‘We deserve this’: Penn State celebrates emotional win over Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Terry Smith took off his headset, shuffled his way to the edge of the sideline and looked on as quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer took a knee at Michigan State, stamping Penn State’s first Big Ten win this season and first win of any kind in 63 days.

As the clock ticked away, quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien brushed by Smith’s side and began to say how emotional this victory was, one that snapped a grueling six-game losing streak. That skid — which started with the White Out vs. Oregon on Sept. 27 — saw James Franklin’s firing, Drew Allar’s season-ending injury and five gut-punch losses by one possession.

That’s when alarm bells went off for Smith. He wouldn’t typically have that kind of conversation with O’Brien in that setting.

But before the interim head coach could turn around, cornerbacks Elliot Washington II and Zion Tracy drenched him with what was left of the sideline water and Gatorade buckets. A clear and purple shower covered Smith, causing an exclamation from the cold before his mouth finally curled into a long, hard-earned smile.

Then, burly offensive linemen Anthony Donkoh and Vega Ioane hoisted Smith on their shoulders.

For the first time in more than two months, Penn State could celebrate. It was a euphoric moment at Spartan Stadium for a team that had fallen fast and hard from a preseason No. 2 ranking and national title hopes.

“It’s always a special moment when people celebrate you that way. It’s very humbling,” Smith said after the 28-10 win. “I love those guys to death. I would do anything for them. They play so hard for us.”

Sitting at the podium, Smith joked that he was still soaking wet and even borderline hypothermic on a blustery evening in East Lansing.

“But I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “It was just a great moment for Penn State football.”

“I’m just super happy for our kids. I’m super happy for our program. I’m super happy for our fans and our following,” Smith added later. “We deserve this game. We now know again what it feels like to win, and we just gotta build on this with momentum.”

Other Nittany Lions celebrated the win by chasing after the hulking block of wood that is the Land-Grant Trophy, given to the Penn State-Michigan State winner after each matchup.

Linebacker Dom DeLuca, Keon Wylie and DaKaari Nelson took hold of it heading into the locker room. Offensive linemen, including Nolan Rucci, handled it down the visiting hallway. The 6-foot-8 right tackle had to duck to get the trophy — multiple feet tall and 76.2 pounds itself — through doorways.

“It’s just been a long year. And for us to do that, get the dub, that’s all that matters,” senior running back Kaytron Allen said. He played a starring role with a career-high 181 yards and two touchdowns. He said he’d celebrate by calling his mom later in the evening. “We were trying to go 1-0 this week — for us, Coach Terry, for the team, for the whole program, for the janitors. Everybody played a part.”

The celebration roared into Penn State’s locker room, where echoes of players banging on lockers and incessant cheers and yells could be heard in the adjacent media room.

“Locker room was jumping,” Allen said with a big smile. “Good vibes in there… it was loud.”

Penn State dominated on the ground behind Allen and Nick Singleton, collecting a season-high 240 yards. The good vibes carried into postgame media sessions, as the entire starting offensive line made their way into the room to do joint interviews. They loudly jeered toward starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer as he addressed reporters on the podium, too.

“The boys had a day. You get one of us, you get all five of us,” right tackle Drew Shelton said of the unusual display. “Why not?”

“Winning is fun, and we’ve been waiting to have fun for a little bit now. This is fun,” captain center Nick Dawkins added. “It’s fun to do things like this. It’s fun to change stuff up, which is what we’ve been doing, especially with Coach Terry.”

Even if the results were slow to follow, Penn State has played hard with Smith at the helm. A one-point loss in a tough road game at Iowa and a three-point loss to No. 2 Indiana at home were enough to show that. And it’s not hard to see why.

Smith is a Penn State letterman, a former captain himself as a star wide receiver. He joined Franklin’s first staff in Happy Valley in 2014 and has been in place ever since, first solely as the cornerbacks coach and later adding the title of associate head coach.

Smith’s fingerprints are all over the program. He recruited almost every player on the roster in some capacity and, well before becoming the interim head coach, was revered as the “truth teller” for tough conversations among the roster.

As Allen said, “We go as he goes.” Dawkins even presented Smith with a game ball in front of the team in the postgame locker room.

“He’s been here for 12 years, and he’s just done a fantastic job,” Grunkemeyer said. “When a guy like that puts his heart and soul into Penn State football, he gets that same thing in return from the players. I think that’s just the type of guy he is, and we rally around that.”

“He’s just been so immersed in this program. He’s dedicated so many years of servitude to this institution,” Dawkins said, highlighting the “adverse timing” in which Smith took this role. “For us, just so proud of him, and really wanted to commemorate the moment.”

With two games left in the 2025 season, Penn State is still eyeing a potential bowl game opportunity, as Smith said after the game. The 4-6 Lions will need two more wins against Nebraska and Rutgers.

But it starts with one. A big, emotional one.

“As a coach, you relish in those moments because you pour your heart and soul into the players,” Smith said, “and you hope that they respect and honor you back by playing hard.”

Saturday night, the Nittany Lions did.