Penn State (3-3) at Iowa (4-2)
Saturday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.
Iowa City, Iowa
UNIVERSITY PARK — New Penn State head football Coach Terry Smith will have a challenging first day on the sideline as his Nittany Lions face off with 4-2 Iowa in Iowa City on Saturday night in a prime-time Big Ten matchup.
The game will end what can only be described as a head-spinning week for the Penn State football program and its fans, but it will also begin a new era for the Lions as a former player with deep roots in the University takes over as the leader of the football program.
Smith is a former wide receiver who followed in his father Harvey’s footsteps as a graduate from Penn State University. Harvey Smith was the first person in Smith’s family to graduate from college.
Now, Terry Smith will lead 3-3 Penn State into Iowa City and try to end the Nittany Lions’ downward spiral that began with the overtime loss to Oregon at home on September 26.
“Challenging” may not be quite a strong enough term to describe the task that Smith and the Lions will face on Saturday night.
Iowa so far has wins over Albany, 34-7, UMass, 47-7, Rutgers, 38-28, and Wisconsin, 37-0. The losses, both very close, came at the hands of Cy-Hawk rival Iowa State, 16-13, and still undefeated Indiana, 20-15.
The loss to Indiana came after the Hoosiers scored 10 unanswered points in the final nine minutes of the game. The game-winner came on a 49-yard touchdown pass with just 1:28 remaining and the score tied at 13-13.
That was on Sept. 27, and the Hawkeyes next went into Wisconsin and pushed around the Badgers in a 37-0 rout.
The game was not close. Iowa led 17-0 after the first quarter and 23-0 at halftime.
Running back Xavier Williams then took care of things in the second half with touchdown runs of 29 and 19 yards while the Iowa defense was shutting down whatever Wisconsin tried to run on offense.
Wisconsin managed just 82 yards passing on 8 completions and 127 net yards on the ground on 36 attempts. Iowa meanwhile took a 319 to 209 total yards advantage.
For the season so far, Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski is 85-for-130 for 743 yards and 3 touchdowns with a long of 45 yards and 124 yards per game.
Kamari Moulton is the top rusher with 261 net yards on 50 carries with 2 touchdowns, while Williams has 241 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Hawkeyes as a team have gained 1104 yards total, an average of 184 per game.
The defense has 12 sacks for 76 yards, 30 tackles-for-loss and 4 interceptions. LB Carson Sharar is the top tackler with 36 total, 3.5 TFL and a sack.
For Penn State, the 22-21 loss to Northwestern at home on Saturday was the team’s third in a row and most costly in several ways.
Foremost, perhaps, was the season-ending injury to senior quarterback Drew Allar after a third-down scramble on Penn State’s final possession of the game.
Allar ran after being unable to find a receiver and injured his right leg. It was announced after the game that he is out for the season.
Penn State led in the game 21-16 until Northwestern scored on a 9-yard run with 4:51 left to play and took a 22-21 lead.
Penn State took over with time left to drive for a win, but a three-and-out that included Allar’s injury and a fourth-down run by backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer that was just short of the sticks.
But it was Penn State’s inability to get off the field on defense, a turnover on a punt, six penalties (two on a scoring drive by Northwestern), for 71 yards, and just 51 plays run compared to 68 by Northwestern that also played major roles in the loss.
On Sunday, it was announced that head coach James Franklin was being replaced and that Smith would take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
“I appreciate the opportunity from Pat Kraft and the administration,” Smith said at a press conference on Monday, “that they entrusted me to lead this program forward.
“Penn State holds a dear place in my heart. I’m a third-generation Penn Stater. My dad sits on top. He’s a ‘68 grad; I’m ‘91 grad, and my son’s an ‘07 grad and my daughter just graduated recently. I call this place home, and I’m proud to be sitting in front of you.
“For our program, we need to stick together, stay focused, and keep the standard to standard. Nothing changes when it comes to expectations.
“We need to get back to enjoying the game, being tough, gritty and passionate. Our players and staff will respond with great energy. This week I am excited to lead everyone in the Lasch Building.”
It remains to be seen what, if any, changes in personnel or strategy take place at Iowa, but Grunkemeyer will take over as quarterback.
Smith went on to say that he will be adjusting to the new responsibilities of being a head coach as the team prepares for the Hawkeyes this week.
He repeated more than once in his press conference that the Nittany Lions need to reassert their toughness, grit and passion on the field. And given how difficult it has been for Penn State to play in Iowa City, the Lions will need all of that for this reboot to get off to a good start.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Iowa City.
