COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sure, Penn State’s 38-14 loss to the top-ranked Buckeyes here in Ohio Stadium was not what you had hoped for two months ago. Or certainly what you expected.
But, it has been that kind of season. A bad season. A really bad season.
There are some silver linings. A few. So, we are using this week’s Top 10 to outline a few of the bright spots of the 2025 Penn State campaign (though, reading between the Lions, a few may not actually be bright at all).
Let’s start with relentless running back Kaytron Allen, who gained 26 yards on the Nittany Lions’ first play against the Buckeyes on Saturday. He could finish his four-year PSU career with the most rushing yards in Penn State history — ahead of icons such as Barkley, Warner, Cappy, Royster, Thomas and Dozier.
THE (KINDA) TOP TEN
1. Kaytron Allen still has a shot at Penn State’s all-time rushing record, with four regular season games to go (Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers). He began the 2025 season with 2,877 career rushing yards, No. 11 on the all-time chart and 1,055 yards behind all-time leading rusher Evan Royster (3,932, 2007-10). Backfield mate Nick Singleton was 1,020 yards behind Royster, at No. 10 with 2,192 yards.
1a. Now, after Allen had 76 yards and Singleton had 18 yards vs. Ohio State, the standings look like this:
- Royster, 3,932
- Saquon Barkley, 3,843
- Allen, 3,565
- Curt Warner, 3,398
- Tony Hunt, 3,320
- Blair Thomas, 3,301
- Curtis Enis, 3,256
- D.J. Dozier, 3,227
- Singleton, 3,204
1b. Allen has 688 yards rushing on 119 carries (5.8 yards per carry average) in 2025; Singleton has 292 yards on 82 carries (3.6 ypc).
1c. Allen needs 368 yards — or 92 yards per game — to get the all-time record. He’s rushed for more than 92 yards twice in 2025 (144 vs. FIU, 145 vs. Iowa), five times in 2024, two times in 2023 and two times in 2022. That’s 11 in all.
2. Just as you thought and were hoping for back in August, when Penn State was ranked No. 2 in The Associated Press preseason poll: An undefeated and No. 2-ranked Big Ten football team coached by a PA native will take the field on Saturday at noon in Beaver Stadium. It’s just that Curt Cignetti’s Indiana squad (9-0) will be that team. Penn State is 3-5, winless in the Big Ten.
3. Penn State’s defense is not as bad as you think. But it has the potential to be historically close. Under first-year DC Jim Knowles (and, likely, last-year DC Jim Knowles, who is owed $6.2 million by PSU in 2026-27…maybe with or without offset), the Penn State D — we’re grading on a curve here — surrendered 174 points in the first eight games of 2025. That’s 21.75 ppg, but includes 11 points by cupcakes Nevada, zero by FIWho and 6 by Villanova.
3a. In the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions have given up 157 points in five games. That’s 31.4 points per game. In 12 regular season games in 2024 (three non-conference, nine B10), PSU gave up 158 points.
3b. If the Nittany Lions, under Knowles, give up 31.4 points x their 4 remaining games, that’s 125 more points. That would give Penn State’s 12 regular-season opponents 299 points in 2025. Only three times in its 136 years of football has Penn State given up more than 300 points in a season: 308 (2010), 314 (2013) and 356 (2016).
3c. Discussing dollars and sense: Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is due $1.7 million in 2026 and $2 million in 2027 (maybe with/without an offset should he get a new job next year).
4. I’ll die on this hill: I so appreciate and admire interim head coach Terry Smith’s honesty and authenticity and loyalty. It’s been awhile.
5. Still available for hire: Matt Campbell (Iowa State); Manny Diaz (Duke); Mike Elko (Texas A&M); Bob Chesney (James Madison); Clark Lea (Vanderbilt); and Jeff Brohm (Louisville).
5a. The initial College Football Playoff brackets are released on Tuesday night. For Penn State, it would be optimal for AD Pat Kraft to announce a new head coach on Nov. 30, the day after the regular season finale at Rutgers. But the final CFP brackets and bowl pairings will not be released until Dec. 7.
5b. Elko and Texas A&M could very well be in the SEC title game (Dec. 6) and maybe even in the final four of the CFP brackets. Diaz (whose Dukies beat Clemson 46-45 on Saturday) and Brohm (whose Cardinals are ranked No. 14) also could be busy with the ACC title game and the CFP. Lea will just be looking at a bowl game, while Chesney’s 7-1 James Madison team has a shot at a Group of 5 berth in the CFP, though they must win out. Campbell could start at PSU on Nov. 30, and all that he misses is Iowa State’s bowl game.
6. Ethan Grunkemeyer improved in his second game as a starter on Saturday, while playing in Ohio Stadium for the second time in his life. (He played flag football there as a 5-year-old.) Grunk played his high school football at Olentangy High School, just 18 miles from The Horseshoe. As a prep star, he set school records for yards passing (8,401) and career passing TDs (80).
6a. Here are Grunkemeyer’s numbers for his two starts at PSU, after Drew Allar went down with a broken ankle against Northwestern. They’re juxtaposed against those of Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin, who was at Alabama briefly before transferring to Ohio State in 2024. This is Sayin’s first season as a starter:
Grunk/Iowa — 15-28-93 (53.6%), 3.3 yds./att., 2 int.
Grunk/OSU — 19-28-145 (67.9%), 5.2 yds./att., 1 int.
Sayin/PSU — 20-23-316 (87%), 13.7 yds./att., 4 TDs, 0 int.
6b. Not sure Grunk is going to be on the PSU roster next season, with Penn State bringing in a new head coach and a new offense. There’s always the portal. The first week of the 2025 college football season, 62.7% of the starting quarterbacks at the 67 Power 4 schools were acquired via the portal, according to CBS Sports. Grunk may be more suited for MACtion.
7. Penn State batted .333 on portal wide receivers, all now over halfway through their final one-and-done season at PSU. That average will get you into Cooperstown. But in big-time college football, it will also help get your coach fired. After battling injuries early in the season, Devonte Ross (Troy) has flashed consistently at wide receiver, while Trebor Peña (Syracuse) and Kyron Hudson (USC) have not. Their stats:
vs. Ohio State
Ross — 5-26
Peña — 3-11
Hudson — 1-18
Big Ten/5 games
Ross — 18-204
Peña — 13-66
Hudson — 6-80
2025/8 games
Ross — 23-281-3
Peña — 26-232-0
Hudson — 20-236-2
8. There were some Penn Staters who showed up well in The Horseshoe on Saturday — the ones on the Buckeyes staff. They include Ohio State’s defensive line coach Larry Johnson, touted in the OSU media guide as “the best defensive line coach in college football,” and run game coordinator and offensive line coach Tyler Bowen; both are former PSU line coaches. Penn State alumni on the Buckeyes staff included quarterback coach Billy Fessler, assistant tight end coach Wendy Laurent and senior advisor/RB analyst Tony Johnson.
9. I can’t imagine where Penn State’s defense would be without linebacker Amare Campbell, a portal pick-up from North Carolina, and steady, talented and mature safety Zakee Wheatley. Campbell leads the team with 59 tackles (37 unassisted) and Wheatley has 56 (39 unassisted). Rounding out the top 5 are LB Dom DeLuca (40), safety King Mack (31) and CB Audavion Collins (30).
