What They Said After Penn State's Decisive Win Over Nebraska

Penn State made a statement Saturday night, routing Nebraska 37-10 for its biggest win of the season and second under interim head coach Terry Smith. Afterward, Smith made a statement as well: that he should be Penn State's head coach permanently.

"I'm a leader of men," Smith said late Saturday night at Beaver Stadium. "You guys see it. You're witnessing it every day."

Meanwhile. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule (who hired Smith to his staff at Temple in 2013) called the night "about as miserable as it gets." Penn State handed Nebraska its worst loss of the season, and the Cornhuskers don't have much time to dwell on it, as they host Iowa on Friday in their regular-season finale.

Quite a night at Beaver Stadium. Here's what the coaches said about it.

Penn State interim coach Terry Smith

Penn State’s Terry Smith is making his case to become the permanent head coach. pic.twitter.com/lOmkFLROAc
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) November 23, 2025

On running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton: Tonight, we witnessed greatness from Kaytron Allen. Penn State’s been playing football for an awful long time and to be the No. 1 rusher in the history of this place is an impressive thing that he accomplished tonight, and what makes it even more impressive is that he is a guy that had to share carries for four years. And to break the record tonight, hats off to him. Game ball to him. Unbelievable effort and performance.

... Nick Singleton tied the career touchdown mark set by Saquon Barkley. Just another unbelievable effort by the tandem. You know, every week since I’ve come in here to talk to you guys, I tell you, these two guys have to touch the ball for us to be successful. I think they touched it 36 times or 35 times tonight for over 200 yards combined. It’s the dynamic duo. They are unbelievable. They’re amazing people, they’re unselfish, they’re happy for each other.

On the win: Just a great effort for tonight. I want to thank our seniors for everything they’ve been through. For all the victories and the losses, because we learned from the losses. This senior group had a three-year span that won more football games than any three-year group in the history of Penn State football. A lot of victories, and they’ve done tremendous things for our program.

... In regard to the game, the opening drive, Nebraska drove down and we had a critical fourth down stop that set the tone for the game. It allowed our defense to gain their confidence. Our offense stepped on the field with confidence, and then they marched down the field for a touchdown. The fourth down stop was the difference in the game. I’m super proud of the effort of our guys. They are playing inspired football. They’re hungry. They want to play in a season that they could easily
give up and quit. They’re on the brink of playing some of our best ball. [Quarterback Ethan] Grunkemeyer is playing unbelievable football.

On the support from players and fans: I’m very motivated by the support. My players love me unconditionally. I love them unconditionally. Their support means everything. The fans were unbelievable again tonight. This is back-to-back Beaver Stadium turnouts from our fans… just incredible support. You know, we all like support. It encourages us. It motivates us. It gives us energy and it gave our guys energy tonight. We have a game next week against Rutgers. I want our fans to show up and support these guys as we try to get bowl eligible.

The Answer is Simple. Hire (@CoachTerryPSU) Terry Smith. This is my personal endorsement. #WeAre #PennState pic.twitter.com/r7TZiRpN16
— Michael Robinson (@RealMikeRob) November 23, 2025

On his decision to wear a '409' button honoring Joe Paterno: I’ve always acknowledged Joe Paterno. I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t coached me and taught me. So I’m acknowledging him. We had a lot of lettermen here tonight, in valuable positions. Michael Robinson is on the NBC crew. There are other lettermen all over. It showed today. It was just an acknowledgement that I’m proud I’ve been taught by one of the greatest that ever did it.

On whether he's ready to be a head coach: I was always ready to be a head coach. I was a head coach for 12 years in high school. It’s a different level, but leading men is leading men. Coaching is coaching. It’s no different than when I worked for Matt Rhule as a receivers coach. I came here for James Franklin; I went to [defensive backs] coach. Coaching is coaching. I went from taking DBs, a DB history here at Penn State that we didn’t put DBs in the NFL to now, we’re one of the top in the country. Coaching is coaching. I’ve always been a head coach, so I’m very confident in what I do. God has blessed me. My mom has anointed me. My wife keeps a covering over me. I have gifts that I don’t even realize I have. I’m a leader of men. You guys see it. You’re witnessing it every day.

What changed with Penn State in recent weeks: I think we have a true identiy. Period.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule stands on the field before the game vs. the Penn State Nittany Lions. — Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule stands on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

On the game: Obviously that was a tough night. Credit to them, they were ready to play, they were unbelievably motivated. They played really well. I challenged the guys at halftime., Bad run of plays there in the first half, and we just never played well enough on defense to stop the run.

On the lack of first-half succes in the red zone: Three red-zone points in two trips. We had 3rd-and-1, 4th-and-1, we came to win, we were going to go for it, we thought we had good plays. It looked like we controlled the line of scrimmage early, I was fired up about it. … It wasn’t like we couldn’t do anything offensively, we just didn’t come away with a lot of points.

On Nebraska's pass defense: We were having to commit guys to the run and bring pressures, and they caught us in some zones. They caught us in a scramble. It wasn’t like they were dropping back and [picking] us apart. It wasn’t like they were beating us in man. And I’m not saying anything to be disrespectful, it’s a credit to them. [Defensive coordinator] John [Butler] was bringing pressure, and they were picking up some of the pressures. We had a moment or two, but I think it’s more of a function that they controlled the line of scrimmage, and the one big pass was when they threw the ball out on a perimeter and two guys got blocked. Both those backs [Allen and Singleton] are really outstanding backs. They’ve been All-America candidates since they were freshmen. Obviously they put it all together today. We had to tackle and get off blocks better. We did not.

On what's next: In the midst of something like this — and I can promise you, for me, this is about as miserable as it gets — they battled and fought and didn’t quit. And the coaches didn’t quit. That was awful to go through, credit to them. … I was not proud of the result but I was proud of that. We’ll come back. We’ll eat this one. I told them, 'When we get on the plane, it’s on to next week.' We've got no time, no time, no time to worry about what just happened, no matter how bad it was."

On Terry Smith: When you’re the interim head coach, people have a tendency to rally around you. They certainly have rallied around him. He’s a Penn Stater, he's a lifer.

“HIRE THIS MAN IMMEDIATELY!”

Safe to say @PennStateFball players want interim head coach Terry Smith brought on full time 😅

📺: NBC pic.twitter.com/0NRS1sLVTP
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2025

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