Folks, he’s done it. Terry Smith won his first game as Penn State’s interim head coach. Ethan Grunkemeyer wins his first game as the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions. And Penn State got its first win against a Power Four opponent in 2025.

It may not have been an easy path for anyone, but what in life is worth doing easy anyway. Apparently, all Penn State needed was a 76.2-pound trophy on the line.

Jokes aside, this win was much needed. The emotions of this season have been difficult for everyone, from the players to the fans, and it showed during the postgame celebrations.

As the clock ticked down on Penn State’s 28-10 victory over Michigan State, Zakee Wheatley, Anthony Donkoh, Zion Tracy, and others worked together to dump two barrels of Gatorade on Smith. For what seemed like the first time since taking over the head coach position, the former Penn State player grinned from ear to ear.

“It’s always a special moment when people celebrate you that way. It’s very humbling,” Smith said after the win. “I love those guys to death. I would do anything for them. They play so hard for us, and it was just a great moment.”

Smith is a true Penn Stater. A man who has coached for the Nittany Lions for 12 years and was a team captain for the school in the past. Smith has given everything to bring joy to the team and the fan base, and he finally got that glimmer of light on Saturday.

“Yeah, I’m just super happy for our kids. I’m super happy for our program. I’m super happy for our fans and our following,” Smith said. “We deserve this game. We now know again what it feels like to win, and we just got to build on this with momentum.”

When James Franklin was fired, Penn State had arguably the most daunting next three games of anyone in the country. With a brand new coach and quarterback at the helm, Penn State was set to face Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus, and No. 2 Indiana at home.

Despite the unlikelihood of a win, Penn State hadn’t had a six-game losing streak like it found itself in this week since 2004. As Smith put it after the game, talented players on other teams would have seen this as an opportunity to sit out the rest of the season and save their draft stock. The Penn State culture did not allow that.

Instead, the leaders stepped up and kept confidence high. Wheatley said after the win against the Spartans that there was never a doubt in the locker room that the Nittany Lions had the talent to hang with anyone in the country, a statement affirmed through a close loss to No. 2 Indiana.

Even so, this one feels that much sweeter after weeks without the winning feeling.

“For me, being here, this is my fifth season, I’ve never had a season like this,” Wheatley said. “Most times we feel [winning] every week. Not getting to feel it for a minute and get it today feels great.”

The win, being Smith’s first at the helm of the Nittany Lions makes it special as well. Trebor Peña, Ethan Grunkemeyer, the offensive line, and Wheatley all made comments about how emotionally connected they are to the former defensive backs coach for Penn State.

“He’s been here for 12 years, and he’s done a fantastic job,” Grunkemeyer said. “I think when a guy like that puts his heart and soul into Penn State football, he gets that same thing in return from the player. That’s just the type of guy he is, and we rally around that.”

Smith was emotional after the game when talking about his players and what it means to him and his family to get Penn State’s first Big Ten win.

“I’m just happy for those guys in the locker room. For all of you that are parents, you understand exactly what I’m saying,” Smith said. “These are my kids, and there’s nothing more than to make your kids happy. The sacrifice we do as parents for our kids, that’s what I’m happy about. Obviously, this is a great moment for me, for my family.”

The win, though, will bring a new set of challenges for the first-time head coach. As he said, Penn State has to fight for its life to win out and make a bowl game. While it might feel like this was what the last six weeks were working for, there’s more to be done.

“Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we reset. I’ve said that to you guys every Saturday I came in here after the losses, nothing changes,” Smith said postgame. “We’re going to reset tomorrow. We’re going to learn from our mistakes. We want to continue to improve and get better.”

Next on the schedule for Penn State is Nebraska at Beaver Stadium. The Cornhuskers are 7-3 this season, but will be without standout quarterback Dylan Raiola. In the only game without him this season, though, Nebraska beat UCLA 28-21, something Penn State clearly did not do.

While Penn State is technically not out of bowl contention at five wins, six guarantees it.

Wheatley said after the game that his message for the young guys moving forward is to stay present. He said you only get so many years in college football and never know what will happen. The standout safety wants the team to take everything in and continue to play winning football heading into the final two weeks of the season.