Rocco Becht walked into Beaver Stadium for the first time as a Penn State Nittany Lion and made it look easy. The transfer quarterback threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns Saturday as No. 18 Penn State shut out Marshall 45-0 in the opening game of the Matt Campbell era.
Becht, who followed Campbell from Iowa State to Happy Valley, secured his FBS-leading 27th win as a starting quarterback. He did it despite offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, showing no sign of the injury throughout the game.
"I think everyone was kind of worried about the unknown, like what was going to happen today? What was it going to look like?" Becht said. "And we came out today and I felt we did really great operationally, really good as a team communication-wise. For me, it was just taking it one play at a time."
Penn State opened the scoring with a 38-yard field goal from Ryan Barker on their first possession. Becht then found wide receiver Koby Howard cutting over the middle for a 42-yard touchdown. Howard, a holdover from the previous Penn State staff who had been used sparingly under former coach James Franklin, finished the game with six catches for 161 yards and a score. Becht later hit Brett Eskildsen on a short screen pass that turned into a touchdown, then connected with Benjamin Brahmer on an 8-yard throw to push the lead to 24-0. Zay Robinson added a 39-yard touchdown reception, outrunning Marshall defenders to the end zone. Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace contributed rushing scores as Penn State rolled to 45 points.
"Just going out there and being able to actually showcase it in a game meant a lot to me," Howard said.
The Marshall defense had no answer for Penn State's speed on the perimeter. The Thundering Herd crossed midfield just three times, one of those coming on a facemask penalty against Penn State. Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson completed 17 of 25 passes for just 102 yards. The Herd finished with only 147 total yards, held in check by Penn State's new defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn.
Marshall coach Tony Gibson did not soften his assessment after the game. "Embarrassing all the way around today, offense, defense, special teams," Gibson said. "Couldn't get anything going. When we did, we had penalties early, killed some drives. Not my expectation, not the kids' expectation and that's not an indication of who we are, but that's who we were today."
Marshall had been picked by Sun Belt coaches to finish third in the conference's East Division entering the season.
For Campbell, it was a strong first statement in his new role. He left Iowa State after building the Cyclones into a consistent program, and Penn State hired him midway through last season after firing James Franklin. Several Iowa State players followed him to State College, including Becht and a number of others who appeared Saturday.
"It was really special to be a part of this for the first time," Campbell said. "I know so many people have said how special it is to play football here, but it was really special to coach here today. The environment was second to none."
Penn State moves to 1-0 heading into the rest of its non-conference schedule before Big Ten play begins.
