Years from now, when the 2025 season is chronicled, of course there will be games and events that the Nittany Nation will want to forget, but one to be remembered is the image of Terry Smith being doused with Gatorade and carried off the field Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

His ear-to-ear grin summed up Penn State’s 28-10 victory over Michigan State, stopping the Lions’ losing streak at six.

Afterward, Smith regrouped emotionally and attempted to deflect the attention.

“I’m really happy for those guys in the locker room,” he said after a long pause. “Obviously, a great moment for me and my family. It’s just humbling.”

Smith, who said he may get a case of “hypothermia” from the post-game bath, was presented with the game ball amidst cheers in the locker room.

“I’m sitting here soaking wet,” he said, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Even through the three-game losing streak since becoming the Lions’ interim coach, Smith has kept the team playing hard.

“When you got a coach that you really believe loves you and wants the best for you, you’ll do anything for him,” defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, who made two sacks and blocked a punt, said. “And that’s how we are as a team right now.”

Dennis-Sutton is Penn State’s best defensive player, the kind who in the NIL era during this lost season could be attempting to preserve his high-round NFL draft status.

“In today’s times, (on) some teams, guys like that are locked out,” Smith said. “His effort today was incredible – relentless pressure.”

Smith has appealed to the Lions “playing for the brotherhood of Penn State,” and Dennis-Sutton has bought in.

“Whether we win every game, lose every game, I was never born a quitter. My family never instilled that in me,” he said. “Coach Terry made a quote when we started losing. ‘Once you’re a quitter, you’re always a quitter.’ And that sort of resonated with me. I never want to be looked at as a quitter.”

His teammates followed his lead.

The Lions knew they had advantages up front on both lines and simplified their approach.

On the 76-yard, 13-play touchdown drive that put the Nits up 21-10 with 4:32 left and pretty much clinched the game, Smith kept it all on the ground.

“Statement drive,” he said. “No passes.”

Actually, the 4-yard TD shovel from Ethan Grunkemeyer to Devonte Ross was considered a pass, but you get the message.

Penn State got back to “old-school” football, Smith called it.

“We dominated up front and threw the ball when necessary,” he said.

Of the eight passes Grunkemeyer completed, one was a 75-yard touchdown to Ross that gave the Lions a 14-10 lead with 8:30 left in the first half.

“That changed the game,” Smith said. “It backed them up and opened the run game.”

Michigan State, ever the cooperative host at 3-7 and losers of seven in a row, would not score again.

That was thanks to Penn State’s run game, anchored by Kaytron Allen’s career-high 181 yards and two touchdowns, and a Lion defense that held Sparty to one of 10 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth.

“I thought our defense got after it and started wreaking havoc,” Smith said. “That had been a true weakness early on.”

The interim leader challenged the Lions (now 4-6) at halftime to “end the game on our terms.”

In doing so, they discovered a formula for learning how to win through defense and a punishing ground game – aspects that James Franklin’s teams could never consistently execute.

“We finally know what it takes to win,” Smith said. “We finally know what it takes to finish a game and close a game.”

He cited balanced contributions from the offense, defense and special teams, adding, “That’s how you win.”

Smith thought the W would provide “momentum” going into the final two games of the regular season – a 7 p.m. kickoff Saturday vs. Nebraska followed by a visit to Rutgers – and a possible bowl game as incentive.

“We’re playing for our life to make a bowl game,” he said.

In the meantime, the suffering has ended for Smith and the Nits.

“I just feel excitement and happiness, not just to get back in the win column, but for Coach T,” linebacker Keon Wiley said. “That was his first win as a head coach, and he did a lot for us, and we owed that to him. It’s been a tough six weeks. But we got to find a way to keep winning, and we hope to do that next week.”