Indiana football: Penn State insider provides insight on Nittany Lions

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With Indiana set to travel take on Penn State on Saturday at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, we reached out to our friends at Black Shoe Diaries with a few questions on the Nittany Lions. They answered.

Here’s what they had to say:

Q: There’s obviously quite a bit to talk about, but let’s start here. What’s the general, overarching vibe around the program in Happy Valley right now? It’s looking to be a pretty wacky coaching carousel, do Penn State fans think the athletic department will be able to land not only a good coach, but one capable of taking the program places that James Franklin wasn’t able to on a consistent basis?

Starting with just the vibe, it’s been a train wreck and nightmare combined. Is there a name for that? Dumpster fire? Cluster…you know what. I’ve been following Penn State football since the early 90s and this was the most hyped season of all time. Coincidentally, the other year that had similar preseason vibes was 1999 and Penn State fell apart that year, too. 

So, all we really have to look forward to know is a coaching search. There is nervous energy there too since the recruiting calendar, playoff schedule, etc. all kind of limits what Pat Kraft (IU grad) might be able to do. Penn State does have resources, will have money, and is still a Top 10ish job in the country. I think the school has been painted the wrong way in terms of expectations. The new coach will get support. James Franklin is literally the first Penn State football coach to EVER be fired for on-field performance. Plus, he had plenty of time. For IU reference, imagine the tenure of Mike Davis PLUS Tom Crean. That’s the kind of time and some eerily similar results between the two programs. 

Q: Terry Smith, one of the great Nittany Lions, is leading the program as an interim. What’s the general feeling toward him? Has he made any slight changes or adjustments to what the team is doing this season or do the Nittany Lions look about the same as they did in previous games?

Terry is beloved. He was a player on a great team. He was an amazing high school coach whose step son came to Penn State and helped spark the team to a conference title when it looked like Paterno was done. He’s done a lot of the heavy lifting with recruiting. 

Unfortunately for him, the same problems on the field that Penn State was having as Franklin was fires have remained. The offense is listless. The defense can’t make big plays to get off the field. He’s talked about things that need done, especially on offense, but nothing looks different. 

Q: Penn State is still very, very talented. Who are some players whose names are circled in Indiana’s facilities this week?

Start in the backfield with Kaytron Allen. He’s emerged over the more hyped Nicholas Singleton to be Penn State’s best running back. He still has a slim shot of winding up the school’s all-time leading rusher. He will be running behind an offensive line that was being hyped as the nation’s best in the preseason. They aren’t. But they will still be amongst the best units IU has faced this year. 

On defense, I don’t know. They’ve been even more of a mess and I’ll get to that later. 

Q: What has Ethan Grunkemeyer brought to the quarterback position against Iowa and Ohio State?

It’s hard to say. Penn State has seemed unwilling to let him really sling it around. They’ve played scared on the road against two good defenses. They’ll get a third one this weekend, but maybe they’ll actually let him try to throw down the field since it’s at home? I do think Grunk looked more comfortable and actually delivered some good balls on third down in the Ohio State game. He moved through progressions and actually was decisive with the ball. That was better than against Iowa. I have hope for him in the final three games where he’s not playing playoff caliber defenses. Unfortunately, that’s still a week away. 

Q: Jim Knowles seemed to be the get of the offseason but it doesn’t look like things have panned out in year one (to put it lightly). What’s his defense looked like so far this season?

Ever see four guys play patty cake and then seven guys move slowly around not being able to figure out where the ball is? Well, that’s how I’d describe the defense. 

We’ve grown accustomed to disruptive players on the front line. Penn State hasn’t had that. They have two highly thought of defensive linemen (Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton) who have been disappointing this season. After the Oregon game, the Lions lost star linebacker Tony Rojas for the season and that’s been nearly as big an injury as losing Drew Allar at QB. Meanwhile, the secondary was supposed to be a strength, but outside of Zakee Wheatley at safety, it’s been underwhelming and they got torched by Ohio State’s receivers. 

Combine all of this with a defense that apparently you have to have an MBA from Kelly Business School (how’s my institutional knowledge of IU doing?) and it’s hard to fathom Penn State paid Knowles $3 million. 

Q: You wake up at 8 p.m. after snoozing through the game and see that Penn State has won by a touchdown. What’s your immediate thought as to how this happened? Additionally, what’s the vibe expected to be at Beaver Stadium?

My immediate thought would be that all these guys played up to their expectations. Listen, coming into this year, I thought Penn State was a surefire playoff team even if they didn’t win the national title or Big Ten. You mentioned earlier in your questions that Penn State still has talent and I agree. The losses to Northwestern and UCLA were inexcusable and the reason that Franklin lost his job. This team was also a play away from beating Oregon and a “not settling for a field goal” away from beating Iowa in Kinnick. I think the Noon kick hurts the energy at Beaver Stadium some. But, this is still a stadium where IU has never been victorious. But ultimately, I think IU is too good and too well coached ultimately to fall to a backup QB and a defense that can’t get right.

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