Seven FBS teams have fired their head coaches since the start of the 2025 season. Not every one of them has turned it around, but plenty have fared much better than the Nittany Lions did in their first game without James Franklin.
With Terry Smith in his first game as the Nittany Lions’ interim head coach, Penn State blew a 21-10 second-half lead, losing 25-24 after allowing a two-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions are now 3-4, still searching for their first win against a Power 4 opponent this year with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Indiana looming in the next two weeks.
Penn State doesn’t get interim head coach bump with Terry Smith in charge
Franklin’s downfall was cemented in Week 6 against UCLA, which fired DeShaun Foster on September 14. UCLA did lose its first game after moving on from Foster, 17-14 to Northwestern, but the Bruins won the next two, beating Penn State 42-37, then dismantling Michigan State 38-13. Tim Skipper and first-time play-caller Jerry Neuheisel have changed everything for the program.
The Bruins aren’t the only team to improve after moving on from their head coach. On Saturday, UAB, after firing Trent Dilfer, upset No. 22 Memphis as a 23.5-point underdog. Like UCLA, UAB played its best game of the season with an interim head coach. In the Blazers’ case, that’s Alex Mortensen, son of longtime ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen.
Virginia Tech is another example. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry was relieved of his duties following an 0-3 start with a loss to Old Dominion. The Hokies then went on to win their next two games, expectedly beating Wofford, then taking down NC State in Raleigh.
Arkansas hasn’t gotten the wins, but the Razorbacks have played much better after replacing Sam Pittman with Bobby Petrino. Petrino nearly upset No. 4 Texas A&M in Fayetteville on Saturday, falling 45-42, just one week after a three-point loss to then No. 12 Tennessee.
While most of the fanbases' focus has already turned to next season and the impending coaching search, there was some hope that Penn State would salvage its season under Smith. That hope has faded after another crushing loss.
In fairness to Smith and the rest of the Penn State staff, none of those other teams that found a way to improve under new leadership also lost their third-year starting quarterback to a season-ending injury. In his first career start, redshirt freshman QB Ethan Grunkemeyer threw two interceptions and finished with just 93 passing yards.