Penn State's 1st Loss After James Franklin Fired Called 'Disappointing' by Terry Smith

Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith lamented a "very disappointing loss" on Saturday to Iowa in the Nittany Lions' first game after James Franklin's firing.

Smith told reporters in his press conference that "all three areas need improvement."

"In our special teams, we continue to have problems handling punts and kicks, just making good decisions with the football there," he said. "On offense, we continue to not be able to throw the ball down the field, or even throw the ball in the intermediate zone. So we've gotta get that fixed. On defense, we can't get stops when we need stops. It's glaring and I have to get it fixed."

Making a coaching change in college football isn't a panacea, but having a different lead voice on the sideline can occasionally be a spark.

UCLA has reeled off three straight wins since dispatching of DeShaun Foster and leaning on Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel. UAB upset No. 22 Memphis less than a week after Trent Dilfer got a pink slip.

After the 22-21 defeat to Northwestern, Penn State fans threw in the towel on any remaining College Football Playoff hopes. They had at least believed the Nittany Lions could see off 4-2 Iowa.

Penn State Nittany Lions - Iowa Hawkeyes Highlights

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Instead, an offense without starting quarterback Drew Allar finished with just 93 yards through the air. Ethan Grunkemeyer, who filled in for the injured Allar, also threw two interceptions.

The general inability for Penn State to break off big plays was particularly frustrating. Here's how long each of the Nittany Lions' four drives in the second half lasted: 5:35, 4:01, 8:21 and 2:34. They ate up a ton of clock and only had 10 points to show for all of that effort.

The program clearly entered a holding pattern from the moment Franklin exited. A coaching search will span multiple weeks, and a replacement likely won't be identified until late November or early December after the conference championships wrap up.

Based on what unfolded at Kinnick Stadium, Franklin's replacement has a full-scale rebuild to execute, and that's quite an indictment for a team that ranked second in the preseason Associated Press poll.