Penn State takes positives from wrenching loss, tries to ‘live in the moment’

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State was one play away from earning a 13-point comeback victory against No. 2 Indiana on Saturday. But its potential game-sealing drive stalled, which allowed the Hoosiers to score a last-minute go-ahead touchdown and steal a 27-24 victory at Beaver Stadium.

After another heartbreaking loss, the Nittany Lions’ fifth defeat by six points or fewer this season, interim coach Terry Smith said no one could ever question the fight of his team. Despite trailing by double digits entering the fourth quarter, Penn State never wavered against a formidable opponent and the effort left Smith proud.

“I thought our guys played really hard on Saturday. The effort was there from start to finish,” Smith said Monday. “Our guys are hungry. There is no quit in this team. … We are focused on finishing this season strong.”

That dedication will be tested across Penn State’s final three games. The Nittany Lions (3-6, 0-6 Big Ten) face Michigan State (also 3-6, 0-6) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS) before matchups with Nebraska and Rutgers.

With several players likely eyeing the transfer portal as the program searches for its next head coach, Smith must manage more than just game preparation. He understands that motivating a group of young men who have lost six straight games, with many of those defeats coming in the final moments, can be tough.

But Smith has no plans to quit. He is known as “the truth teller in the building.” And he plans to maintain that title during tough conversations with his players about how to stay present at a time when looking to the future seems like the easier option.

“When guys come up and ask me about my future, I tell them the truth is, just like them, I don’t know,” Smith said. “We [must] live in the moment. I love Penn State, but my concern right now is: How do we beat Michigan State?”

While Penn State’s six-game losing streak is the program’s longest since 2004, the team’s improved effort was noticeable Saturday, especially on defense.

» READ MORE: Penn State nearly pulled off an upset of No. 2 Indiana

The Nittany Lions’ defense, which had struggled in recent weeks, held Indiana’s vaunted offense to 183 yards and just 19 points below its season average, of just over 500 yards per game.

The Lions generated 29 pressures on Fernando Mendoza, according to Pro Football Focus, and sacked him three times, the most he has been sacked this season.

The performance was a taste of what Penn State fans expected when the program made Jim Knowles the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football history.

“Our defense started to take form, started to look like our old defense,” Smith said. “Guys were being physical up front, we got some pressure on the quarterback, got a couple sacks.”

Many of Penn State’s upperclassmen stepped up in the final quarter, including Nick Singleton, who broke a 59-yard run before his 1-yard touchdown and took a screen pass 19 yards for another TD to give his team a 24-20 lead. Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton, the Nittany Lions’ senior duo on the defensive line, pressured Mendoza on numerous occasions and each tallied a sack.

But with the team trailing by double digits, it was Ethan Grunkemeyer, Penn State’s redshirt freshman quarterback in his third career start, who led the offensive charge. Grunkemeyer completed a career-best 22 of 31 passes and threw for 219 yards, the most by a Nittany Lions QB this season.

On Saturday, Smith said his young QB “grew up” in the second half. On Monday, Smith called Grunkemeyer Penn State’s “quarterback of the future.”

“[Grunkemeyer] was big time in the second half,” Smith said. “When you look at the adversity coming out of the half, he could easily hang his head. But he battled back. He made some big throws. We started to throw the ball down the field, and he gave us a chance. He fought us back into the game.”

Chaz Coleman, Penn State’s freshman defensive end who missed Saturday’s game with an injury, is “day to day,” according to Smith. The coach said he hopes Coleman can return Saturday to face the Spartans.