Penn State's Struggling, But One Ranking Concerns Indiana's Curt Cignetti

The Nittany Lions meet No. 2 Indiana at home still as a top-25 team, according to one ranking.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks onto the field during the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Penn State has lost five straight games, is winless against Power 4 teams and will play its first home game this season Saturday without former coach James Franklin. And in that game, the Nittany Lions will face unbeaten Indiana as an underdog for the first time in their series.

Indiana debuted at No. 2 in the first 2025 College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday. Indiana is behind only No. 1 Ohio State, to which the Nittany Lions lost 38-14 last week. Ohio State remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 as well after moving to 8-0 with the win over Penn State.

Penn State, of course, is unranked in the inaugural CFP rankings after losing its fifth straight game. Still, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti found a ranking to pitch his team in girding against the upset as 13.5-point favorites. Hello, ESPN FPI!

"They're in the top 25 in the ESPN [College] Football Power Index," Cignetti said at his weekly press conference. "Still the same guys they started the year with for the most part that was ranked No. 1 to No. 3 in the country, so a lot of good football players at all positions, playing really hard."

Yes, Penn State still somehow remains lisited in the ESPN FPI's top 25. The Nittany Lions fell one spot to No. 22 after their 38-14 loss at Ohio State. Penn State is the highest-ranked losing team in the FPI, three spots ahead of Florida, which also is 3-5 and also fired its head coach.

Indiana, meanwhile, is 8-0 and ranked second to Ohio State in the FPI, which gives the Hoosiers the second-highest chances to make the College Football Playoff championship game (41.7 percent) and to win the title (25.5 percent).

THE FIRST CFP PROJECTED BRACKET OF THE SEASON 😍🏆

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Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith said Cignetti called him during the transition and that the coaches have known each other for years. Like Smith, Cignetti is a western Pennsylvania guy who coached at Pitt and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where his father Frank Sr. spent nearly 20 years of his Hall of Fame career.

"Terry has done a really good job of sort of rejuvenating these guys, and it'll be his first opportunity to play a game at home," Cignetti said. "Tough place to play, 100,000 plus people. They're a really good football team.

"They've had some tough times, and we've got to have a great day today and a great week to stack days just like always. Be prepared, have the right mindset, play really, really well, first play to last play. [There's] been a change up there, obviously. James Franklin ... did a tremendous job, has always represented himself with class. A lot of respect for him and Penn State. Always have had a lot of respect for Penn State, too."

Here's what else Cignetti said about Penn State and the game at his weekly press conference.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti watches game play during the second half vs. the UCLA Bruins at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

On Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer

"I think week to week people are always morphing a little bit, and this is a talented guy that was very highly recruited out of high school, set a lot of records in Ohio," Cignetti said of Grunkemeyer. "He's tall, he can spin the ball, he moves well enough to get out of trouble.

He's made some impressive throws. He can get it out of his hand fast. You can see with every series, every snap, he's improving and he's learning. He's a good player."

RELATED: How Ethan Grunkemeyer navigated a tough scene at Ohio State

On Penn State running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton

"Well, having two of them makes each the other even more difficult to stop because they can rotate them in and out and keep them fresh," Cignetti said. "They're both explosive. They're both fast. One [Allen] might be a hair bigger than the other one, one [Singleton] might be a tad quicker than the other. But those are NFL guys. They were impressive against Ohio State."

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) hands off to running back Kaytron Allen (13) against the Ohio State Buckeyes. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On scouting Penn State under Smith as interim head coach

"Well, the defensive coordinator [Jim Knowles] is still in place, and obviously we faced them last season at Ohio State, so that part of it really hasn't changed," Cignetti said. "We put a little bit more weight, obviously, on some games than others in our breakdowns. Same with the offense.

"But in regards to our defensive preparation, there will be obviously a strong focus on their offense since [Grunkemeyer] has been playing quarterback. That doesn't mean that we won't look at all the other stuff because a lot of it's core to what they do."

On playing a team after a coaching change

"Well, it's all on tape, so you prepare for what you see on tape," Cignetti said. "So UCLA was a particular situation where there were new coordinators on both sides of the ball and had really kind of done a 180. You see Penn State really landed on the line on tape; impressed with that football team. But the coordinators are still in place, so schematically there's not a big change."

On quarterback Fernando Mendoza's growth as a runner

"Yeah, it's what I expected it to be, honestly," Cignetti said. "I think once he kind of learned the offense and what you're seeing from him is not only making the plays with his arm, cutting his losses, getting us out of bad situations but making extremely important plays with his legs, and I can't emphasize enough how important that is at the quarterback position. He continued to do that Saturday against Maryland. It's a weapon, and it makes us better."

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) scrambles in the open field during the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Penn State hosts Indiana at noon ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. FOX will televise, with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the broadcast.