Buffalo coach Pete Lembo praises Penn State following Week 3 game

As if being a head coach of a college football program was not challenging enough, it becomes increasingly more challenging when having to face the media to talk about a blowout loss on the road. Such was the case for Buffalo head coach Pete Lembo in Week 3, when Buffalo came up on the wrong end of a 55-13 drubbing by the Nittany Lions .

As much as Lembo may not want to admit it, the final result was pretty much to be expected given the pregame betting lines. But that doesn't mean Lembo didn't have any reasons to be disappointed in the outcome. Regardless, Lembo offered some praise to Penn State in his postgame comments.

"They play very cohesively, whether they're playing coverage or bringing pressure," Lembo said in his postgame press conference when asked to assess Penn State's performance. "You know, you're looking at some elite players, and they can roll through them too. They roll two or three deep through at each position, and they're able to stay very fresh throughout the course of the game."

Penn State entered the 2026 season with a significantly overhauled roster thanks to a coaching change and the fallout of the transfer portal's impact on the change. New head coach Matt Campbell saw a large number of his former players at Iowa State follow him to State College. Many of those players stepped right into meaningful roles on both sides of the football. Among the players taking on lead roles for the Nittany Lions are quarterback Rocco Becht , tight end Ben Brahmer, and linebacker Kooper Ebel and Caleb Bacon. And Penn State still had some key players opting to stay with the Nittany Lions from last season's roster, such as linebacker Tony Rojas and rising star wide receiver Koby Howard.

"That's a good football team, and I'm sure they're going to have a lot of success this year," Lembo said in his postgame press conference.

Penn State hosts Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The game will air on Peacock.

Penn State postgame report card: Grading Nittany Lions vs. Buffalo

Kevin McGuire is the lead writer for Nittany Lions Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on BlueSky , Threads or any of these other platforms .