickEm up your a$$ 🖐️

 

[BUFFALO LION]

The coaching in the second half of the Wisconsin game and all of the Northwestern game obviously wasn't good. If Campbell isn't able to turn this program around in three seasons, then PSU should move on.

Also, I was a Franklin apologist, often times to my regret, until after the Oregon game last season when I believe that he gave up on the program, and this was in spite of his absolutely poor preseason preparation of that 2025 team. I had nothing to do with his firing and really wouldn't have cared if he had remained coach. However, I think that we saw enough evidence in his 11 and 1/2 seasons as the head coach of what he was going to accomplish at PSU, which was mostly 8 to 10 win seasons and playing in meaningless bowl games and getting a playoff appearance maybe once every 5 seasons, although it probably would have been more with the expanded playoffs.

Hmmm. Seemed more like 11, 10, and 13 wins his last three full seasons. Would have made the CFP 5 of the 10 Non-Covid full seasons he was here under its current configuration. 10 out of 10 non-Covid winning seasons overall ending his first season playing with just 41 scholarship players (the rest were either redshirted or injured as we were coming off of sanctions).

What’s refreshing to know is that now that we’re finally rid of him, we won’t have to worry about all that CFP crap anymore. It’s appearing that our new team of millionaires and six figure professionals should be able to reward us with our 6th losing season in 87 years and the first in 22 years!!! More good news is that with our schedule being more difficult next year and our roster maybe being even worse, we can avoid all that CFP garbage for years to come!!!

Cheap on-line tickets and crashing hotel prices for all!!!

 

[Nitt1300]

Franklin is gone, if you want to argue about things that are irrelevant, maybe discuss Nixon/Kennedy or Rome vs Carthage for a while.

What matters, kind of, is what Campbell can do going forward.

Given our resources compared to the programs at the top of the conference, consistently finishing in the top four of the B1G would be a solid performance.

 

[Ludd]

Would coaching be one of those issues? Or is it just lousy coaching when Franklin is coach and lousy play by the players when Campbell is the coach?

That is rather interesting. Suddenly the players are responsible for losses…imagine.

 

[Ludd]

The coaching in the second half of the Wisconsin game and all of the Northwestern game obviously wasn't good. If Campbell isn't able to turn this program around in three seasons, then PSU should move on.

Also, I was a Franklin apologist, often times to my regret, until after the Oregon game last season when I believe that he gave up on the program, and this was in spite of his absolutely poor preseason preparation of that 2025 team. I had nothing to do with his firing and really wouldn't have cared if he had remained coach. However, I think that we saw enough evidence in his 11 and 1/2 seasons as the head coach of what he was going to accomplish at PSU, which was mostly 8 to 10 win seasons and playing in meaningless bowl games and getting a playoff appearance maybe once every 5 seasons, although it probably would have been more with the expanded playoffs.

Those seasons sound like a dream now.

 

[Ludd]

Didn't we allow 3-9 UCLA to score over 40 points. Wisconsin and Northwestern already have more wins than UCLA had all of last year when they beat us.
Losing to Wisconsin by a score and Northwestern isn't close to that UCLA loss last year
Next you'll claim we were competitive against Ohio State last year

Getting curb stomped by NW is just as bad.

 

[Ludd]

The overreaction to this whole situation is just absurd. Some want MC to fail so desperately because they think it proves Franklin should have stayed. MC could have gone 0-24 and been fired after 2 seasons and all it proves is the wrong coach was hired.

Not sure why it's tough to root for him. If he fails we'll go have a new coach in 2029...that you can all hate

I don’t think any true PSU fan wants MC (or any coach) to fail. But a lot of supposed PSU fans wanted Franklin to fail.

 

[Ludd]

Have you watched USC play this year?
They may kill us but that game against Rutgers in particular...

But Rutgers can actually score points, that helps.

 

[Ludd]

So last year, conservatively, we were top 10 in NIL money spent and now we have none?
Let me guess--you've wanted to join the Big Ten for years
Teams want to leave the ACC for the Big Ten not the other way around. Let's be reasonable for a change.

He’s not a PSU fan. He’s a troll.

 

[BobPSU92]

Franklin is gone, if you want to argue about things that are irrelevant, maybe discuss Nixon/Kennedy or Rome vs Carthage for a while.

What matters, kind of, is what Campbell can do going forward.

Given our resources compared to the programs at the top of the conference, consistently finishing in the top four of the B1G would be a solid performance.

NATTY.

That’s what I deserve.

 

[Psumatt85]

Franklin is gone, if you want to argue about things that are irrelevant, maybe discuss Nixon/Kennedy or Rome vs Carthage for a while.

What matters, kind of, is what Campbell can do going forward.

Given our resources compared to the programs at the top of the conference, consistently finishing in the top four of the B1G would be a solid performance.

I thought it was time for Franklin to go, but I find this funny. Don’t remember hearing Kraft saying PSU deserves top 4 in Big 10!

 

[Marshall2323]

Many here as in 99% are fully delusional as to where Psu stands in modern football nil era.

Psu is essentially cooked it’s heading towards the lower tier of B10 with Purdue, MSU, Rutgers and Maryland.

if I were Psu I’d strongly push to join ACC, it’ll be the only way to compete long term.

I agree with your first sentence 100%
- PSU 2026 class was not top 50
-PSU 2027 class at best 20
-NIL war chest- 20-22
The same delusional regulars here who spent the entire off season insisting that MC was the second coming, are now shifting gears to insist that the rebirth of PSU championship pedigree is one portal season away. They disregard the fact that the cream of the portal has one goal, $$$$
If you are 6th or 7th in recruiting and roster cash, "excellence at the highest level" isn't just around the corner.
However, I won't go so far as to punt on this game with USC. They have their own problems and it's winnable game. If they can pull this off, every game will be in play for the remainder of the season,
Moving forward PSU has definitely slipped in the pecking order. Pat Kraft, not Matt Campbell should be held accountable for that.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Franklin is gone, if you want to argue about things that are irrelevant, maybe discuss Nixon/Kennedy or Rome vs Carthage for a while.

What matters, kind of, is what Campbell can do going forward.

Given our resources compared to the programs at the top of the conference, consistently finishing in the top four of the B1G would be a solid performance.

The PSU fanbase is idiotic for the most part. Now you have somewhat sane posters thumping their chests over a team that lost close to 50 players taking a step back and acting like that was never even possible. The sheer amount of stupidity you see on this site at times is staggering. They all get attached to these coaches like they are the ones that taking care of them. I don't know how MC will work out, but I do know less than a year wasn't going to determine his ultimate path. I was never a James has to go guy, but you have some that were so upset he is gone that they now have these type of threads.

Yes...this team is lacking talent in certain key spots and it's not very hard to pick up on.....or maybe it is for some, but I won't be bothered by this year all that much. I wasn't the fool saying this is an "easy" schedule while they were replacing half the roster. Honestly the fact that some saw the schedule and thought....we don't know half the players, new system.....10 wins easy means you're a moron...in all honesty. The same folks that hated the kicking and screaming when it was directed at JF are now all onboard for firing a HC after 6 games. Great stuff.

 

[KingLando]

Getting curb stomped by NW is just as bad.

Because you underestimate Northwestern

 

[KingLando]

I don’t think any true PSU fan wants MC (or any coach) to fail. But a lot of supposed PSU fans wanted Franklin to fail.

That's clearly not true. Posts prove that

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

Franklin is gone, if you want to argue about things that are irrelevant, maybe discuss Nixon/Kennedy or Rome vs Carthage for a while.

What matters, kind of, is what Campbell can do going forward.

Given our resources compared to the programs at the top of the conference, consistently finishing in the top four of the B1G would be a solid performance.

Well that would appear to be a Herculean task as we're paying Campbell's chosen roster more than prior years and we look terrible against a schedule that is creampuff city compared to what Franklin faced. Really don't see how were going to do vastly better against a significantly harder schedule next year. Maybe I'm missing something, but this feels about as likely as turning around the Titanic after it struck the iceberg.

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

I thought it was time for Franklin to go, but I find this funny. Don’t remember hearing Kraft saying PSU deserves top 4 in Big 10!

We were already consistently top 4 in the b1g and a nationally relevant contender for the playoffs. It astounds me that we're now being told by these same bile-spewing supposed PSU-fans about Franklin, that Campbell should be given, and needs, a significant amount of time (3 years at least) to get us back to where Franklin already had us??? Huh???? What??? No wonder these f'ing morons are defending empty-suit hack, Krafty The Clown.

 

[JoePaMajorCFBrecord409Ws]

I agree with your first sentence 100%
- PSU 2026 class was not top 50
-PSU 2027 class at best 20
-NIL war chest- 20-22
The same delusional regulars here who spent the entire off season insisting that MC was the second coming, are now shifting gears to insist that the rebirth of PSU championship pedigree is one portal season away. They disregard the fact that the cream of the portal has one goal, $$$$
If you are 6th or 7th in recruiting and roster cash, "excellence at the highest level" isn't just around the corner.
However, I won't go so far as to punt on this game with USC. They have their own problems and it's winnable game. If they can pull this off, every game will be in play for the remainder of the season,
Moving forward PSU has definitely slipped in the pecking order. Pat Kraft, not Matt Campbell should be held accountable for that.

So you're essentially admitting that Franklin did significantly more with less resources and punched well above where you would have ranked PSU's classes and resources??????

 

[BobPSU92]

I thought it was time for Franklin to go, but I find this funny. Don’t remember hearing Kraft saying PSU deserves top 4 in Big 10!

Championships are the standard.

 

[We_R_Medicocre]

So you just wanna be a program that beats cellar dwellers and cannot ever beat Michigan OSU Oregon USC etc? Hahah you are a beta male

 

[NitFan89]

So you're essentially admitting that Franklin did significantly more with less resources and punched well above where you would have ranked PSU's classes and resources??????

I really do think it’s deeper as to why Franklin was fired, because the results are there. He really must have just not gotten along with his superiors (Kraft) and we already know that a certain sub group of fans/donors have wanted him gone for awhile now. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. Articles wrote on this message board have already said that it wasn’t the losses last year that got him fired. That’s all I needed to hear.

everything you’ve been saying makes sense. You keep Franklin, allow the increaseD NIL go to retaining last years talent that left and find some new talent to plug some holes. That would have been a much better team than what we have seen so far.

the only reason I would agree that letting Franklin go is because clearly it showed he wasn’t wanted anymore last year. He was embarrassed out of that stadium and you could tell admin and him weren’t getting along. It just got too toxic for him. I really rooting for him at VT.

 

[BobPSU92]

I really do think it’s deeper as to why Franklin was fired, because the results are there. He really must have just not gotten along with his superiors (Kraft) and we already know that a certain sub group of fans/donors have wanted him gone for awhile now. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. Articles wrote on this message board have already said that it wasn’t the losses last year that got him fired. That’s all I needed to hear.

everything you’ve been saying makes sense. You keep Franklin, allow the increaseD NIL go to retaining last years talent that left and find some new talent to plug some holes. That would have been a much better team than what we have seen so far.

the only reason I would agree that letting Franklin go is because clearly it showed he wasn’t wanted anymore last year. He was embarrassed out of that stadium and you could tell admin and him weren’t getting along. It just got too toxic for him. I really rooting for him at VT.

Hearing Anthony Lubrano’s harsh comments about Franklin recently makes me wonder what was being said behind closed doors by influential alums, leaderers, etc. while Franklin was at PSU.

 

[IoffendwithTruth1]

That's clearly not true. Posts prove that

This board is littered with smooth brain "thinkers". I honestly have never seen someone post that they "wanted Franklin to fail". How stupid can someone be to root against a team that they are supposedly "a fan of". Normal fans want to see the team succeed, no matter whom the coach is. I was not a huge fan of Franklin after the Dr. Lynch ordeal came to light and I know someone very close to me that worked VERY close to Lynch. It was clearly obvious that the relationship between Franklin and the school was very thin at best. It was best for both parties to part ways. How Kraft handled the searching process is an entirely different story and I believe it would not have helped ANY new coach. I wish nothing but the best for Franklin because he did do good things here and I believe the fit at VT is perfect for him.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

His Big 12 conference record was 50-40.

Fair point, but he was not one of the conference heavyweights, so his teams were always punching up. And he was able to land some nice blows in doing so.

I’m not piling on Franklin here…nothing but appreciation for his time at the university. But we’ve seen enough of his big game resume to classify his tenure as the proverbial definition of insanity if the goal is to actually win a championship.

 

[NitFan89]

Hearing Anthony Lubrano’s harsh comments about Franklin recently makes me wonder what was being said behind closed doors by influential alums, leaderers, etc. while Franklin was at PSU.

Yes this is what really got me wondering. It was an interesting interview. You can tell how much he couldn’t stand Franklin, but couldn’t really say why. I only heard him reference “Gimmie Jimmy” since he asked for so much for the program. I guess he did say he just wasn’t a good person. I wish he would have given examples of why.

 

[bdgan]

I don't recall any of the infamous 3 losses being blowouts. I also can't recall the last time a PSU team got blown out and pushed around like they have the last 6 quarters. Are we on sanctions?

Last year we still had players from our 6th ranked class of 2022. Allar, Allen, Singleton, Reynolds, Rappleyea, Sutton, Fisher, Durant, Wheatley, etc.

 

[NitFan89]

So last year, conservatively, we were top 10 in NIL money spent and now we have none?
Let me guess--you've wanted to join the Big Ten for years
Teams want to leave the ACC for the Big Ten not the other way around. Let's be reasonable for a change.

Was there a report that shows we were top 10 in NIL money spent? I don’t remember seeing it.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Hearing Anthony Lubrano’s harsh comments about Franklin recently makes me wonder what was being said behind closed doors by influential alums, leaderers, etc. while Franklin was at PSU.

You're now just catching on the Lub/Jaypa crew didn't want Franklin around?

 

[BobPSU92]

Was there a report that shows we were top 10 in NIL money spent? I don’t remember seeing it.

Top 10 in PA.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Was there a report that shows we were top 10 in NIL money spent? I don’t remember seeing it.

Pennlive comments section by man-o-war. IYKYK

 

[Marshall2323]

Fair point, but he was not one of the conference heavyweights, so his teams were always punching up. And he was able to land some nice blows in doing so.

I’m not piling on Franklin here…nothing but appreciation for his time at the university. But we’ve seen enough of his big game resume to classify his tenure as the proverbial definition of insanity if the goal is to actually win a championship.

This doesn't feel like the road to big game victory.

 

[PSUFTG]

I wish he would have given examples of why.

Did you listen to the interview? There was a healthy list given

 

[NitFan89]

Did you listen to the interview? There was a healthy list given

I will have to listen again then. It was at work so I might not have caught it all.

 

[Catch1lion]

Ouch

 

[o_PSUALREADYKNOW]

I really do think it’s deeper as to why Franklin was fired, because the results are there. He really must have just not gotten along with his superiors (Kraft) and we already know that a certain sub group of fans/donors have wanted him gone for awhile now. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. Articles wrote on this message board have already said that it wasn’t the losses last year that got him fired. That’s all I needed to hear.

everything you’ve been saying makes sense. You keep Franklin, allow the increaseD NIL go to retaining last years talent that left and find some new talent to plug some holes. That would have been a much better team than what we have seen so far.

the only reason I would agree that letting Franklin go is because clearly it showed he wasn’t wanted anymore last year. He was embarrassed out of that stadium and you could tell admin and him weren’t getting along. It just got too toxic for him. I really rooting for him at VT.

It’s mind blowing and I’ll never forgive this decision. When are we going to get back to winning ten games consistently? You all said that wasn’t good enough.

 

[BobPSU92]

How Bob Chesney has completely turned around UCLA

The Bruins are off to a 4-0 start, and it doesn't seem as if Bob Chesney is stepping off the gas any time soon.

www.espn.com

 

[JVP_Yahweh]

Campbell said the issues are fixable so for now I am gonna believe him

 

[Big_O]

The PSU fanbase is idiotic for the most part. Now you have somewhat sane posters thumping their chests over a team that lost close to 50 players taking a step back and acting like that was never even possible. The sheer amount of stupidity you see on this site at times is staggering. They all get attached to these coaches like they are the ones that taking care of them. I don't know how MC will work out, but I do know less than a year wasn't going to determine his ultimate path. I was never a James has to go guy, but you have some that were so upset he is gone that they now have these type of threads.

Yes...this team is lacking talent in certain key spots and it's not very hard to pick up on.....or maybe it is for some, but I won't be bothered by this year all that much. I wasn't the fool saying this is an "easy" schedule while they were replacing half the roster. Honestly the fact that some saw the schedule and thought....we don't know half the players, new system.....10 wins easy means you're a moron...in all honesty. The same folks that hated the kicking and screaming when it was directed at JF are now all onboard for firing a HC after 6 games. Great stuff.

I admit I was really angry after the Northwestern debacle. I mostly blamed CMC. However, when I researched what Penn State lost player personnel wise due to PK’s mishandling of the coaching hire, I decided to cool my jets.

According to articles over the past year Penn State lost 46 or 47 players to the transfer portal. Of course this included some walk-ons. There were 30 players who participated in senior day, which means they weren’t returning. That included 8 who were drafted into the NFL and 4 or 5 that became UDFA’s. Finally nearly the entire recruiting class was lost, 20+ players. Conservatively that is 96 players CMC had to replace when he showed up to work in Happy Valley.

CMC was able to bring in 48 new players. ISU transfers numbered 24. The rest came from other programs (39 total transfers) and there were 9 signed out of HS. Still a pretty big roster hole left. The quality of players he got was likely overall less than lost through the portal due to the late start he had. The new players included a Div. 3 QB.

I am going to give the guy a break. He has a massive job ahead of him to try and assemble a decent roster, and that is going to take at least 3 years minimum.

 

[KingLando]

How Bob Chesney has completely turned around UCLA

The Bruins are off to a 4-0 start, and it doesn't seem as if Bob Chesney is stepping off the gas any time soon.

www.espn.com

4 games doesn't define anything--we'll see what they do against Oregon tomorrow