For two weeks, Penn State’s running game felt like it was hovering just short of something bigger.
Against Buffalo, that changed.
The Nittany Lions rolled to a 55-13 win and piled up 305 rushing yards on 40 carries, good for 7.6 yards per attempt, according to Pro Football Focus. They also found the end zone on the ground five times, broke off nine runs of at least 10 yards and forced 11 missed tackles. That kind of burst had been missing through the first two games, when Penn State managed only four runs of 10-plus yards on 76 attempts.
This time, the offense didn’t just move the ball on the ground. It looked like it was taking control of the game with it.
Quinton Martin Jr. led the way with 100 yards on 10 carries, including a 61-yard run. Cam Wallace added 77 yards on 10 attempts and scored on a 59-yard touchdown burst.
James Peoples chipped in 58 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, and Carson Hansen added a score while averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Four backs.
Four different styles. One ground game finally working in sync.
The numbers by direction showed how complete the performance was. Penn State gained 157 yards on 11 carries running to the left edge, an eye-popping 14.3 yards per attempt, after that area had been one of the least productive parts of the attack in the first two weeks.
The Nittany Lions also picked up 78 yards on 11 tries off the right edge. This wasn’t a one-gap, one-play, one-back kind of afternoon.
The lanes were there all over the formation.
That was the part offensive lineman Vaea Ikakoula seemed to capture best.
“I think we just meshed really well,” Ikakoula said. “We’re just getting together. We’re rolling.”
Ikakoula, a redshirt freshman center, logged 27 run-blocking snaps, the most among Penn State offensive linemen, and posted a 61.1 PFF run-blocking grade. But some of the best work came from the players around him.
Anthony Donkoh led the group with a 75.4 run-blocking grade, Trevor Buhr followed at 73.3, and Owen Aliciene checked in at 72.5 over 12 run-blocking snaps. Left tackle Malachi Goodman had a 46.6 run-blocking grade, a reminder that there is still work to do before the competition level rises.
Ikakoula didn’t sugarcoat what Penn State wants this unit to become.
“We want to run the ball. We want to dominate,” he said. “So, it was great to see all the backs get out there, break runs, get touchdowns.”
He also pointed to the detail Campbell has kept emphasizing.
“Finding that one inch,” Ikakoula said. “Cam always talks about finding the inch.”
That has been the message from the start, and Saturday was the clearest example yet of what it looks like when those inches turn into chunks. Against Temple, Penn State was close more often than not - a block here, a read there, one defender beaten away from a bigger play. Against Buffalo, those small gains finally became explosive ones.
Campbell also credited blocking beyond the offensive line, noting improved perimeter work that helped the backs operate in space.
Wisconsin now arrives Saturday for Penn State’s Big Ten opener, and that will be the real measuring stick. Buffalo was not the final answer. Nobody should label the running game fixed after one big day against a MAC opponent.
But it may not have been broken either.
What Penn State needed was its line, backs and scheme to start functioning together instead of in separate pieces. For four quarters against Buffalo, that finally happened.
In Other News...
Penn State Suddenly Has A Koby Howard Concern Heading Into Next Week
Penn States injury watch after the Buffalo game centered on a few familiar names, but Koby Howard is the one carrying the biggest question into next week. Matt Campbell said Howard was hurt on a long touchdown run, and with the Lions moving on to the next opponent, his availability is now uncertain. For a team trying to keep early-season momentum rolling, even a single injury note can matter when it involves a player who was in the middle of a scoring play.
Brock Riker appears on sturdier ground and is expected to be available for the next game, while Andrew Rappleyea and Tyler Armstead are still listed as questionable after leaving the Buffalo contest banged up. For Penn State, the focus now shifts from the box score to the training room, where the answers on a few key depth pieces could shape how the rotation looks when the Lions line up again. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Face One Annoying Hurdle For Wisconsin Opener
Penn States Big Ten opener against Wisconsin at Beaver Stadium arrives with the usual conference-stage stakes, but there is one wrinkle for fans planning their Saturday around it. The 5 p.m. ET kickoff makes for a prime-time atmosphere in State College, yet the game will not be on traditional television. Instead, it will be available exclusively on Peacock, NBC Universals streaming platform, which means anyone wanting to watch will need a subscription.
Peacocks role as a Big Ten Saturday Night home will extend beyond this matchup, with the service carrying other conference games throughout the 2026 season while also offering football and entertainment programming. For Penn State supporters, though, the immediate issue is simpler and more annoying: if they want to see the opener against Wisconsin, they will have to navigate another streaming paywall first. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Got An Early Recruiting Sign Matt Campbell Needed
Penn States 2028 recruiting class got a noticeable boost this week when quarterback commit James Armstrong climbed 40 spots in Rivals latest rankings, landing at No. 61 overall and No. 7 among quarterbacks. Even in a staff that is known to trust its own evaluations more than outside lists, movement like that matters, especially when it comes from a quarterback and especially when it helps validate the early work being done in Pennsylvania.
There is still a long way to go with this cycle, and rankings will keep shifting as more evaluations come in, but Armstrongs rise is the kind of public sign a program can point to while building momentum. Another in-state commit, cornerback Deonte Flemings Jr., went the other direction with a 50-spot drop, a reminder that the early stages of recruiting rarely tell the full story even when they offer a glimpse of where the class might be headed. [Read more 🡒]