A Viral Postgame Moment Was the Best Part of Penn State's Day at Ohio State

Penn State offensive lineman Vega Ioane made a thoughtful gesture after the game. Coaches and fans took notice.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day shakes hands with Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith following their game at Ohio Stadium. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Perhaps Penn State's best moment of its day at Ohio State was caught backstage at Ohio Stadium. There, Nittany Lions offensive lineman Vega Ioane jumped over a tunnel railing to help a Penn State football staffer push equipment up a stadium ramp. In the process, Ioane gave the Nittany Lions some viral uplift.

Mark Brennan, publisher of 247Sports with Fight on State, captured the short video following the Nittany Lions' 38-14 loss to the top-ranked Buckeyes. Penn State had just lost its fifth consecutive game this season, and ninth straight to Ohio State, and the Columbus crowd was letting Ioane know it.

Yet the 6-4, 330-pound offensive guard showed both his athleticism and heart in a tough moment. The video, and Ioane's gesture, touched both Penn State fans and interim head coach Terry Smith.

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

"I'm super-proud of this team, I'm super-proud of the leadership, "Smith said Monday at his weekly press conference. "These guys could have packed it in weeks ago. They could have laid down and quit. They refused to do that.

"When you see what Vega did coming up the ramp to jump across the bannister and help out like that, it's a testimony to the guys we have here in the locker room. It's a testimony to Penn State and it's a testimony to the program and how things are run here. We've got a locker room full of guys like that who are willing to do things like that."

Smith has said repeatedly over the past two weeks that Penn State (3-5) is in "a storm." The Nittany Lions have lost five consecutive games for the first time since 2020 and have not beaten a Power 4 team this season.

That losing streak easily could reach six games Saturday, when Penn State hosts Indiana as an underdog for the first time in their Big Ten series. Penn State also plays at Beaver Stadium for the first time since James Franklin's firing Oct. 12.

"Obviously we're going through some tough times right now, but it doesn't change our character," Smith said.

RELATED: Would Penn State consider skipping a bowl game if its eligible?

Penn State news and notes

Was this targeting or nah on Caleb Downs? pic.twitter.com/pXODP9z4tU

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 1, 2025

Smith said he thought Ohio State safety Caleb Downs' second-half hit against Penn State tight end Khalil Dinkins met the definition of targeting. Downs was called for unnecessary roughness, but the targeting penalty was overturned.

Downs intercepted Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer's pass to Dinkins in the end zone seven plays later. While Smith thought the hit was targeting, he did not think his players should have retaliated.

"The referees get paid to do a job," Smith said. "From our naked eye, it looked like the definition of targeting. In regards to our reaction to it, we play a violent game, and hits happen all the time. That's called discipline. We're not going to react to what type of hit it was. You've got to line up and play the next snap. Let the referees referee."

Smith suggested that the offensive package with receiver Liam Clifford playing some quarterback will continue. The Nittany Lions' quarterback room is thin, with Ethan Grunkemeyer the only active player to have taken a snap.

Backup quarterback Jaxon Smolik, injured at Iowa, was out for the game at Ohio State. True freshman Bekkem Kritza was inactive for the first seven games, and the fourth quarterback is walk-on Jack Lambert. So Smith and offensive coordinator shifted Clifford into an emergency role.

Clifford, whose brother Sean started four seasons at quarterback for Penn State, attempted one pass on a trick play and took a Wildcat snap. He also caught two passes, one on third down. Fans could see more Clifford against the Hoosiers.

"I thought it gave us a little bit of a spark, a little bit of a different look," Smith said of the Clifford package. "I thought he caught the one third-down ball based on that personnel group. It just gives us some variety. You know, we're going to continue to try to be creative. [We're] just trying to figure out ways to move the ball down the field."

Penn State's Oct. 15 game at Michigan State is scheduled for a 3;30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS or Big Ten Network. The conference released times for its slate of Week 12 games.

Here's your first look at the Week 12 schedule 👀 pic.twitter.com/u70uU12RYA

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 3, 2025