Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
#18 Penn State
Marshall Football Opens Season At No. 18 Penn State
9/3/2026 3:00:00 PM | Football
Herd’s first game to be played in front of 108,000 people, televised nationally on FS1
Coach Gibson Weekly Press Conference – No. 18 Penn State | Player Interviews – No. 18 Penn State
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football kicks off the 2026 season at one of college football's biggest venues when the Thundering Herd heads to Happy Valley to take on No. 18 Penn State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. The game will be shown nationally on FS1.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Watch: FS1
Listen: Live
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game notes: Marshall | Penn State
Twitter: @HerdFB
Instagram: @Herd_FB
PRE-GAME NOTES
Saturday's meeting between Marshall and Penn State is the first meeting in 96 years between the two schools. The last came on Oct. 11, 1930.
The last time that Marshall faced a Power Four head coach in their home debut with a new team was in 2022 when the Herd traveled to take on Notre Dame in Marcus Freeman's first game in South Bend. Marshall won that game over No. 8 Notre Dame, 26-21.
Both starting quarterbacks for Saturday's contest have drawn plenty of praise heading into the start of 2026. Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht were each named to the Manning Award and Davey O'Brien Award watch lists in the preseason.
Del Rio-Wilson returns as one of only two quarterbacks in the nation to rush for 600 yards, throw for more than 2,000 yards and complete 65 percent of passes in the 2025 season. He joins Auburn's Byrum Brown, who also accomplished the feat at South Florida.
Marshall will feature several new faces on the defensive staff with defensive coordinator Brad Lambert, defensive line coach Anthony Leonard, safeties coach Dean Hood and cornerbacks coach Chip West all in their first game under Gibson. Lambert is in his third stint with the Herd and West is in his second.
Marshall has three players who are returning to their home state this weekend: linebacker Jaasai Simmons (Philadelphia), offensive lineman Logan Greer (Pittsburgh), and defensive lineman Cameron Chmura (Wexford). Also, Marshall redshirt freshman B.J. Carter played for new Penn State coach Matt Campbell at Iowa State last season.
Saturday's contest is likely to be the biggest crowd that Marshall Football has ever played in front of. Renovations at Beaver Stadium have increased capacity to nearly 109,000, making it the nation's largest capacity stadium. Marshall's previous largest crowd ever was at Tennessee's Neyland Stadium when the Herd played in front of 106,520 fans in 2003. It would be the sixth time that a Marshall contest has exceeded 100,000.
Marshall defensive back Daytione Smith is one of few players in college football who can boast of being with his team for six consecutive years. Smith, who had 50 tackles and three INTs last season, was a Paycom Jim Thorpe Award watch list honoree in preseason.
Fun Fact: Rocco Becht is the son of Anthony Becht, a standout tight end from West Virginia who went on to an elite NFL career and is now head coach of the UFL's Orlando Storm. Anthony Becht and Marshall's Chad Pennington were both 1st round picks of the New York Jets in the 2000 NFL Draft and became great friends with Anthony Becht doing multiple charity events in Huntington with Chad's 1st and 10 Foundation.
ABOUT MARSHALL
Marshall head coach Tony Gibson enters his second season at the helm after a 5-7 campaign in year one.
Expectations are high this season for the Herd, who lost four games by five points or less and returns a bulk of their skill positions. The production is led by quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who was named as the 2026 SBC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and received numerous preseason accolades.
Del Rio-Wilson returns talented receiving options in wide receivers Adrian Norton, DeAndre Tamarez and Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw, along with tight end Toby Payne.
The Herd also brings back offensive linemen Jalen Slappy and Tariq Montgomery as leaders up front, and running back Jo'Shon Barbie leads the rushing attack in the offense of Rod Smith.
Defensively, the Herd returns lots of production as well with Smith leading the secondary and linebackers Javae Gilmore, Cannon Lewis and Jalen Marshall all returning as well.
For a more in-depth look at Marshall football, visit HERE.
ABOUT PENN STATE
Saturday's game will be the first in the tenure of Penn State head coach Matt Campbell, who comes to the Nittany Lions after having served as head coach at Iowa State.
Quarterback Rocco Becht joined Campbell from Iowa State and gives the Nittany Lions a bona fide starter and playmaker, along with one of college football's most experienced players.
Becht will be making his 40th career start on Saturday – the most of any FBS quarterback – and he has 26 wins to his credit as a starter, which are also the most returning in FBS. With 227 yards of total offense on Saturday, Becht would eclipse 10,000 yards of total offense in his career.
The Nittany Lions feature a pair of preseason All-Americans in senior tight end Benjamin Brahmer and junior safety Marcus Neal, Jr.
Kooper Ebel is another defensive weapon for the Nittany Lions, having tallied 149 career tackles.
For more information about Penn State, visit HERE.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the third all-time meeting between Marshall and Penn State with the Nittany Lions winning both previous meetings. Saturday's matchup is the first in 96 years with the previous two matchups happening in 1929 and 1930 in State College – both Penn State wins.
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