Penn State offensive lineman Dominic Rulli (52) watches from the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

In his first game as Penn State’s interim coach, Terry Smith came here not certain if the Nittany Lions would win but certain they would give a maximum effort that was clearly absent during the last three games of James Franklin’s tenure.

And Smith was right.

Despite a painful 25-24 loss Saturday night that in some ways represented a snapshot of this wrecked season – a porous defense when it mattered most and questionable key offensive calls, even without Franklin – the Lions played harder than they have all year.

In the visiting media room underneath Kinnick Stadium, in which you could feel his disappointment, Smith quickly acknowledged that while he wasn’t satisfied with the bottom line, “I think our guys left it all out there. I’m super proud of the way we played.”

He should be.

Before a loud crowd of 69,250 — one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten — Penn State was in position to win despite its quarterback, sophomore Ethan Grunkemeyer, making his first career start.

Grunk accounted himself pretty well. He kept the chains moving, relied on the run game and committed just one bad turnover, an interception returned to the PSU 1 that set up an Iowa touchdown in the second quarter.

Kaytron Allen rushed 28 times for 145 tough yards and two touchdowns, and the Lions led in every quarter and until 3:54 remained.

State didn’t play as tight as it often did under Franklin as Smith liberally used both of his inexperienced quarterbacks, Grunk and Iowa native Jaxon Smolik, who rushed four times and brought an option presence.

“I thought Ethan played a pretty solid game,” Smith said. “He managed the line of scrimmage and handled the crowd. And Smolik brings some athleticism to it.”

They committed the carries to Allen that he’s deserved. They used some new formations and even got underclassmen receivers Tyseer Denmark and Coby Howard some action.

But in the end, it was once again the Lions’ defense – as has happened repeatedly all season – that let them down.

“Obviously, very disappointing loss and very disappointed in the way we lost,” Smith said. “All three areas need improvement. Special teams, we continue to have problems. Offensively, we continue to struggle throwing the ball down the field, and defensively, we can’t get stops when we needed stops.”

The Lions did not defend Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski well at all as he rushed for 130 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns.

He practically walked in on the 4-yard TD bootleg that cut the Nits’ lead to 21-16 and then burst two long runs in the fourth quarter – a 67-yarder to set up the go-ahead score (25-24) and a 14-yarder in the last minute that clinched the game.

“Everybody got to do their job and play smart,” safety Zakee Wheatley said. “You’ve got to be in the right gap.”

It marked the fourth-straight game – all losses – that the Lions’ defense failed them.

“We have to learn to finish,” Smith said.

In three of those losses – Oregon, Northwestern and now Iowa – Penn State led in the second half or overtime and surrendered. And the fourth loss (UCLA), the defense was AWOL from the start and gave up 42 points.

Conversely, if you’d ask which coordinator – Jim Knowles or Andy Kotelnicki – was worse against Iowa, it would be a close vote.

Kotelnicki continues to supervise an east-west operation that doesn’t get the ball up the field.

And his key second-half calls – the fourth-and-1 when he tried to run tight end Luke Reynolds with a 21-16 lead, the third-and-10 from the Iowa 10 up 21-19 and the third- and fourth-down calls with the Lions down 25-24 – all were blown up.

Veteran Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker ate Kotelnicki’s lunch by successfully (and predictably) blitzing Grunkemeyer.

“Phil is an excellent teacher,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

So is Ferentz, whose team overcame his idea to attempt a 66-yard field goal with six seconds left in the first half. Penn State’s Xavier Gilliam blocked it, and Elliot Washington returned it 35 yards for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead.

“That was a bad decision,” Ferentz said.

But his team picked him up.

Meanwhile, on the Penn State sidelines, the Nittany Lions trudged home wearing their new T-shirts with the word “IF.”

Smith explained the T-shirts as standing for “infinite possibilities – if we focus, if we play hard, if we buy into each other.”

Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, one of those possibilities turned out to be another loss.

Neil Rudel covers Penn State football and can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.