If you're checking your phone for a score Penn State football today, you might be a little early—or a little late, depending on how you look at it. Today is Sunday, January 18, 2026. The pads are off. The stadium lights at Beaver Stadium are dark.
Honestly, the "today" part of your search is probably more about the massive roster overhaul happening in Happy Valley right now. We are currently in that weird, frantic limbo between the end of the bowl season and the start of spring ball.
The Last Time They Suited Up
The Nittany Lions actually finished their season back on December 27, 2025. If you missed it, they took down Clemson in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl with a final score of 22-10. It wasn't exactly a high-flying shootout, but it was a grit-and-grind win that felt like a statement for coach Matt Campbell.
Wait, Matt Campbell? Yeah.
If you've been under a rock, the James Franklin era ended mid-season. Terry Smith took over as the interim before Campbell arrived from Iowa State to steady the ship. That Pinstripe Bowl win wasn't just another trophy; it pushed the Nittany Lions to a 7-6 final record. It was a wild, 4-game winning streak to end a year that looked like it was heading off a cliff after a brutal six-game losing skid.
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Why the Score Penn State Football Today is All About the Portal
You can't talk about the "score" today without looking at the scoreboard of the transfer portal. Just two days ago, on January 16, the program dropped a massive announcement.
Basically, Matt Campbell is rebuilding this thing in his own image. Penn State just welcomed 39 transfer student-athletes. That is an absurd number for a single window. To put that in perspective, 24 of those guys followed Campbell directly from Iowa State.
The New Faces in Happy Valley
- Rocco Becht (QB): The headliner. He’s a redshirt senior with 39 career starts. He’s the guy expected to lead this offense in 2026.
- Alex Manske (QB): A redshirt freshman who also came from the Cyclones. He’s the future, but Becht is the now.
- Caleb Bacon (LB): Another redshirt senior from Iowa State who is expected to plug a major hole in the defense immediately.
- D’Antae Sheffey (RB): A local State College kid and high school signee who kept his commitment despite the coaching carousel.
It’s kinda fascinating. Most programs try to blend their existing roster with a few key transfers. Campbell is essentially transplanting a Big 12 culture into the Big Ten. Whether that works in the trenches against teams like Ohio State—who just lost to Indiana in the playoffs—remains the biggest question in State College.
The 2025 Rollercoaster
To understand where we are today, you have to look at how we got here. The 2025 season was a fever dream. Penn State started out ranked #2 in the country. They demolished Nevada, FIU, and Villanova. Fans were booking playoff tickets.
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Then the wheels fell off.
A 2OT loss to Oregon (30-24) started a spiral. They lost to UCLA. They lost a heartbreaker to Northwestern (22-21). They lost to Iowa by a single point. By the time they got smoked 38-14 by Ohio State in November, the season felt dead.
But then, the turnaround.
Winning at Michigan State (28-10) and blowing out Nebraska (37-10) gave them life. Beating Rutgers 40-36 in the finale was the momentum they needed to go into the Clemson game with some swagger.
What Happens Next?
Since there isn't a game today, the "score" is really about retention and development. The spring game is the next big date on the calendar. Between now and then, Campbell has to figure out how to mesh 39 new players with the guys who stayed through the transition.
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It’s a massive gamble. Some fans are worried that the "Penn State identity" is being diluted by so many Iowa State transfers. Others are just happy to see a coach with a proven track record of doing more with less taking over a program that has more resources than he's ever had.
Next Steps for Nittany Lion Fans:
- Watch the Winter Workouts: Keep an eye on social media for reports on Rocco Becht’s chemistry with the new wide receiver corps.
- Check the Scholarship Count: With 39 transfers and 11 high school signees, the roster is at its limit. Look for more "roster management" (players entering the portal) as spring practice approaches.
- Mark the Calendar: The 2026 season opener will be here before you know it, and the expectations won't be for another 7-6 finish.
The score today isn't on a scoreboard; it's in the meeting rooms at Lasch Building.