Fans who were watching Penn State for the first time Saturday against Indiana wouldn’t have known that it was playing with a quarterback who was supposed to spend the year as a backup.
Ethan Grunkemeyer (22-31, 219 yards, TD, INT) played like a Big Ten starter against IU.
The redshirt freshman, making his third career start against his third straight top five defense, played the best game of his career so far and had Penn State in position to pull a stunning upset.
Had Penn State won, Grunkemeyer would have been arguably the No. 1 reason.
‘MAYBE THEY FOUND THEIR QUARTERBACK’
Grunkemeyer’s performance should have impressed everybody who watched, and it certainly impressed the opposing coach.
“Penn State’s a good football team,” coach Curt Cignetti said after Indiana’s 27-24 win, “and maybe they found their quarterback, too. A guy that can lead them to more wins the rest of the season here.”
It’s certainly realistic to think Grunkemeyer can lead Penn State to three straight wins.
His next three starts— at Michigan State, vs. Nebraska and at Rutgers— will be against easier opponents than his first three— at Iowa, at Ohio State and vs. Indiana.
It isn’t known how many quarterbacks in college football history have made their first three starts against three top five defenses, but the list can’t be a long one.
GRUNK’S STATEMENT
Grunkemeyer made a statement figuratively with his play on the field, and then after the game, he made a literal statement.
It’s rare for players to make opening statements before speaking with media, but Grunkemeyer made one after Saturday’s game.
“We just played the No. 2 team in the country,” he said. “Got a top 5 offense, top 5 defense, and a Heisman contender at QB (Fernando Mendoza) So, just the questions about our buy-in as a team – I think right there, that just goes to show the commitment our team has.
“…So, just super proud of those guys in that locker room. There isn’t anybody else I’d want to go to battle with.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.For interim coach Terry Smith, Grunkemeyer “grew up in the second half.”
At the beginning of the second half, Grunkemeyer made one of his only mistakes of the game, throwing an interception to Indiana LB Aiden Fisher that led to three points for IU.
Grunkemeyer needed to respond, and he did, leading Penn State on three scoring drives, the last one giving PSU a 24-20 lead with 6:27 left on a touchdown pass from Grunkemeyer to Nicholas Singleton.
“Coming out of halftime, we threw the interception, but he bounced right back,” Smith said. “He started making some good throws. He gave us a chance to win. He led us back. He took control of the huddle. I thought he was big time.”
One of the most encouraging things about Grunkemeyer’s day was his connection with Trebor Pena.
Penn State hadn’t had a receiver go for 100+ yards in a game yet this season, and Pena came the closest, gaining 99 yards on six passes.
Pena and Grunkemeyer’s connection off the field— the two go out to eat on a weekly basis along with fellow receiver Kyron Hudson— has led to what’s becoming a formidable duo on the field.
“Protection was good, I was running the route and he got the ball to me,” Pena said. “I have a good connection with Grunk. We’re really close off the field, too. So I think that makes it easier to mesh on the field.”
For Pena, Grunkemeyer’s improvement is a result of experience.
“Just having a couple more starts under his belt, probably getting more comfortable and he’s getting more settled in,” he said.
Grunkemeyer also has the confidence from his teammates on the other side of the ball.
“I’ve said this before, I believe in Grunk,” defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton said. “I believed in him before this stuff even happened, before he was the starting quarterback. So before every game I just tell him ‘go out there, bro. The defense got your back.’
“From what he saw, he had a pretty good game. I’m proud of him, and I think he has a bright future.”
