Another loss in the books, folks.

Penn State football suffered its fourth-straight defeat on Saturday night, losing in heartbreaking fashion to the Iowa Hawkeyes 25-24 in Kinnick Stadium.

The Nittany Lions parted ways with their head coach and lost their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. With Terry Smith and Ethan Grunkemeyer filling those voids for the first time, it was going to be an uphill battle to get the win.

Although the victory was in reach, Penn State fell short to extend its conference record to 0-4. There were some positives and a lot of negatives being discussed on social media, making for some interesting takes after week eight.

Andy Kotelnicki Needs To Go

Oscar Orellana: Kotelnicki’s mind and Penn State’s offense just aren’t clicking. It hasn’t worked all season and his decision to put in Jaxon Smolik for designed quarterback runs and take away reps from Ethan Grunkemeyer was really aggravating to see unfold. His offensive mind is too cute. Penn State should let him go at season’s end.

Collin Ward: Yes, the Kotelnicki experiment is over.

To me, the only reason to keep him is if you think you are bringing Eli Drinkwitz and Beau Pribula back for 2026. Kotelnicki clearly needs someone as mobile as the Missouri quarterback to work his scheme. His gimmicks do not work with a traditional pocket passer.

Likely a new coach will want to bring in his own guy anyway.

Cooper Cazares: Probably, yes.

This season has been an awful offensive showing for the Nittany Lions. Every week it reveals just how much Tyler Warren did for Penn State last season. I’ve been a defender on Kotelnicki for a while now, but when you have your new starting quarterback trot out as a wide receiver to bring on another inexperienced quarterback, it makes you scratch your head. It’s probably time for Penn State to move on to an offense-minded head coach and leave Kotelnicki behind at this point.

Zakee Wheatley Is The Best Player On Penn State’s Defense

Oscar Orellana: He definitely was Penn State’s best against Iowa, but Amare Campbell literally exists.

Collin Ward: Man, I love Wheatley, but I also love Campbell.

I think Campbell is carrying so much of the load since Rojas has been hurt. He consistently leads the team in tackles and makes plays in the run game and the pass game. Wheatley is awesome and definitely competing for the spot, though.

Cooper Cazares: He’s up there for sure.

I’m not sure I would rank Wheatley as the best overall player on Penn State’s defense, but I understand the take. Wheatley had an amazing interception on Iowa’s second play from scrimmage, but overall I still have Amare Campbell, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and a healthy Tony Rojas ahead of the safety.

Penn State Showed The Most Effort Since The Oregon Game

Oscar Orellana: The Penn State team that trotted out against UCLA and Northwestern was a broken team that knew the climax of whatever was going on within that locker room was near.

Terry Smith wanted the team to come out rejuvenated against Iowa, and, despite the loss, I think the Nittany Lions achieved that. They were feisty and made the Hawkeyes really fight throughout the whole game despite all of the internal turmoil. It was a tough loss, but those happen. Smith said he wouldn’t accept a lack of effort, and that was nowhere to be seen on Saturday.

Collin Ward: Yes, Penn State and James Franklin seemed to have given up on the season against UCLA and Northwestern.

As Smith put it, no one will question Penn State’s effort again.

Cooper Cazares: I like this take a lot.

It was a different energy than recent weeks on Saturday. Interim head coach Terry Smith emphasized that everyone would see more energy and spark from his team against the Hawkeyes, and I believe he accomplished that. Penn State was not supposed to win that game, but instead of lying down and accepting it, there was clearly more fight in the team.

Ethan Grunkemeyer Did Well In His First Start

Oscar Orellana: Grunkemeyer was serviceable and his stat line is worse than he actually did.

Think about the situation this kid was thrust into. QB1 is down, head coach is fired, immediately goes up to the starter under center with two career pass attempts. While he did look very antsy in the pocket at times, he had numerous plays where he stepped up confidently and made a solid throw or quick run for a first down. He injected some juice with his first down run on 4th-and-4 on Penn State’s first drive, and that means something. To come in and immediately have an impact play like that is a sign of things to come.

While he did throw two picks, the first was an alien-like play by the Iowa defensive back and the second just zipped right through Luke Reynolds’ hands, which he should catch. They were unfortunate and reflect on Grunkemeyer, but I think those are unfair to really count as his.

I think the main takeaway is that Grunkemeyer’s first start could have been a lot worse. It was gritty and tough, but the only way is up from here.

Collin Ward: How is this even a hot take? This is just a take, and it’s right.

There are too many people in today’s sports world who rely totally on stats and other people’s takes. I encourage everyone to actually sit down and watch sports to come up with their own opinions.

Grunkemeyer may have thrown two interceptions, but one was a tip on an accurate ball, yes I know it may not have been the right route, but that’s on coaching, and the other was an arm punt that put Penn State in a better spot.

I was really impressed with his ability to get loose in the pocket and try to make a play downfield. Weirdly, he kind of reminds me of Jaxon Dart. If he can learn to keep his eyes downfield for a little longer and gets more comfortable, he can be a very good start for the Nittany Lions in 2026.

Cooper Cazares: I was really hoping he would go off, but for the situation, I thought he did OK.

To go from not seeing any snaps to being the starting quarterback in a night game in Kinnick is a rather tough way to begin your college career. Grunkemeyer looked panicked at times, but overall he was conservative with his delivery and did his best against a tough Iowa defense. To all the Grunkemeyer haters out there, cut the guy some slack and let him get a feel for live action before judging him.

Terry Smith Will Be The Next Head Coach If He Wins Out

Oscar Orellana: I don’t really think it matters anymore. Nothing matters anymore…

… is what I would have said a week ago. I know the loss is hard to swallow and the Penn State faithful hoped for a win to steer the ship, but it was evident that Terry Smith injected some juice into this team. He knows the program, he’s a former player, and he loves Penn State. Pat Kraft already said he’s in consideration from the get-go… if Penn State takes down No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, who says he can’t be the next permanent head coach?

It would definitely be possible, but I think it ends at that. It’s possible. What’s more possible is Kraft going to an established winner who truly wants the position, not someone who was thrown into it after settling in as a position coach for 12 years. No hate to coach Smith, but that’s just not the way it works. Everybody who follows football knows how the interim-head-coach-made-permanent-head-coach story ends.

Collin Ward: Terry Smith, if you beat No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana in back-to-back weeks, you can have whatever you want.

Cooper Cazares: This would be electric.

After all Penn State has gone through, it would be cool to see the Nittany Lions take out the top two teams in the country in back-to-back weeks. Winning out would also warrant a bowl game and maybe an AP Poll designation to end the season. Smith would be a much more talked about candidate for the full-time job if this were to happen, but I would expect Penn State to go with an outside hire regardless.