Penn State football suffered its sixth consecutive loss in the 2025 season, but was a Hail Mary away from pulling off the upset over No. 2 Indiana on Saturday in Week 11.
In three games, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer adapted to his newfound starting role under center. With senior quarterback Drew Allar out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, Grunkemeyer took control of the offense. Slowly but surely he found a rhythm, and his trajectory is on the rise game-by-game. Saturday's performance was promising for what might come with Grunkemeyer representing the blue and white.
Grunkemeyer threw for 219 yards and one touchdown on 22 completed passes of 31 attempts. He finished with a 71 completion rate, another incremental increase from his previous performance. Against Iowa in his first showing as a starter, he had a 53.6 percentage, which bumped up to 67.9 percent against No. 1 Ohio State.
On the first touchdown drive of the afternoon for the Nittany Lions (3-6, 0-6 Big Ten), Grunkemeyer connected with tight end Andrew Rappleyea on a huge fourth-and-one scenario at Penn State's own 42-yard-line. After picking up a six-yard gain on a pass to tight end Khalil Dinkins, running back Nicholas Singleton was stalled on second down. Back to the original line of scrimmage, Grunkemeyer needed a big play to convert on third-and-10. He passed deep up the middle and found wide receiver Trebor Pena. The 43-yard completion put the Nittany Lions in the red zone, and two plays later, they evened the score at 7-7.
His success didn't come without some bumps in the road. He threw an interception right out of the fate on second-and-10 on the opening drive of the second half.
In the fourth quarter with less than two minutes remaining, the Hoosiers got back in control and went down to score to reclaim the lead. Grunkemeyer couldn't push the offense down the field. Though a promising deep ball, his final Hail Mary attempt to wide receiver Kyron Hudson was broken up and the clock ran out of time for Penn State to try and win the game.
However, mistakes didn't weigh him down. Like Grunkemeyer's two other performances, he showed trust in his receivers — wide receivers, tight ends and running backs alike. There was no shakiness or hesitation, and he looked like he was fully in control.
While it wasn't the outcome Grunkemeyer or the Nittany Lions sought out, it was the most well-rounded offensive performance with the new starter under center to offer hope for the future. With a program anticipated to face a massive turnaround, having a redshirt freshman quarterback who's handling his situation with poise and week-by-week improvement is a point of stability Penn State needs.