Penn State vs. Iowa: How will the Nittany Lions respond after James Franklin was fired?
Penn State plays its first game without former head coach James Franklin since 2013 this Saturday. The Nittany Lions will play the Iowa Hawkeyes in Week 8 of the college football season in the program’s fourth Big Ten game of the year. Here are some final thoughts and predictions ahead of the matchup.
Grunkemeyer’s audition takes center stage
The purpose about 2025 is now about figuring out who can and should be a part of the team in 2026. And that’s most important at quarterback, where Ethan Grunkemeyer will have a chance to prove he can start for the Nittany Lions next year as a redshirt sophomore. Grunkemeyer is taking over at quarterback after Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury against Northwestern, and will have to do so against one of the best defenses in the country. The Hawkeyes have the No. 8 defense in the FBS according to Bill Connelly’s SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency, and are coming off a shutout against Wisconsin. Not to mention, this game will be at night in Kinnick Stadium — one of the most hostile atmospheres in college football.
All of that is to say, Grunkemeyer will have his work cut out for him in his first career start — but that doesn’t mean he can’t succeed. He doesn’t have the same level of arm talent as Allar, but is more mobile, making him a slightly better fit for offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense. Grunkemeyer should help lift the running game, opening things up more for Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. As a passer, he doesn’t need to go and win the game for Penn State — he just needs to play mistake-free football. Whether he can do that or not will be the first indicator of whether he can lead this program into the future.
How does the team respond?
Penn State played the last two weeks like a team that felt the weight of its loss to Oregon. The players were adamant that they didn’t quit on former head coach James Franklin, but the loss to the Ducks was clearly impactful. The Nittany Lions lost to two of the worst teams in the Big Ten and now must deal with the fact that their performance played a major role in Franklin getting fired. And they still have six games left to play this season without any of their goals reasonably in reach. Their response against the Hawkeyes will be telling for how the final five games will go.
If the players come out and play with some newfound aggression and attention to detail, it could be a good sign that they will have a chance to be competitive against a difficult slate that includes matchups with Ohio State and Indiana. But if they come out and look lethargic, and like they don’t want to be on the field, the final six games could be a disaster. And if that happens, it’s reasonable to expect drastic changes.
What changes?
While major changes might require a larger fall-off for the Nittany Lions, it’s likely that interim head coach Terry Smith will institute some changes both schematically and from a personnel standpoint. The primary place to look will be on offense, where struggles at wide receiver with Kyron Hudson and on the offensive line with Nolan Rucci could lead to changes. At wideout the answers are clear, with Koby Howard and Tyseer Denmark potentially getting more reps moving forward to determine if the two young players can help this year and in the future.
On the offensive line it’s more in flux, since Cooper Cousins was out against Northwestern and Anthony Donkoh was questionable in the game. Donkoh is the most likely replacement for Rucci at right tackle, while Cousins and guard T.J. Shanahan would likely start at right guard to replace Donkoh’s spot. That alignment, with Drew Shelton at left tackle, Vega Ioane at left guard, Nick Dawkins at center, Shanahan or Cousins at right guard, and Donkoh at right tackle, is probably the team’s best moving forward. It’s just a matter of whether they can all get and stay healthy.
Final predictions
Iowa 17, Penn State 13: This is the first of three straight games that Penn State is going to be an underdog in, and it’s hard to see it winning any of them. The Nittany Lions will be entering a hostile environment with a first-time starter at quarterback and an interim head coach. It would be a surprise if this offense is able to score more than two touchdowns against a very good Iowa defense.
MVP: Iowa RB Kamari Moulton. Penn State’s run defense has struggled, so Moulton could be in for a career day. The Iowa running back is coming off a great game against Wisconsin in which he finished with 15 carries for 96 yards and a rushing touchdown. He should be able to break out for his first 100-yard rushing game of the season against the Nittany Lions. I’ll go with 13 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns for Moulton in the Iowa win.
The last word
Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith on if he had any apprehension about becoming interim head coach out of loyalty to James Franklin:
“James has always told me that if something happened to him, he would recommend that I be the next person to lead. So he understood. We’re all under contract. We have to press forward. You know, we’re dealt a certain hand in life, and whatever that hand is you have to play it. This is the hand that I’ve been dealt to lead this program. When I woke up yesterday morning I had no idea I was going to be the interim head coach of Penn State University. Today I’m super proud to be that. I will lead this program to the best of my ability, and we’re going to get it back on track.”
