Prugar: Saturday’s Vibes at Penn State Unmatched in 2025

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A look at the faces of players, coaches, and fans Saturday night and you wouldn’t have believed Penn State has only five wins and is still searching for bowl eligibility.

You wouldn’t have guessed the Nittany Lions have an interim head coach and are starting  backup quarterback.

Both are true and it’s a complete 180-degree  turnaround since James Franklin has been fired.

Penn State Fires James Franklin

It could even be confused with a completely new program.

Interim head coach Terry Smith has HIS Penn State squad— and yes, it’s his, for at least the rest of this season— playing the way the nation thought it would coming into this season when it was national championship or bust for Penn State.

The season went up in smoke quick with three consecutive losses that led to Franklin getting kicked to the curb in a messy divorce.

Since then, Smith has turned the program back into the blue-collar style operation it was under his head coach, Joe Paterno.

Ah, yes, that name is not an anomaly anymore. Paterno’s name has been echoed time and time again by Smith which is something previous coaches and administrators had avoided like the plague.

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But more than celebrating history, Smith has embraced his role as interim head coach and put his stamp on the program with ease by putting accountability back on both his coaches and players.

“Another thing that’s happening since I’ve taken over is my level of accountability to our team, whether it’s coaches, players, staff, everyone’s accountable and no one can fall short,” Smith said following Saturday’s win. “I call it out. And I call it out in our team meetings, our staff meetings, in front of everyone, and no one wants to be called out. And I make a point to call out our best players, because they have to be accountable. They have to give this team more and that’s what you’re witnessing these last few weeks. Our best players are giving us more. That is the difference in winning now and why we weren’t winning earlier.”

Smith is spot on. His best players are playing their best football right now and what people are seeing on the field is what everybody expected to see.

They’re seeing an offense that has ditched many of the unnecessary gimmicks, an offense that features a heavy dose of Kaytron Allen pounding the rock and Nicholas Singleton getting out in space as well as *gasps* downfield passing.

Smith has done more meddling in five games than Franklin did in his final years at Penn State, but it’s been exactly what’s needed for a Penn State program that struggled with an identity crisis of late.

Now, there’s no confusion who the Nittany Lions are. They’re Smith’s team, a blue-collar, physical football team that is taking no prisoners on either side of the football.

Attitude reflects leadership and with Smith at the helm, it’s no shock the players and coaches are looser on the sidelines and the pressure has been alleviated. He’s brought them a reality check in a good way, that it’s ok to make mistakes and if you do mess up, you’re going to be accountable.

Smith is the exact person Penn State needed in these moments and whether he gets to lead them next year is up to AD Pat Kraft and university administrators. For now, though, enjoy the ride because it’s been a long time since a head coach for the Nittany Lions has had cheers thrown at him rather than jeers.