Penn State football starting quarterback Drew Allar sustained a season-ending ankle injury against Northwestern. During backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer's first-ever collegiate start, third-string quarterback Jaxon Smolik was injured and caused concern to rise for who's left under center for the Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten).
On Saturday against Iowa, Smolik saw minimal amount of time on the field. His limited package consisted of one-play change-ups that took Grunkemeyer off the field briefly. Aside from one first-and-10 snap, in which he lost three yards on the quarterback keeper, Smolik was mainly used on second- and third-down short yard scenarios.