For most of the last decade, the Ohio State football program has owned Penn State. That fact goes all the way back to the Urban Meyer era. The only memorable win that the Nittany Lions have over Ohio State was in 2016, and the Buckeyes still made the CFP over Penn State that year, anyway.
Matt Campbell is in his first year in State College. He is trying to usher in a new era of players and a new culture of winning. In order to do that, he has to be successful on the recruiting trail. While trying to do that, he tried to clown on Columbus, and it backfired hilariously.
Matt Campbell tries to disparage Ohio State in recruiting, and it backfires spectacularly
While trying to talk up State College to recruits, he tried to disparage Columbus. He did so by basically insulting State College instead.
"This is College Football Town, USA. We are not living in Austin, Texas, or Columbus, Ohio, where you’re just part of it. We are it."
While trying to say that State College lives and breathes college football, he basically just insulted the town. He implied that there is nothing to do there, which might be true. At least here in Columbus, there are many different things to do on any given day or weekend.
Fans also still follow Ohio State football like a professional sport. There is only one Big 4 sport in town, and that's the Blue Jackets. Everything else revolves around the Buckeyes and how they do on the football field. Campbell was wrong about that, too.
Campbell is from the state of Ohio, so he knows everything that Ohio State is about. I understand why he is trying to gas up State College, though. Penn State has just the eighth-best recruiting class in the Big Ten Conference. They are smack-dab in the middle. That's a problem for him as he tries to rebuild.
Ohio State never struggles to bring in top recruits
The Ohio State Buckeyes have a top-10 recruiting class pretty much every year. It's a rite of passage at this point. The 2027 recruiting class is no different, as they hold the seventh-best class in the country. SO far in 2028, they have the best class, having three five-star recruits pledged so far.
Expect the class to get better as Ohio State hosts more recruits throughout the rest of the season, as well. The Buckeyes usually do pretty well in the Transfer Portal, as well. NIL continues to be something they try to figure out how to navigate as the years and the rules change.
Penn State is lucky that they don't face Ohio State this season. Campbell has already struggled in the Big Ten portion of the schedule, as they are 0-3 in the conference so far. It has been a nightmare start for Campbell, so he is trying his best to flip that around by getting talented high school recruits.
Perhaps he shouldn't try to recruit against Ohio State. He might do better if he's trying to get recruits ahead of lesser programs, such as Purdue or Michigan.
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