7 stories in the last 60 days, from 7 outlets.
Caleb Bacon
Arrived at Penn State from Iowa State. The first career honor came in 2025: Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 3 tackles for loss against Marshall — Week 1, 2026.
22 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
22 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 7 outlets
Penn State’s Caleb Bacon named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week
ABC27 +3 Sep 7 · 4 outlets
Yahoo SportsPenn State DE Caleb Bacon earns Big Ten honors after conference debutSep 8from 9 outlets
Penn State’s Caleb Bacon named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week
ABC27 +3 Sep 7 · 4 outlets
247SportsWhy former Iowa State starting linebacker Caleb Bacon is working at edge rusherAug 7
Onward StatePenn State Football Linebacker Caleb Bacon Officially Listed As Defensive EndAug 30Yahoo SportsPenn State DE Caleb Bacon earns Big Ten honors after conference debutSep 8Yahoo SportsCaleb Bacon makes key positional change during fall campAug 8
PennLiveOnward State
Black Shoe Diaries +1Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Penn State14 stories2026 to nowMost about: starting job and depth chart, awards and watch lists, camp and practice.
Black Shoe Diaries +1Only Caleb Bacon Until Penn State FootballAug 26247SportsWhy former Iowa State starting linebacker Caleb Bacon is working at edge rusherAug 7Yahoo SportsCaleb Bacon makes key positional change during fall campAug 8
Iowa State2 stories2022 to 2025Most about: profile and feature.
Sports Illustrated +1Caleb Bacon Goes From Iowa State Walk-On to Penn State Defensive CenterpieceJun 30
On3Roster Reintroduction: No. 10 Caleb BaconJun 22Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Caleb Bacon vs Marshall.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Penn State | 22 | 16 | 5.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Iowa State | 68 | 32 | 9.5 | 3.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2023 | Iowa State | 60 | 36 | 6.5 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | Iowa State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 153 | 87 | 21.0 | 7.0 | 5 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 9): 3 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-0vs Marshall | 6 | 5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 27-9@ Temple | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 55-13vs Buffalo | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 20-24vs Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 13-34@ Northwestern | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 23-31vs No. 19 USC | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 18-21@ Michigan | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 31-17vs Purdue | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 16 | 5.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Week 1 · 2026
W 45-0
vs Marshall
1 sack · 3 tackles for loss · 6 tackles
Dominant 45-point win at home against Marshall.
Ratings of the games shown run from -12 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
22tackles this seasonTFL rate
23%5 TFLSack rate
5%1 sackPD rate
0%0 pass breakups22 tackles · 5 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Pass share
46.5%
251 pass / 289 run
Plays / game
67.5
8 games
Team sack rate
4.7%
278 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS linebackers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 36 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed for 1 head coach at 2 schools: Matt Campbell.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Penn State
