Penn State football faced its toughest opponent yet of 2025 at an inopportune time. The Nittany Lions (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) lost 38-14 to No. 1 Ohio State with all of their points coming in the second quarter exclusively.
Against the Buckeyes' (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) top defense in the country, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer's second collegiate career start was not going to be kind to him. By now, Penn State is used to being disappointed by its quarterback's performance, but it could've absolutely been worse.
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Grunkemeyer's performance was a good indication of how he'll trend in the future, but he's not the saving grace for the 2025 season. With a 67.9 completion percentage and one interception against the No. 1 defense and team in the country, there are definitely positives to take away from Saturday.
He handled the high pressure situation well and proved for a second consecutive week that he can manage road environments with poise and confidence. That's not something former starter quarterback Drew Allar can say with 100 percent certainty.
In the pass game, Grunkemeyer made some nice throws, including a 26-yard completion to wide receiver Koby Howard and an 18-yard pass to wide receiver Kyron Hudson. Adding some fuel to the pass game is what Penn State needs moving forward in the program.
Grunkemeyer showed trust in his receivers and running backs, allowing for a shockingly decent performance in the second quarter overall when the Nittany Lions tallied their two scores of the afternoon. Against the top team in the country, Grunkemeyer utilized as much talent on the offense as possible, including getting running back Nicholas Singleton back into action after an invisible first half of the season. Though Grunkemeyer threw an interception in the end zone late in the game, the game was pretty much packed away.
On the ground, though, Grunkemeyer struggled. He was sacked four times and lost 39 yards on four rushing attempts. While, again, facing the top defense in the nation was going to put up some barriers for his run game, losing nearly 40 yards is what makes him dip below the average C grade.
All-in-all, a shrug-worthy performance, but in retrospect, that's almost as good as it could get for a broken team and a second-string starter getting only his second game under his belt. For the rest of 2025, it's about what Grunkemeyer is showing glimpses of for the future more so than if he can lead the team to a win.