A new era of Penn State football kicked off with a 25-24 loss to Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. Despite now dropping their last four games, there is a sense of unknown around the Nittany Lions that has brought back some excitement.

The most significant change this season was James Franklin’s firing following Penn State’s loss to Northwestern a week ago. For the foreseeable future, interim head coach Terry Smith will lead the Nittany Lions. In his first week, the former Penn State wide receiver promised the team would get its swag back and never lose because of effort again, and they delivered.

“I think our guys played hard. I think our guys left it out. I think they gave everything,” Smith said postgame. “There was nobody that turned anything down. There was no one that didn’t give great effort. We just have to execute.”

Penn State’s new starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer, was no exception to Smith’s statement. Despite average stats with 93 yards, two interceptions, and no touchdowns on 28 attempts, the Grunkemeyer earned everything in a difficult environment at Kinnick Stadium.

“I thought he managed the line of scrimmage and the calls at the line of scrimmage,” Smith said. “He handled the crowd. The crowd was electric.”

The most notable aspect of the Lewis Center, Ohio, native’s game was his ability to find space in the pocket and make a play. Multiple times, including Penn State’s last offensive play of the game, Grunkemeyer ran past pressure to get a ball off.

Smith complemented his ability to get loose and pick up critical yards on the ground, something former Penn State QB1 Drew Allar was very good at. Grunkemeyer finished the game with six carries.

Penn State’s new signal caller also had to take over as the leader of the team. Nick Singleton pushed Grunkemeyer into the huddle to motivate the team pregame as he symbolically gave Grunkemeyer the keys to the offense.

“It was a good experience. Something unique to me, first time doing it here,” Grunkemeyer said. “I was just kind of telling them, we got each other all night. It starts with family. Like coach Smith preaches, as a family and we got to stay together.”

Grunkemeyer looked to have control over the game for its entirety, not letting the moment get too big for him in his first Penn State start. Kaytron Allen agreed with this, describing his personality as poised, calm, and full of swag.

Jaxon Smolik, the third-string quarterback at the start of the season, also saw some time. He played a role similar to Beau Pribula’s from 2024, subbing in as a running threat.

“He brings some more athleticism to it,” Smith said. “Just wanted to give those guys a lot to prepare for and to see if we could get a play or two out of him, which he did to help us move the sticks.”

Smolik went to the locker room in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury. Before that, he had four rushes for three yards.

“That was a huge point in the game, keeping the defense honest with the legs,” Grunkemeyer said. “I thought he did a great job.”

One of the players who benefited the most from the two-quarterback system was Allen. The senior saw his season high in rush attempts with 28 and appears to be the lead back under Smith’s system.

“Kaytron [Allen] had a great game,” Smith said. “He was running the ball effectively. He had zero negative plays; everything was positive. 28 touches. I’m super proud of those guys for that.”

One of the biggest pieces of criticism Franklin had this season was his misuse of Allen. Regardless of how past years went, Allen has been the most efficient back this season by far. Yet, he was not seeing more touches than Singleton until the past two games.

Allen finished the game with 145 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while adding three receptions for seven yards.

“Every time I get the ball, I feel good,” Allen said. “Just give me the ball, I’m good.”

Another criticism thrown at Franklin’s way was the lack of reps for the younger receivers, such as Koby Howard and Tyseer Denmark. Howard, a freshman, went viral over the summer for his camp clips, and with the guys playing over him struggling, fans wanted to see him get in on the action.

“You know, we’re just trying to find the playmakers and to get the best guys on the field that can make the plays,” Smith said. “That’s what my job is, to get those guys out there. I thought those young guys did a decent job for the reps that they got.”

Grunkemeyer and Howard connected once in the first half on a long third down. The quarterback rolled right to get out of trouble and found Howard working back towards the middle of the field. The freshman receiver made a nice play on the ball and picked up 14 yards for the first down pickup.

“We’ll continue to push those guys to get more as we develop this pass game,” Smith said. “We got to develop Ethan [Grunkemeyer] to be able to utilize the pass game and be comfortable with it.