How James Franklin's Firing Affected Iowa's Kirk Ferentz Ahead of Penn State Game

Penn State returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since James Franklin was fired, as the team turns toward playing Iowa. Interim coach Terry Smith previewed the game by pivoting away from the three-game losing streak and toward what amounts to a new season.

"We have got to get our grittiness back, our toughness, our swag, and most importantly, we've got to go have fun, enjoy playing the game of football," Smith said.

Because of that, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz isn't sure what to expect from the Nittany Lions. The game at Kinnick Stadium, scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff, is sold out, and Iowa is a 3-point favorite.

However, Ferentz isn't sure what to expect from the Nittany Lions under new management and without injured starting quarterback Drew Allar. Without naming the team, he referenced UCLA and its recent two-game win streak after firing head coach DeShaun Foster.

"I can't imagine they're going to change much, and I don't know why they would," Ferentz said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. "They don't need to. But, yeah, what the reaction is going to be, nobody can predict it. It seems like recently in our conference they made a change, and that team has done very well. My guess is these guys are going to come in ready to play, and they have a good football team. We need to get ready for it. I think we're seeing it on tape."

Here's what else Ferentz said about Penn State ahead of Saturday's game.

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz eyes the field before a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. | Ross Harried-Imagn Images

On what he expects from Penn State: They had a change on Sunday. Obviously, that was big news, and that is what it is, but they have three coordinators that are wildly respected in collegiate football. Those guys are all there. I'm sure coach Smith is going to do a great job tying it together. They still have the same players, so it's going to be a big, big challenge for us. We have our hands full and trying to get ready of the game this week.

On his reaction James Franklin's firing: It's a sign of the times. It's the world we're living in right now. It's unfortunate in a lot of ways I think, but it's just the world we're living in. It's not going to change. Well, it's going to change. It's going to keep getting more aggressive.

We live in reactionary times, me personally. I understand that. I'm not being accusatory or judgmental at all, but we live in reactionary times. I learned a lot when I was in pro football six years-wise about football and about other things, and I guess maybe that helps you down the road a little bit. The other thing I would point out real quick, I haven't heard anything about graduation rates in the last four days. Again, it illustrates where we're at right now, and it's unfortunate. Or having a great college experience. Throw that stuff out there, too.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin and Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz shake hands before a game. — Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (left) and Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz (right) shake hands before a game at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

On his history with Penn State: I've grown up in that part of the country, western Pennsylvania, and probably started paying attention to college football somewhere in the late '60s, I would guess. For me, I think about linebackers that they had there. Denny Onkotz played there back in the late '60s. Jack Ham was I think 1970. Then had you a running back Charlie Pittman, 1969. Then a couple of years later they had Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris, two first-rounders.

My point is going back however many years, 50-plus years, some really good players and really good teams. Quite frankly, from my vantage point not a lot has changed in 50-some years of Penn State football. They have really good players. They're very well-coached, and they've had a lot of really good teams. I reference that period because back then they weren't in a conference. They were in the Big East or they were an Eastern power. Quite frankly, that part of the country didn't get much attention back then, much respect nationally.

On Penn State receiver Devonte Ross, who scored three touchdowns vs. Iowa while at Troy last season: Our goal this year is to get a hand on him. I swear to God, I've never seen that in a game. It's almost impossible to do, but we witnessed it, so it's not impossible. It's unbelievable. Now they got two other guys too, so it's, like, okay, that's interesting. They went out and attracted three really good receivers, and he's one of them. We didn't have much luck against him. But that's an illustration the way they've got guys at every position that can beat you one play, so we just need to be at our absolute best.

3Q: 0:58 | 🦅 24 - ⚔️ 21

HAVE YOURSELF A DAY DEVONTE ROSS🥳

Tucker Kilcrease sends one deep to who??? OH YEAH... DEVONTE ROSS for 62-yards and his third touchdown of the game.#BattleReady | #OneTROY⚔️🏈 pic.twitter.com/ivnACXAfZh
— Troy Trojans Football 8x⚔️ (@TroyTrojansFB) September 14, 2024

On facing a team that lost its head coach and starting quarterback: This one is really easy. All you have to do is look at the tape, any segment. Just look at the tape. They're probably not smart enough to play here if they don't see it. You've got to respect these guys have really good players.

As I mentioned, they've got three coordinators that are really respected in the business by everybody. Two are very well-known. I think their special teams coordinator, he's actually out of that Erie mafia, if you will, the Hinkel, Bob Sanders era. I'm pretty sure he went to Prep, Cathedral Prep, too, and he's an outstanding special teams coach and has been for a long time, before he went to Penn State. He's really a guy who has rightfully garnered a very lofty reputation as a special teams coach. They got good players, good coaches, and there's going to be nothing easy about this game. I know that.

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