Penn State’s defense had a night it will want to forget in Evanston, and the numbers tell the story without any help.
Northwestern’s Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon tore through the Lions for 350 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries in Friday night’s 34-13 Wildcats win at new Ryan Field. That works out to an average of 10 yards per rush, the kind of number that turns a game plan into rubble fast.
The strangest part is how far that performance was from what Northwestern had done a week earlier. In the Wildcats’ 29-23 loss to unbeaten Indiana, Komolafe and Himon combined for just seven yards on eight carries. Against Penn State, they looked like a different backfield entirely.
Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn now has some tough decisions to make, and the linebacker spot stands out as an area where personnel changes may be coming. Veteran starter Kooper Ebel did not have a good night against Northwestern.
There’s also another quarterback comparison worth watching as the season unfolds: Rocco Becht and Ethan Grunkemeyer.
Becht, now in his fifth season, is Matt Campbell’s quarterback after helping Iowa State win 26 games from 2023 through 2025. He is 3-2 as Penn State’s starter, but his Big Ten losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern have been rough ones. In those two games, Becht has thrown one touchdown pass and been intercepted three times.
Grunkemeyer, meanwhile, is now at Virginia Tech. With Becht Penn State-bound in 2026, Grunkemeyer headed to Blacksburg. It makes sense for him to reunite with James Franklin, the coach who convinced “Grunk” to come to Penn State in 2024.
Grunkemeyer’s own path has taken a noticeable step forward. He showed significant improvement in his seven starts for the Lions in 2025 after taking over for an injured Drew Allar.
On Friday night, he had a wild one in Pittsburgh’s 35-33 win over Virginia Tech. Grunkemeyer was intercepted twice and lost a fumble, but he also threw for a career-high 434 yards, added three touchdown passes and scored on the ground once.
He also guided the Hokies on a late 52-yard drive that set up a potential game-winning 37-yard field goal. The kick missed, but Grunkemeyer still did his part.
Through five games, Grunkemeyer has thrown for 1,446 yards and 11 touchdowns and has three rushing scores.
The Becht-Grunkemeyer debate figures to keep rolling all fall.
And for Penn State, the bigger concern is simpler than any quarterback comparison: six ugly quarters have turned a promising start into a mess. The Lions led Wisconsin 17-0 before falling 24-20 at Beaver Stadium, and in the last six quarters against Wisconsin and Northwestern, they’ve been outscored 51-16.
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For Penn State, the timing only adds to the unease. The Nittany Lions are already staring at a difficult stretch ahead with USC and Michigan on the schedule, and recent losses have left the seasons outlook cloudy. Losing even the conversation around one of the programs most recognizable stars to another injury scare is the sort of development that keeps the mood around State College uneasy, even before the next kickoff arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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The setback lands in a week packed with head-turning college football moments elsewhere, from South Carolinas collapse against Kentucky to Michigans offensive trouble after losing to Iowa. Even the broader sport has been in motion, with Foxs Big Noon Kickoff and Barstool Sports parting ways, but for Penn State the focus is closer to home now, where the pressure is already building and the questions around this team are starting to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Suddenly Has A Credibility Problem Fans Can't Ignore
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The schedule does not offer much time to linger on the setback. USC and Michigan are next, and those matchups will give Penn State a chance to reestablish itself against high-profile opponents and climb back toward the top 25, but only if the Nittany Lions start looking like a different team than the one that just slipped against Northwestern. [Read more 🡒]