Penn State Searches for its 'Why' During Disappointing Season

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State has four regular-season games remaining and a lot of uncertainty surrounding the program’s direction. The Nittany Lions (3-5) must win three of their last four games to qualify for a bowl game, which they could choose to decline. So what’s left to play for?

Safety King Mack, who transferred from Penn State to Alabama and back to Penn State, said everyone on the team has a “why.” And despite how this season has gone, he doesn’t regret returning.

“It’s for my family, the love for the game and also those guys in the locker room,” Mack said. “After all the work we put in from spring to summer workouts, winter workouts, I watched the blood, sweat and tears and I know how much they love the game.”

Penn State hosts Indiana on Saturday in its first home game since James Franklin's firing Oct. 12. The Nittany Lions have lost five straight games, the last two under interim head coach Terry Smith. Yet Smith said that the locker room is still together, and players believe that Penn State will get out of the storm.

“It’s the guys in the locker room, like we’re the only ones that really know how it feels walking off the field the past couple weeks with that feeling,” offensive lineman Vega Ioane said. “It’s knowing that we came in feeling the same way, but looking around and the guys still going to work as hard as they can.”

When Smith became interim head coach, he made a promise that Penn State’s effort would never be questioned. But as this losing streak has continued, staying positive hasn’t always been easy. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer said that veteran leadership has been a crucial part of keeping the team focused.

“I think of a guy like [center] Nick Dawkins off the top of my head. He’s one of those guys that’s going to bring the same energy, the same effort every day to practice whether we were 0-12 or 12-0,” Grunkemeyer said. “I think that’s just a testament to the type of guys coach Franklin brought in here these past couple years.”

Gauging the Nittany Lions' practice energy

Winds were fierce tonight and the kicking team is getting some key practice in.

Normally the special teams unit stays inside during the media availability. pic.twitter.com/v7h1pbdWzq
— amanda vogt (@amandav_3) November 5, 2025

Wind gusted through the football fields outside Holuba Hall on Wednesday as Penn State practiced ahead of its battle with unbeaten Indiana. It will be the first home game since Oct. 11, when the Nittany Lions lost to Northwestern. Franklin was fired the following day.

During the media availability at practice, there wasn’t a palpable energy. Reps looked slow, and there weren’t as many audible back-and-forths between players and coaches. The kicking unit normally stays inside while the media is out watching. On Wednesday night, Ryan Barker was outside practicing field goals in the wind.

But Smith said called it one of the team’s better practices. He also didn’t notice a lack of energy.

"This was one of our better practices," Smith told reporters at Holuba Hall. "You guys don’t get to see our good-on-good [period]. We had a good-on-good [first-team offense vs. first-team defense period] before you guys [in the media] came out, and then we had an individual period.”

That portion of practice is focused on teaching, so players don’t run rep at high speeds, Smith said.

“Today was a great practice, these guys are working hard,” Smith said. “I’m super proud of the effort and I thought today’s energy was fantastic.”

Players with high character

While being heckled by Ohio State fans, 330-pound Penn State OL Vega Ioane jumped a wall to … help a struggling equipment guy. pic.twitter.com/6QuCIPRXav
— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) November 2, 2025

Ioane went viral over the weekend for helping a Penn State equipment staff member roll a cart up a ramp at Ohio Stadium after Penn State’s 38-14 loss to Ohio State. Mark Brennan, publisher of Lions247 with Fight on State, captured the video, which has generated nearly six million views.

“You guys would not believe the type of guys that we have in this locker room,” Ioane said, also crediting Franklin. “He brought in guys who are good guys, guys with values.”

Last year, Ioane went viral for his pancake block of a UCLA defender, but this moment made his family proud.

“My mom was a little emotional about it, but very proud. So was my dad,” Ioane said. “They never thought their son would go viral for something like that, but pretty cool moment for my parents to see, you know, a little bit of the outcome of their hard work.”

This story keeps getting better. Penn State's Vega Ioane on his mom getting emotional seeing comments about his viral video. Jokes about his big jump, too. pic.twitter.com/b8XL8kXgAp
— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) November 6, 2025

Gauging the Nittany Lions' practice energy

Players with high character

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