In his first game as Penn State’s interim coach, Terry Smith came here not certain if the Nittany Lions would win but certain they would give a maximum effort that was clearly absent during the last three games of James Franklin’s tenure.

And Smith was right.

Despite a painful 25-24 loss Saturday night that in some ways represented a snapshot of this wrecked season – a porous defense when it mattered most and questionable key offensive calls, even without Franklin – the Lions played harder than they have all year.

In the visiting media room underneath Kinnick Stadium, in which you could feel his disappointment, Smith quickly acknowledged that while he wasn’t satisfied with the bottom line, “I think our guys left it all out there. I’m super proud of the way we played.”

He should be.

Before a loud crowd of 69,250 – one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten – Penn State was in position to win despite its quarterback, sophomore Ethan Grunkemeyer, making his first career start.

Grunk accounted himself pretty well. He kept the chains moving, relied on the run game and committed just one bad turnover, an interception returned to the PSU 1 that set up an Iowa touchdown in the second quarter.

Kaytron Allen rushed 28 times for 145 tough yards and two touchdowns, and the Lions led in every quarter and until 3:54 remained.

State didn’t play as tight as it often did under Franklin as Smith liberally used both of his inexperienced quarterbacks, Grunk and Iowa native Jaxon Smolik, who rushed four times and brought an option presence.

“I thought Ethan played a pretty solid game,” Smith said. “He managed the line of scrimmage and handled the crowd. And Smolik brings some athleticism to it.”

They committed the carries to Allen that he’s deserved. They used some new formations and even got underclassmen receivers Tyseer Denmark and Coby Howard some action.