Not long after Penn State promoted Terry Smith to interim head football coach, a coach of another Big Ten team called him.

It was Indiana’s Curt Cignetti.

“Curt Cignetti is a friend of mine,” Smith said. “He reached out to me when all of this went down, so I am appreciative of him.”

Smith and the struggling Nittany Lions (0-5 Big Ten, 3-5) will take on Cignetti and No. 2 Indiana (6-0, 9-0) Saturday at noon (TV-FOX) at Beaver Stadium.

Cignetti has done wonders in less than two seasons with the Hoosiers, guiding them to an 11-2 record and the College Football Playoff last season and to a 9-0 record so far this season.

He’s the first coach in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history to start 8-0 or better in three consecutive seasons at different institutions. He had coached at James Madis

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