Terry Smith Delivered a Candid Evaluation of Penn State's Loss at Iowa

The interim head coach did not sugarcoat his feelings about the Nittany Lions' one-point loss.

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith enters Kinnick Stadium before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

On his seventh day as Penn State's interim football coach, Terry Smith walked into Iowa's Kinnick Stadium wearing a T-shirt that read, "IF." He later explained that the shirt represented "infinite possibilites," a hopeful message for a team whose season has derailed.

But Smith also said after Penn State's 25-24 loss to Iowa that the team has serious limitations to those infinite possibilites. However hard they played, the Nittany Lions (3-4) could not overcome those issues for a fourth straight week.

"It was very disappointing the way we lost," Smith said at Kinnick Stadium. "I don’t feel like we made them earn it at the very end. All three areas need improvement."

Since becoming the interim head coach after James Franklin's firing, Smith has chosen to be candid in his public comments, which means he's likely to be even more blunt in the locker room. For instance, take what Smith said about the passing game.

Penn State threw for a season-low 93 yards against Iowa and did not complete a pass of 15+ yards. It was 3-for-11 on throws of 5+ yards and 0-for-4 on attempts of 15+ yards. The Nittany Lions' longest play of the game was a 30-yard run by Kaytron Allen, which Smith appreciated. But the coach couldn't get past the passing game.

"Offensively, we continue to not be able to throw the ball down the field or even throw the ball in the intermediate zone," Smith said. "We have to get that fixed."

RELATED: What we learned from Penn State's loss to Iowa

Defensively, Smith was frustrated that Penn State gave up a pair of long second-half touchdown drives in decidedly different ways. After Penn State took a 21-10 third-quarter lead, Iowa went 74 yards on eight plays, with quarterback Mark Gronowski scoring on a 4-yard run.

Then late in the fourth quarter, Iowa scored on a two-play, 75-yard drive, which Gronowski headlined with a 67-yard run to the Penn State red zone. It was the longest play Penn State's defense has allowed this season, 15 yards longer than the 52-yard run UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava made to set up a third-quarter touchdown.

"Defensively, we can’t get stops when we need stops," Smith said. "It’s glaring. I have to get it
fixed. We’re going to take the bye week and try to get those three areas cleaned up and better before we go to Ohio State."

A candid approach

Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith looks on against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Smith, in his 12th season at Penn State, is the last remaining coach from Franklin's first staff in 2012. The former Penn State receiver had become a confidante of Franklin, who often said that, when he needed someone to tell him the truth, he went to Smith.

Since taking over the program, Smith has assessed the team in a forthright tone. That began at his introductory press conference, where Smith highlighted the team's first glaring weakness.

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

Smith believes that Penn State has yet to play an opponent with more talent than his team. He said as much before the Iowa game.

"If we lose, it's going to be because that team beat us and they were just better," Smith said. "We won't answer questions about how we lost the last three games. There is not one of those teams that we could arguably say was better than us, including Oregon."

Smith didn't think Iowa was better, either, which he underscored by saying, "I don’t feel like we made them earn it at the very end." That's going to change, as Penn State's next two games are against No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana.

After a bye week, the Nittany Lions visit Columbus on Nov. 1 before hosting the second-ranked Hoosiers on Nov. 8. That will be Penn State's first home game since Franklin was fired. The team has a lot to improve before then.

"I don’t think anyone in that stadium would say they didn’t see [more toughness]," Smith said of the game at Iowa. "I think our guys played hard. I think our guys left it out there. I think they gave everything they had. There was no one who didn’t give great effort. We just have to execute better. That’s where our problem is."