Last year: 13-win season for the first time. This year: backs against the wall. Penn State Nittany Lions’ swing from historic highs to tough times is striking. With their head coach, James Franklin been shown the exit door, the Nittany Lions are now led by the interim head coach Terry Smith. Was he enough? Unfortintaely no. The Nittany Lions, now 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, fell 25-24 to the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 18. And Smith did not try to safeguard the Nittany Lions boys. 

During the post-game presser, the interim head coach did not sugarcoat his words and kept it real. “Very disappointing loss, very disappointing way we lost. Don’t feel like we made them earn it at the end,” said Smith. Yes, we know how the Penn State interim head coach had set the bar very low for the Nittany Lions boys. He said they have nothing to lose at this point. But no matter what he said, Smith lost his cool during the game. 

On the sidelines, the Penn State interim head coach got all fired up as Elliot Washington II returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown. Linebacker Dominic DeLuca made the block at Penn State’s 38-yard line on Drew Stevens’ 66-yard attempt. Had the play been successful, they could have throttled Iowa. Plus, Drew Allar’s absence, who went down with a season-ending injury, has been felt throughout. 

Ethan Grunkemeyer took up the Penn State starter honors. And how did he fare? He struggled, completing 15-of-28 passes for 98 yards and throwing two interceptions. One pick on a deep third-down pass pinned Iowa at the 4-yard line, but the other proved far more damaging, setting up a Hawkeye touchdown.

Iowa’s opening drive ended in a deflected pass intercepted by Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley, and the Nittany Lions turned it into a touchdown with Kaytron Allen to take a 7-0 lead. The teams traded missed field goals and punts, with Iowa failing on key third downs while Penn State’s Deshaun Lee recorded a diving interception at the 4-yard line. Iowa finally capitalized after Xavier Nwankpa’s tipped-pass interception set up Mark Gronowski’s push into the end zone, giving the Hawkeyes a 10-7 lead. Iowa did most of the heavy lifting and survived a chaotic finish, winning 25-24 on a late Kaden Wetjen TD and a clutch defensive stop. 

Out of all the faults, it looks like the Penn State fans have the most problem with the defense. While Smith held his team accountable, fans are now putting another staffer on the hot seat. Time for Jim Knowles to deactivate his social media accounts. 

Penn State Nittany Lions fans turn up the heat for Jim Knowles

While Franklin was still at Penn State, he had held Knowles accountable for Penn State’s defense not playing fast. FIU’s defense stopped Penn State on fourth down twice in the first 30 minutes. A month later, the Nittany Lions still could not get rid of their defensive woes. “Jim Knowles has to be fired immediately. I mean, c’mon. #PSU,” a fan demanded. The Hawkeyes battered the Penn State defense for 245 rushing yards.

Another Nittany Lions fan does not have any issues with Knowles. It’s just that the timing is not right, as Penn State’s defense has a stop rate of 45.2%, which would rank 129th nationally. “Love Jim Knowles. Would have loved him for Penn State 4 years ago. But “hire a guy who’s gonna change your entire very successful defense when you’re preseason No. 2” might be the most disastrous PSU personnel call of my life,” commented the fan. He counts on the old Knowles, who polished Ohio State into the nation’s best defense (12.9 points per game).

Knowles swapped wagons to Penn State from Ohio State, being the highest-paid assistant coach in college football for an annual salary of roughly $3.1 million. Fans had high hopes. But here came a reality check: “With James Franklin no longer on the Nittany Lions sideline, I’m reminded that many believed Penn State featured college football’s best combination of offensive/defensive coordinators. Through seven games, they’ve both seemed easily replaceable based on their results.” They are also struggling with offensive woes under OC Andy Kotelnick. 

Another fan could not stop thinking about the good old days. Last season, Penn State ranked 7th, averaging 294.8 yards. “Jim Knowles has been a disaster for Penn State. Thank the lord his tenure will only be 1 year. I have never seen a PSU defense so unable to handle basic assignments and continue to be gashed by QB scrambles and runs,” wrote the fan. Cut to 2025, Penn State could not even make it to the top 50.

Going by Penn State Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator’s scheme, he sells out to stuff the run but ends up too narrow and compressed, leaving the middle wide open for big passing plays. “Jim Knowles refuses to defend the middle and would rather try to collapse down to stop the inside game. It’s tough to win that way,” exposed a fan. Former Penn State lineman Landon Tengwall also pointed out that the defense was getting “too cute” on offense. Now, after James Franklin, it is their turn to pull the trigger on Jim Knowles?