Ep. 208 | Falling Upwards

Ep. 208 | Falling Upwards

From Hardcore Penn State Football by Hardcore Penn State Football

November 13, 2025 · 54 min · Season 4

About this episode

The episode discusses Penn State's loss to Indiana and the implications for the coaching staff and program's future.

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Hardcore Penn State Football, we confront the painful reality of the Nittany Lions' heartbreaking 31-24 loss to Indiana on November 8th at Beaver Stadium—dropping Penn State to a dismal 3-6 and putting the program's future under the microscope. We lead with a thorough recap of the defeat: Critical moments like the late-game interception, defensive collapses against Mendoza's passing attack, offensive bright spots with Ethan Grunkemeyer's resilience, and conservative play calling sealed another frustrating Big Ten setback for the Lions. Then, the latest twists in the coaching search: With James Franklin's seat scorching hot, we update on evolving candidates—including Mike Elko's impressive turnaround at TAMU, Brian Hartline's Ohio State ties and recruiting edge, Eli Drinkwitz being the new favorite, and Alabama's Kalen DeBoer. Plus, emerging dark horses and timeline speculation as the season spirals. Finally, we dive into your fan questions: Tackling everything from player accountability and schematic overhauls to bowl ineligibility fears, transfer portal chaos, and bold calls for immediate changes—straight from the passionate PSU community…

People in this episode

Hosts: Shawn Kane, Cory Lestochi

Topics covered

  • Penn State football
  • coaching search
  • game recap
  • Big Ten
  • fan questions
  • player accountability
  • transfer portal

Keywords

  • Penn State
  • Indiana
  • James Franklin
  • coaching candidates
  • Big Ten
  • Eli Drinkwitz
  • transfer portal
  • fan questions
  • game recap

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Penn State, Indiana, TAMU, Ohio State, Alabama

Places: Beaver Stadium

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