Will Penn State football win another game in 2025 after loss to Indiana?

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Penn State football has gotten little reprieve as it continues the long, excruciating march through a season that, at one point, seemed poised for success.

Saturday provided no comfort. The Nittany Lions suffered a 27-24 heartbreaking loss against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers in Beaver Stadium after the Hoosiers scored on their final drive with 36 seconds remaining.

With the loss, Penn State has lost six straight games for the first time since 2004 and the fifth time in school history. Five of its six losses this year were decided by a combined 16 points. It is still without a win in the Big Ten.

That begs the question: Will Penn State win another game?

With three games left, the Nittany Lions need a win and fast. The final stretch provides some relief. Penn State’s remaining opponents — Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers — all are in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings and working through their own struggles.

Michigan State is on its own six-game slide. The Spartans are 3-6 and haven’t won a game since defeating FCS opponent Youngstown State 41-24 to cap its nonconference slate. While currently on an idle week, they fell in a 23-20 overtime bout with an above-average Minnesota squad last week. When the Spartans faced Indiana in mid-October, they lost 38-13.

Rutgers won its only Big Ten game thus far in late October against last-place Purdue 27-24. While on paper toting a slightly better 4-5 record, three of their wins came against Mid-American Conference programs Ohio and Miami of Ohio, as well as FCS program Norfolk State. Norfolk State is currently 1-8.

The biggest hurdle for Penn State remains Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are 6-3, but are now without starting quarterback Dylan Raiola after he suffered a broken fibula against USC. Nebraska went on to lose the game 21-17, its second loss in three games.

Misery for Penn State has seemed, at least since it entered its Big Ten schedule, relentless. Heartbreaks have become commonplace and the once-thought inevitability of a run to the College Football Playoff was dashed weeks ago.

Despite it all, the Nittany Lions still have the pieces to put together a winning performance.

Nick Singleton all but handed them a win with his performance against Indiana. Ethan Grunkemeyer, despite being in his third collegiate start, technically outpaced Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza — Grunkemeyer completed 22 of 31 pass attempts for 219 yards compared to Mendoza’s 19 of 30 for 218 yards.

Above all, Penn State’s defense was there, pressuring Mendoza and holding Indiana to its fewest points in a game in six weeks. The last team to hold Indiana under 30 points was Iowa on Sept. 27. Indiana’s offense allowed just 3.2 tackles for loss ahead of Saturday, and Penn State notched eight by game’s end.

That’s not to forget the week before at Ohio State when Penn State trailed by just three points at halftime before getting blown out after the break.

Only once has Penn State lost more than six games in a row — the 1931 Nittany Lions lost seven straight under coach Bob Higgins. Penn State has the pieces to win again, but the question remains if it will.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Will Penn State win another game in 2025 after loss to Indiana?

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