Penn State’s backfield was supposed to give Matt Campbell a real weapon in Year 1. Instead, it has turned into one more problem in a season already packed with them.
The Nittany Lions entered the year with a group that looked strong on paper: Carson Hansen followed Campbell from Iowa State, Ohio State transfer James Peoples arrived, and Cam Wallace and Quinton Martin Jr. were back in the mix. Over fall camp, Campbell and his staff sounded optimistic about that room. But through seven games, the production has not matched the buzz.
Penn State is 3-4 and 0-4 in Big Ten play, and the run game has been stuck in neutral for weeks. The last time the Nittany Lions cleared 100 rushing yards was Week 4 against Wisconsin, when they finished with 119. Peoples led the way that day with 67 yards on 14 carries, while Martin and Hansen were both held under 15 net rushing yards on six and four carries.
The bigger issue is how little burst there has been anywhere in the backfield. Through 16 quarters of Big Ten football, no Penn State running back has ripped off a run of 10 yards or more. Over the last three games against Northwestern, USC and Michigan, the Nittany Lions have averaged 2.2 yards per carry in each one.
That lack of explosion has shown up in the individual totals, too. Hansen is the only back to post a 50-yard rushing game in that three-game stretch, doing it against Michigan with 51 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Peoples managed only 14 yards on five carries in the Week 7 loss. Hansen also led the team in Weeks 5 and 6, with 19 yards against Northwestern and 28 against USC.
The run game’s struggles are hard to ignore, but they’re not the central issue for this offense right now. Penn State has enough other trouble spots that the ground attack has almost been pushed into the background.
Last season, the run was the offense’s identity. This year, that’s not the case.
The offensive line still needs work, Rocco Becht has to elevate his play or Campbell has to give Alex Manske a shot, and the passing game has to carry more of the load. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser has clearly been trying to sort that side of the offense out, spreading the ball around to wide receivers and tight ends with Koby Howard out.
At the moment, there just isn’t a clean identity here. And with the offense this inconsistent, it’s hard to build around a run game that has averaged 2.2 yards per carry over the last three games.
In Other News...
Quinton Martin Drama Just Put Penn States Offensive Frustration In Public
Penn States offensive frustration spilled into the open after the Michigan game, when Quinton Martin Sr., the father of running back Quinton Martin Jr., took aim at quarterback Rocco Becht on social media. The post quickly turned into a public distraction for a team already dealing with questions about how it is distributing touches, and it only added to the sense that some of the discomfort around the offense has moved beyond the building.
Martin Sr. later apologized publicly to Becht, but the bigger issue for Penn State is still hanging there. Head coach Matt Campbells playing-time decisions have been under scrutiny, and Martin Jr. has seen limited carries this season, leaving his future with the program part of the conversation as well. For a team trying to steady its offense, even one familys frustration has become a revealing sign of how much tension is building around those decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Are Sending A Brutal Message About Purdue
Ticket prices for Penn States Oct. 31 home game against Purdue have slipped to as low as $14, a sign of how quickly the mood around Beaver Stadium can change after a rough stretch. The 28% drop from the previous week comes on the heels of Penn States loss to Michigan, a defeat that left the Nittany Lions at 3-4 overall and still searching for their first Big Ten win.
Purdue will arrive in State College with the same 3-4 record, but the matchup has clearly lost some of its pull for fans who were expecting a much different kind of late-season spotlight. The game is set for a 4:15 kickoff on Big Ten Network, and while the price on the secondary market suggests a soft appetite for the trip, Penn State still gets a chance to reset at home under the lights. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Get Another Home Game Frustration Before Purdue
Penn State fans already had one unusual home date this fall, and they are getting another before Purdue rolls into Happy Valley. The Oct. 31 matchup has been set for a 4:15 p.m. kickoff on Big Ten Network, another late-afternoon slot that is not exactly the traditional look for a Nittany Lions home game.
It comes on the heels of the Wisconsin game being placed in a 5:00 p.m. window on Peacock, adding to the sense that Penn States home schedule has been anything but standard lately. The Lions will come out of a bye week to face a Purdue team that has been more competitive than expected, so the timing of this one will matter as much for the atmosphere as for the football. [Read more 🡒]