3-4. Why do the college football gods give us their toughest battles?

Penn State football fell below .500 for the first time since 2020 in its 25-24 loss to Iowa on Saturday night. After one of the craziest weeks in program history following James Franklin’s firing, the Nittany Lions couldn’t get back in the win column under interim head coach Terry Smith and with redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer under center.

While Penn State didn’t get the job done, it wasn’t necessarily a bad performance from the squad. Here’s a quick review of how each position group fared against the Hawkeyes.

Quarterbacks: C

This grade is a little gracious considering his final stat line, but Ethan Grunkemeyer handled the situation he was thrown into well.

While he looked extremely antsy in the pocket at times, Grunkemeyer made consistent plays with his legs to keep Penn State’s drives alive. The Nittany Lions faced a 4th-and-4 from Iowa’s 20-yard line on their first drive of the game. Grunkemeyer tucked it and ran nine yards for the first down pickup, signaling his confidence early.

It wasn’t a very clean game for Grunkemeyer through the air, but it definitely could have been a lot worse.

Grunkemeyer finished the night on 15-for-28 passing with 93 yards and two picks. Deshaun Lee intercepted a pass intended for Devonte Ross deep downfield at Iowa’s own 4-yard line in the second quarter. While that pick ended up being inconsequential, the Hawkeyes did get seven points out of Grunkemeyer’s second interception to Xavier Nwankpa, also in the second quarter.

Grunkemeyer targeted Luke Reynolds on the play. The ball hit his face mask and flew in the air. Nwankpa snagged it easily and returned it to the 1-yard line. Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski scored easily on 2nd-and-goal.

Even with all of that, it’s just unfair to say Grunkemeyer had a bad game. He kept Penn State in the game the entire time, and most of his big mistakes came from wacky situations and plays. He wasn’t perfect, but he made the most of his first opportunity as Penn State’s QB1. With tough matchups on deck for the Nittany Lions, it’ll be interesting to see how Grunkemeyer evolves through the rest of the season.

It’s also important to note that backup quarterback Jaxon Smolik saw considerable time on the field against the Hawkeyes. He mostly came in for designed quarterback runs and to hand the ball off to Kaytron Allen as Grunkemeyer watched from the sideline. Smolik ended his night with four rushes for three yards.

Running Backs: A+

While Terry Smith debuted his “If” motto for Penn State, it should really just be “Feed the Fatman”.

Kaytron Allen had arguably his best game in blue and white against the Hawkeyes. He ran through Kinnick Stadium with 145 yards and two touchdowns on 28 rushing attempts. While Penn State fans voiced frustration about James Franklin’s misuse of the senior through the first five games of the season, Smith leaned into Allen all-in. Allen added seven yards on three receptions.

Allen moved into the third all-time spot on Penn State’s career rushing yards leaderboard with 3,489. He passed Curt Warner and now sits behind Saquon Barkley. Barkley ended his Penn State career with 3,843 rushing yards.

On the other hand, Nick Singleton only got seven total touches of the ball. He rushed six times for 15 yards and looked like an afterthought in Penn State’s offense once again. Allen’s stellar performance carried the offense completely.

Wide Receivers: D+

Another week, another below-average Penn State receiving performance.

Penn State’s transfer wide receiver trio of Trebor Peña, Devonte Ross, and Kyron Hudson combined for six receptions for 48 yards. None of them found their way into the end zone despite multiple shots from Grunkemeyer to Peña and Ross.

While a lot of this can be chalked up to a lack of chemistry between Grunkemeyer and his wideouts, he definitely needed more help from them down the stretch. There were several instances where Grunkemeyer and Peña weren’t on the same page on routes, and those missed chances deeply hindered positive Penn State drives.

However, Penn State did give some younger receivers a chance, which was a big point of contention for James Franklin. Freshman Koby Howard reeled in a 14-yard pass over the middle on a 2nd-and-9 in the second quarter. Tyseer Denmark also checked in against the Hawkeyes, but he didn’t record a stat.

Nonetheless, playing Howard and Denmark and growing their chemistry with Grunkemeyer in practice could prove useful going forward and into next season.

Tight Ends: C-

After not recording a single stat against Northwestern, Penn State’s tight ends got back in the mix against Iowa.

Luke Reynolds led the way with three catches for 19 yards. He also got a direct snap on 4th-and-1 at the end of the third frame, but he rushed for no gain as Penn State suffered the turnover-on-downs. It’s clear at this point that Reynolds is no Tyler Warren.

Andrew Rappleyea had one catch for 12 yards, and Khalil Dinkins reeled in one pass for 10 yards. While the trio should be credited for their blocking for Allen’s game, they need to be better at creating separation and making it easier for Grunkemeyer to squeeze balls in. Iowa registered some of its pass breakups on Penn State’s tight ends, and the breakup on Reynolds led to a pick and seven points. The unit needs to be better.

Offensive Line: B-

Iowa had a fine time making Grunkemeyer uncomfortable in the pocket. It seemed like every two plays, Grunkemeyer had to shuffle his feet and be prepared to scramble for his life. He looked poised on one play and antsy in the next, and that’s just not a good position for success.

Iowa’s defensive front tallied one sack, six tackles-for-loss, two quarterback hurries, and one forced fumble. Whenever the Hawkeyes showed blitz, they easily carved through a Penn State line missing starter Vega Ioane.

While Grunkemeyer didn’t have the cleanest day, the offensive line does demand credit for Allen’s day once again. The big boys up front created some gaping holes for Allen to run amok.

Front Seven: F

Another quarterback ran all over Penn State. Gronowski ended his night with 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only nine attempts.

Sophomore running back Kamari Moulton added to Gronowski’s total with 99 rushing yards of his own. Iowa totaled 245 and three touchdowns on the ground.

There’s not much that can be said about Penn State’s run defense other than the fact that it’s killing the team. Penn State was in this game. Penn State could’ve won this game. Iowa just rattled off too many big runs. Simple as that.

Secondary: C-

Zakee Wheatley picked off Gronowski with one hand on the first drive of the game. It was the perfect start for Penn State. The Nittany Lions got the early takeaway to set the tone and drove down the field and scored on offense.

While the secondary as a whole played well on the stat sheet, keeping Gronowski to 10-for-16 passing for 68 yards and Wheatley’s pick, the defensive line’s issues trickled down. Penn State’s defensive backs just spent most of their time chasing Gronowski and Moulton, and all that does is tire them out. It was too much to handle for the Nittany Lions’ defense as a whole at the end of the day.

Special Teams: B

Another week, another stellar special teams play.

Xavier Gilliam blocked Drew Stevens’ 66-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half. Elliot Washington II scooped the ball up and easily housed it. The score fired the Nittany Lions up going into halftime, and Terry Smith was almost brought to tears during his halftime interview due to the emotion that went into that play. It felt like Penn State’s season was going to turn around with that score alone.

The Nittany Lions also forced a missed field goal in the first quarter. However, Gabe Nwosu failed to pin the Hawkeyes deep with any of his three punts. He didn’t get a single one inside Iowa’s 20-yard line.

Iowa running back Kaden Wetjen registered 51 return yards on one kick return and one punt return, which helped the Hawkeyes with their field position.

While Penn State’s special teams unit has produced highlight plays in almost every game in 2025, there are always just small mistakes that leave the team hanging. It was more of the same against Iowa.