Eventually, the Terry Smith era at Penn State will become just a bit of trivia in Penn State football history.
Sam Boyle is already there.
Back in 1899, Boyle won four games – the same number of games Smith won in his residency as interim coach. But what’s more notable about Boyle’s time as head coach is that he wasn’t just Penn State’s head coach. He also coached VMI for one game in 1899 – a 39-0 win over Washington and Lee.
He is, the best I can tell, the only coach in Penn State football history to coach another school to a victory in the same season.
It’s a factoid that was long ago jammed into a metaphorical record book, likely lost in the stacks of the Pattee Library.
One day, the Terry Smith era at Penn State will be crammed into some history book and be forgotten about.
Saturday was not that day.
For the final time in the 2025 season and largely in perpetuity, Terry Smith got his moment in the Penn State football record book, a bowl win over Clemson inside Yankee Stadium.
It might have been a moment that Penn State needed.
The Smith era, lasting seven games in the wake of the firing of James Franklin, was brief – even shorter than Boyle’s one season as head coach at Penn State. But during Smith’s time, he made Penn Staters share their emotion and share his emotion.
He, a Penn State alumnus, made Penn State believe in Penn State football once again.
“I love Penn State. I love football,” a teary-eyed Smith told ESPN after the game. “The game and Penn State have done amazing things for me and my family. I’m just thankful. I’m just grateful.”
That emotion had been missing – or maybe just forgotten – by the end of Franklin’s tenure. And only when Smith, in his introductory press conference, reminded Penn State of the power of Penn State did it become apparent just how lost that feeling was.
“It’s because of Penn State and all the lessons I learned here,” he said in October. “I just want to give back to this community what it’s always given to me and my family. It means everything to me. I don’t see working here as a job. I love waking up every morning and showing up for work and trying to make us better.”
In the weeks that followed, there was enough fodder to last a lifetime.
There were three straight losses. One against Iowa in frustrating fashion, one against Ohio State in unsurprising fashion and one against Indiana in painful fashion.
But when Smith found a win against Michigan State, he bared it in a candid display that was genuine and stark absent from the last few years where Penn State football became intensely boiled only down to outcome.
“There’s so many people in my life that speak life into me, and they all reach out. I’m just so blessed,” he said. “God has been so good to me through everything in my life. I have the opportunity to be the head coach at Penn State. I don’t think anything has made me or my family happier than this opportunity.”
Then when Smith found a win against Nebraska at home in early November, the emotion became its most intense but only externally.
There were the chants of his name, but there was also a button alluding to Joe Paterno’s 409 wins. There was a clash between past and future.
During that time, the emotion only got more impassioned. Those in favor of remembering the Paterno legacy rallied around Smith and those in favor of moving forward became frustrated at another attempt to hold Penn State back.
It opened some wounds that had been all but closed – or at least also crammed away. But it made Penn State talk. It made Penn State share those emotions. They will never be healed, at least not until Smith is as relevant as Boyle in the history books, some 126 years from now.
There, too, were final moments of desperation as the coaching search to find Matt Campbell took twists and turns that could make up a spin-off novel in the history book of Penn State.
But when it came time to focus on football, Smith kept Penn State focused.
He was able to turn that Nebraska win into a win over Rutgers and he was able to turn that into an effort against Clemson that was reflective about what Penn State football is about.
The Nittany Lions allowed just 10 points and gave up a mere 236 yards. The defense pulled Cade Klubnik down four times and had six total tackles for a loss.
Meanwhile on offense, Penn State rushed for 135 yards, 101 of which came on the back of Quinton Martin Jr. Ethan Grunkemeyer threw two touchdowns, one of which came to bowl MVP and Bronx native Trebor Pena.
And while most of the effort won’t necessarily work its way into the top 10 of Penn State’s record book and it won’t be remembered as a top 10 bowl in Penn State history, there is something to be said for the way Smith got Penn State’s football team to fight for Penn State.
Through his genuine, honest attitude, Smith was the right person for the right but brief time at Penn State. He gave Penn State something positive to rally around, all the while he himself seemed to have a sense of enjoyment in the opportunity in front of him. Every time Smith spoke about Penn State, there was a sense of protection and recognition that Penn State wasn’t just his. Penn State belonged to all of those moments and opportunities it gave to Smith, Penn State players, Penn State fans, and Penn State alumni.
Each time he was asked about Penn State he beamed with pride.
And Smith made Penn State proud. That emotion could be found on his face as he choked up yet again, this time on television covered in grass clippings that were tossed over him.
Now the kid from Alquippa who many doubted as a tiny pass catcher who became an assistant coach that went on to become interim won’t just be a factoid in the Penn State history book. At least not right now.
At least not at that moment.
No, in his final game as interim head coach, Smith reminded Penn State what being a Penn Stater is about. And in return, Penn State will remember his moment in the form of a record book entry that features four wins, three losses and one half of a season that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
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