Matt Campbell Remaining Committed to Rocco Becht

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This popular metaphor isn’t the clinical definition of insanity, but some fans would argue that insanity is Matt Campbell keeping Rocco Becht as Penn State’s starting quarterback.

The Michigan loss was another dreadful showing by the senior quarterback. Becht completed 28-of-44 attempts for 267 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and fumbled once. All three of Becht’s turnovers resulted in touchdown drives in the 21-18 loss.

Becht has gone through rough patches throughout his five-year college career, but none as bad as this. Iowa State notably went on a four-game losing streak in 2025, during which Becht threw for 1,016 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. This year, Becht has thrown for 913 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions during this current four-game losing streak.

Still, Campbell has not considered changing quarterbacks.

“Man, how that guy continues to compete and fight and gave us a chance, even at the end of the football game,” said Campbell after being asked if there was any consideration of benching Becht. “He’s got to be better. He will continue to grow and be better. But no, there’s never any consideration from my end. “Matt Campbell Remaining Committed to Rocco Becht

Becht and Campbell have been tied at the hip since Becht became the starter at Iowa State in 2023. Together they won 26 games and made a Big 12 Championship in Ames. The loyalty to Becht is understandable, and it was supposed to be a strength for this team.

“I’ve always felt that the quarterback and the head football coach have to be tied at the hip. And I’ve felt that they have to be tied at the hip because their leadership is so critical to the entirety of the football program,” Campbell said in February.

But that loyalty appears to be costing Penn State games. Not much has improved since this losing streak began. Last week’s one-score loss to USC looked like a small step in the right direction; Becht threw for a season-high 289 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers, but it clearly didn’t carry over. Instead, Becht had his second multi-interception game of the year and has yet to break 300 passing yards in a game.

It feels like Penn State is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results by keeping Becht as the starter.

“I feel free. I feel good. There are just some plays that aren’t there for me. They just don’t work out for me,” Becht said. “I get unlucky. That happens. It’s humbling.”

Much has been said about backup quarterback Alex Manske‘s athleticism, yet he hasn’t seen the field. Offensive Coordinator Taylor Mouser said before the season that Manske “is one of the most talented guys on the offense” and that “we’re not going to be able to keep him off the field this year.” But Manske hasn’t appeared in a game since non-conference play.

So what’s the deal? Why has there been no interest in giving Manske a shot? Look at what Michigan did. Former No. 1 recruit in the nation, Bryce Underwood, was benched at halftime for true freshman Tommy Carr, and it worked. But it might not be that simple in Happy Valley.

Nate Bauer of Blue White Illustrated said on BWI Live postgame that Manske may not be as game-ready as originally anticipated.

“I had a check-in of some variety internally with the program; people who have seen practice. And the sentiment was, ‘eh, you don’t want to see Manske,'” Bauer said.

Bauer did not specify when this check-in occurred. He did say, however, that the program is frustrated with Becht, but ushering Manske into the starting role isn’t as simple as it sounds.

“Internally, Penn State football could not be more frustrated than it is with Rocco Becht, and that’s before [the loss to Michigan]. So fans, your frustrations are absolutely shared,” Bauer said. “… if it were as simple as plugging the other guy in, I do think that they would do that because they are trying to win football games. Any amount of loyalty that you think, as a fan, Matt Campbell has toward Rocco Becht, Matt Campbell would give that away to win football games. I feel very confident in that.”

Penn State seems to be stuck between a veteran quarterback who can’t get the job done and an athletic redshirt freshman who isn’t fully ready for Big Ten play. At 3-4, the Nittany Lions still have a shot at becoming bowl-eligible, though recent performances indicate that this is unlikely, even if there is a quarterback change.

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