Of all of the things that were said in the press conferences after James Franklin’s firing by Pat Kraft and Terry Smith, a three-letter word may have put this entire season into perspective.
“We have to get our grittiness back, our toughness, our swag, and most importantly, we have to go have fun, enjoy playing the game of football,” Smith said less than 24 hours after being informed he was chosen as the interim head coach of his alma mater.
Someone – now the man in charge – was saying the quiet part out loud.
The Nittany Lions had not been having fun.
For as much as the excuses for Penn State’s frustrating play at the start of the season had been purported to be “they’re saving something” or “they aren’t taking the softer schedule seriously,” the lack of “fun” put so much into focus.
Now with a new coach and a new quarterback, Penn State must find some way to have some if it wants to beat Iowa.
Every game – up until the Oregon game – had been some shape or fashion of frustrating.
Penn State never truly looked dominant against Nevada – but it was brushed off because it was game one.
Against FIU, Penn State got its first taste of many boo birds this season when it lumbered into half.
Even against Villanova, which ended up becoming a rout, Penn State never played with swagger and confidence that you’d expect from a team that many had picked to be playing in Miami in mid-January.
After that, things have only gotten worse.
Over the course of 15 days – one overtime stop away from becoming the No. 1 team in the land – Penn State lost to Oregon after battling back, failed to shake off that loss against UCLA with an unprepared effort, looked apathetic against Northwestern, lost its starting quarterback and had its coach fired for all of that.
Not exactly fun.
It was clear watching Penn State this season that the expectations had gotten to the team. In the way teams from 2016 or even 2022 had a bit of energy and enjoyment, there was hardly any of that this season.
Kaytron Allen had been the only offensive player with any amount of bravado. Penn State’s defense was consistently pushed around by far inferior opponents – or at least ones inferior on paper anyway.
Everything about this season had been so tense from the get-go that the tension couldn’t be released, only broken in a manner that has jump-started a rebuild far ahead of any potential one that was coming in 2026 with a more junior roster.
Football, for as much as it hadn’t been fun to watch of late, did not look like it was fun to play at any point this season.
Aside from the weight of those expectations, Penn State may have been facing modern college football cultural turmoil inside the locker room.
“We’re in this new era of football,” Smith said. “Like Pat said, you have to navigate everything about it: NIL, money, the locker room of bringing 125 guys together as a team, bringing individuals in and making them a collective. That’s my job now. And I’ve got to bring everyone together to see the benefits of how we can all succeed as one.”
A statement like that isn’t said without concern or proof. The mixture of money and pressure appears to have fractured the locker room before Sunday’s news. And Franklin’s firing, compounded by three straight losses for the first time since 2020, only made it worse.
At Wednesday’s media availability, Smith called the week “traumatic” but noted that progress – redirecting the frustration into results – has been made.
But it won’t be easy to fix in just one week’s time. Penn State will be without Drew Allar for the first time in two seasons due to a season-ending injury on the Nittany Lions’ last possession against Northwestern. Ethan Grunkemeyer, who has never started a game before, will take over. And it’s not like this weekend’s trip was going to be fun from the start. Kinnick Stadium, let alone at night, is a special kind of hell built by passion that can only be misplaced frustration from the boredom of cornfields.
For Penn State – with little to play for the rest of the way besides pride – must find the fun however it can to salvage any positivity that’s left in the season.
Admitting that it was missing, though, was a strong first step.
vs 
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: Peacock
Announcers: Paul Burmeister, Michael Robinson, Caroline Pineda
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Announcers: Steve Jones, Jack Ham, Brian Tripp
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