Can Penn State Make the Playoff in Year One Under Matt Campbell? | Five Burning Questions

Expectations are both high and unknown for the Penn State football team in 2026. With so many variables and new faces converging in Happy Valley this year, it’s hard to know where to place the team in the Big Ten pecking order. Today on the BWI Live Show, we’ll answer the top five burning questions facing the team that will lead us to that answer in time. We’ll discuss the important games that define the season, the players who need to make a big leap in production, plus realistic expectations. We’ll also discuss Athlon’s Big Ten coach rankings and where Penn State head coach Matt Campbell fell in their rankings.

Join the BWI Live show for all of that, plus the Mailbag! We’re taking questions from the live chat, plus featured quetsions from the mailbag submission thread to discuss what’s on your mind.

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Penn State’s top five burning questions

Last week, reporter Nate Bauer wrote down his top five most pressing questions facing Penn State football this year. On today’s show, we’ll disuss the top five. The list leads to one central point: the question many fans have. Can Penn State make the College Football Playoff in the team’s first season under Matt Campbell? The program has a favorable schedule and could surprise teams on the way to a strong win-loss record. We’ll discuss the questions the team will need to answer to achieve that outcome.

Next, we’ll discuss Athlon’s ranking of the 18 Big Ten coaches as the team heads into the summer. Despite just arriving at the conference, Matt Campbell is near the top of the list. But does he deserve a spot in the top five? We’ll discuss where he’s ranked and what that means for the team.

Fitz’s Recruiting update

Of course, the newsiest information about Penn State football at this time of year is in the recruiting department. We’ll discuss a quiet, yet uneasy weekend for the Nittany Lions with many of their commits and top targets heading out to other schools around the country. All eyes are on receiver Jamir Dean, but several other players made stops with other schools this weekend.

We’ll also discuss how that information sets up for the team’s biggest and most consequential official visit weekend of the summer on June 5.

BWI Mailbag

Finally, we’ll discuss your questions and comments in the BWI Mailbag! Join the show and drop your thoughts and comments in the Live Chat. We’ll discuss the best ones live on air! We’ll also feature several questions from the BWI Mailbag.