It feels like just yesterday when Drew Allar was making waves for Penn State as the straight third-year starter. This season, the 21-year-old accumulated a total of 1,100 yards with 8 touchdowns, while completing 64.8% of his passes. But all that momentum took a hit during his game against Northwestern when Allar went down for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. That’s when the backup option, Ethan Grunkemeyer, came into the picture. Sure, the 20-year-old had a very slow start as a signal caller, but then all the doubts about him took a backseat during his performance against No. 2 Indiana.

Though the Nittany Lions took another beating with a narrow 27-24 loss to the Hoosiers, expectations for Grunkemeyer have taken a major boost. So it looks like Penn State can finally move on from its veteran starter to a fresh one. During Penn State’s November 11 press conference, Interim HC Terry Smith made his stance on Ethan Grunkemeyer clear. The reporter highlighted how Grunkemeyer’s second-play interception of Hoosiers WR Aiden Fisher set up an Indiana field goal, yet he stayed driven to improve. Skipper had a profound answer for this.

“I thought Ethan was big time in the second half. When you look at the adversity coming out of the half, he threw the interception. He could have easily hung his head at that point, but battled back. He made some big throws,” Skipper stated during the conversation. “We started to throw the ball down the field. And he gave us a chance. He fought us back into the game. I thought his growth continues to get better. We have a quarterback for the future. And we’re going to continue to develop and push the ball down the field and give him opportunities to make plays.” 

That attempt to make a pass out wide to WR Kyron Hudson was a failure, sure. But his constant grit throughout the entire game is what counts. He passed for 219 yards and a touchdown, completing 71% of his throws. It’s a pretty steady climb from his prior outings (jumping from 53.6% at Iowa to 67.9% vs. Ohio State). At a crucial moment, he hit tight end Andrew Rappleyea on fourth-and-one and then rifled a 43-yard strike to Trebor Pena. It was a gutsy sequence that set up Penn State’s tying touchdown drive. Plus, his connection with his running backs really helped in making explosive plays, anchored by Nicholas Singleton.

Grunkemeyer’s growth showed on a big fourth-quarter drive. He hit Trebor Pena for 20 yards, then Singleton busted loose for a 59-yard run. It was his longest of the season to set up one of his two rushing touchdowns. Singleton later added a 19-yard score on a short catch-and-run from Grunkemeyer. That’s why after the game, the Penn State RB didn’t fall behind to validate his QB. “Grunk was good throughout the whole game,” Singleton said. “He was calm in the huddle. When we’re on the sidelines, he’s hyping his team up — defense, offense, special teams. Just being that leader.” 

Penn State’s loss to Indiana brought up another notion that frustrates the fans at Happy Valley.

Did the coaching change take too long?

James Franklin had full-fledged resources but still couldn’t deliver. And that’s somewhat true because Penn State was No.2 coming into this season for a reason. And now this hard-fought Indiana game is making it look awful for Franklin, who has nothing but remorse along with the $49m buyout.

It was Joel Klatt who highlighted that the roster, minus quarterback Drew Allar, who’s out injured, still ranks among the top in college football. Klatt stressed that the offense found new life late in the game against the Hoosiers thanks to backup QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, who stabilized the offense with a solid second-half performance, completing 11 of 13 passes. Then the run game under Nicholas Singleton was as evident as it could be.

On defense, Penn State stepped up with impactful tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Klatt also noted the energized crowd at Beaver Stadium, saying he has rarely seen it that “alive,” which fueled the team’s effort. Given all this, the obvious question remains: Did the leadership change take too long? This revelation casts Franklin’s firing in a harsher light.