Penn State football sat at No. 3 in The Associated Press top 25 poll when it welcomed then-No. 6 Oregon to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 27 for its annual white-out game.
The Nittany Lions trailed by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter but fought back to force overtime. Then, in the second overtime, Penn State had the ball, and all it needed was to find the end zone and execute the 2-point conversion to notch a top 10 victory.
Instead, quarterback Drew Allar tossed a game-ending interception. Two weeks later, the Nittany Lions lost their third straight game as they fell to Northwestern on Oct. 11. Head coach James Franklin was showered with “Fire Franklin” chants as he left the field.
A day later, the fans’ wish came to fruition: Franklin was fired. In just 15 days, he went from on the verge of a top win to jobless. Now, Penn State has lost its two contests under interim head coach Terry Smith ahead of its noon matchup Saturday with No. 2 Indiana football inside Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Here’s what to know ahead of the contest:
Cignetti on Penn State
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti reached out to Smith when Franklin was fired, Smith said in a press conference Monday. He’s appreciative of Cignetti.
“Curt Cignetti is a friend of mine,” Smith said in a press conference Monday. “...He’s a Pittsburgh guy and we go way back from his dad being a coach at IUP (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), and I know the whole family.”
Cignetti feels Franklin represented himself “with class,” so he has a lot of respect for him. And Penn State itself.
When the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions faced off in previous seasons, the latter were typically overwhelming favorites. Not this time. Indiana is favored by 14.5 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Still, Cignetti realizes the challenge ahead.
“Same guys they started the year with for the most part that was ranked No. 1 to No. 3 in the country, so a lot of good football players at all positions, playing really hard here,” Cignetti said. “Terry has done a really good job of sort of rejuvenating these guys, and it'll be his first opportunity to play a game at home.”
NFL-level RB duo
Senior running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both returned for their senior seasons at Penn State. Allen has 688 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on 119 attempts while Singleton checks in with 292 yards rushing and seven scores on 82 carries.
“They're both explosive,” Cignetti said. “They're both fast. One might be a hair bigger than the other one, one might be a tad quicker than the other. But those are NFL guys. They were impressive against Ohio State.”
Having two high-level rushers, Cignetti said they’re even harder to stop because Penn State can rotate them. In turn, they’ll stay fresher as the game wears on.
Despite the team’s overall struggles, the duo remains potent to defenses.
“They’ve been elite running backs since I think they first got in here as freshmen,” redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Jones said during media availability Tuesday. “I remember them from a while ago. They’re like a 1-2 punch... They got a lot of skillsets, and it’ll be an exciting matchup on Saturday.”
New signal caller
In Penn State’s most recent home game Oct. 11, senior quarterback Drew Allar went down with a broken ankle. He later underwent season-ending surgery — also ending his Nittany Lions career.
Redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer has slotted into Allar’s role. In his two games as the starter against Iowa and No. 1 Ohio State, Grunkemeyer threw for 238 total yards while completing 60.7% of his passes. However, he’s tossed three interceptions.
Grunkemeyer made just one appearance last season in his true freshman year. Out of Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio, he was ranked the eighth-best quarterback in the country, according to 247 Sports.
Now, he’s getting his first real collegiate opportunity. And although Grunkemeyer struggled in the last two contests, Cignetti said players are “always morphing” as the season progresses.
“He's tall,” Cignetti said. “He can spin the ball. He moves well enough to get out of trouble. He's made some impressive throws. He can get it out of his hand fast. You can see with every series, every snap, he's improving and he's learning. He's a good player.”
Defensive familiarity
Led by first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who spent the last three seasons in the same role at Ohio State, the Nittany Lions’ overall defense ranks near the middle of the Big Ten.
Penn State surrenders 21.8 points and 325.8 yards per game. In terms of the passing game, its defense ranks sixth in the conference, as it’s allowed 166.4 yards passing per contest.
The Nittany Lions have failed to get crucial defensive stops in nearly all of their conference clashes this season. Smith compared learning Knowles’ “complicated” defense to attending math class.
Despite Penn State’s offensive changes, there haven’t been as many defensively.
“Well, the defensive coordinator is still in place, and obviously we faced them last season at Ohio State, so that part of it really hasn't changed,” Cignetti said. “We put a little bit more weight, obviously, on some games than others in our breakdowns.”
The game
With a victory, Indiana would move to 10-0 for the second consecutive season. A trip to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship would almost certainly be sealed, as the Hoosiers’ remaining games come against Wisconsin and Purdue — two teams stuck at the bottom of the conference.
At noon Saturday on Fox inside Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, the Cream and Crimson could notch their first win in the famed stadium.
“They've had some tough times, and we've got to have a great day today (Monday) and a great week to stack days just like always,” Cignetti said. “Be prepared, have the right mindset, play really, really well, first play to last play.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
