Standing in the eye of a raging storm, questions swirled about Penn State’s effort level following continuous heartbreaking defeats, including a double-overtime loss to Oregon and one score failures against UCLA, Northwestern and Iowa.
Amid a nightmare of a season, interim head coach Terry Smith said “We’re gonna run through the storm until we get out the storm. We’ll come out and the sun will shine on us, and we’ll all be better for it.”
His optimistic tenor was refreshing, but the following game resulted in a 38-14 loss at Ohio State, the Nittany Lions’ largest margin of defeat in years. Leading up to a matchup against No. 2 Indiana, there was buzz about Penn State’s practice effort being lower than usual, which Smith was quick to shut down.
On Saturday, Smith’s team silenced any doubts about its commitment to finishing the season strong, going toe-to-toe with one of the nation’s best squads and falling just short, 27-24.
“Super proud of the effort that our guys put out there, they do everything we asked of them, and we just keep coming up short,” Smith said after the game.
Ethan Grunkemeyer, who produced a career-high 219 passing yards and threw his first touchdown of Big Ten play, began his post-game press conference with an unprompted opening statement, the first time he’s done so, to discuss the effort level.
“We just played the No. 2 team in the country,” Grunkemeyer said. “(Indiana’s) got a top-five offense, top-five defense and Heisman contender at quarterback. So the questions about our buy-in as a team, I think, right there, that just goes to show the commitment our team has.”
Smith said the veterans on the team — players like running back Nick Singleton and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, who had NFL opportunities last offseason but opted to return and chase a national championship — are the ones most pained by the losses but are still keeping their composure into the final stretch of the season.
“These guys work hard … We’re straining these guys. They don’t reap any reward for it, and it’s very difficult,” Smith said. “I just feel bad for those guys. They deserve more. They deserve victory. And we’ll reset tomorrow. We’ll come back out and try to get better.”
While conference and national championship aspirations — once considered the expectation for this squad — are long gone, Smith said the leaders of the team are working to finish their collegiate careers on a high note, while also setting the tone for younger players.
“These guys are busting their butt … They’re leading the way, and that’s why I feel so bad for them, because they are doing everything we ask,” Smith said. “They’re working hard, they’re leading the locker room. They’re making sure these young guys are following.”
Since taking over as interim head coach, Smith’s team has played in two hostile environments against currently ranked teams and at home against an elite Hoosiers squad that’s all but guaranteed to play for the Big Ten championship and make a College Football Playoff appearance.
The road lightens considerably, with matchups at Michigan State (3-6, 0-6 Big Ten), versus Nebraska (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) and at Rutgers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten). Smith, who kept his emotions in check for a majority of the press conference, spoke with intensity when discussing the team’s remaining games.
“We’re gonna fight harder,” Smith said. “No one will ever question a Terry Smith team that they don’t play hard.”
A bowl game is still in the cards, and Penn State’s effort level Saturday showed the team is still hungry for wins. The players are tired of hearing speculation about them checking out on the year, and they’ll have a chance to prove that in the coming weeks as they battle for bowl eligibility, beginning in East Lansing.
