Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541276
6 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M F or a brief moment on Nov. 8, every- thing in the current universe sur- rounding Penn State football faded away. The sun came out when senior running back Nicholas Singleton found the end zone for the third time with 6:27 to play. The Beaver Stadium crowd came to its feet as loudly as it has been since the end of September, and the 1-0 fo- cus that has been blurry in the past two months was suddenly back in play. It was a nice breath of fresh air on a perfect November afternoon in Happy Valley. For a moment, the grind that has been the 2025 season, both from the playing and viewing angles, halted in favor of energy. It was nervous energy, considering the circumstances, but en- ergy nonetheless. Penn State, loser of five in a row and playing the No. 2 team in the country, clearly hadn't quit. That needs to be ac- knowledged. Interim coach Terry Smith heard comments throughout the week about his team's perceived effort and communicated to the group in Lasch that he indeed took them personally. But at the intersection of energy and determination, there's always execu- tion. It's true that Penn State is a couple of plays away from a massively different 2025 season. That's probably true for a lot of teams. But as much as luck and good bounces can play into it, taking care of business on a down-to-down basis will always win out in that battle. The Nittany Lions simply haven't been that team this year. Indiana didn't win on a walk-off score, but it's tough to imagine a more heart- breaking scenario than Omar Cooper Jr. getting a toe down on one of the best catches that many of us have ever seen. Penn State played as physically as it has all season. The hope meter filled up when senior running back Kaytron Allen car- ried three times for a first down, follow- ing redshirt senior tight end Khalil Din- kins through the hole to make Indiana squirm a little ahead of the two-minute timeout. But, naturally, it's the little things. Penn State got one first down, but not the second. It didn't get particularly close, either. Redshirt senior Gabriel Nwosu bombed a punt, which landed in the end zone for a touchback. Again, not a killer, but the margins are different when you're in a rut like the Lions have found themselves in. Those margins showed up on the game's penultimate drive, in which Hoo- siers quarterback Fernando Mendoza stamped his December trip to New York via a couple of all-world catches from his receivers. He got a little lucky, as well, when Penn State safety King Mack put his second-down throw in doubt in the red zone via a well-timed Jim Knowles blitz. The ball floated toward the middle of the Penn State defense, but junior linebacker Amare Campbell couldn't get traction and slipped on the turf a body length away from the football. One play later, Mendoza gave the Lions another swift kick south of the stomach. It can't keep going like this, right? Well, there's good news and there's bad news with that. First, it was good to feel a little more hopeful about this team coming out of the weekend. The Nittany Lions have actually made quite a bit of progress in recent weeks. But when you face a three-game stretch that consists of a night game at Kinnick Stadium (with a new starter at quarterback), one at No. 1 Ohio State and a third against the team nipping at the Buckeyes' heels, progress isn't always evident. But there is a difference between the past couple of weeks and the team's final two losses under James Franklin. The bad news? They all count the same. Penn State was sitting at 3-6 on the season heading into a visit to Michi- gan State on Nov. 15, with its postseason hopes hinging on winning three con- secutive games. Again, Penn State hasn't quit. Es- pecially its veterans. That's something to be commended, and possibly a little surprising now given the expectations. But Smith knows the standard in State College as well as anyone, and simply giving it everything you've got isn't enough. He was asked after the Indiana game about whether the Lions played their best against the Hoosiers. It was a fair question, all things considered. But around here, best performances don't come attached to losses. "No, I think we played competitively," Smith said. "We made mistakes. … There's always room for improvement." The back end of the schedule is quite a departure from the Iowa-Ohio State- Indiana stretch. The Spartans are reel- ing, Nebraska is playing with its own backup quarterback (who was very good against UCLA) and Rutgers will close the season. The growth over the past few weeks, whether you choose to see it or not, will make the next few worth watching. ■ N i c h o las S i n g le to n sco re d 3 to u c h d ow n s a ga i n st Indiana, offering Penn State fans a glimpse at the sea- son that might have been. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Amid The Gloom, Penn State Shows Signs Of Progress JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM