Penn State’s offense has hit the point where the fixes can’t just be schematic anymore.
The run game has gone nowhere, and the numbers are ugly enough to back up the eye test. Against a USC defense that came into Week 6 ranked No. 119 in success rate, Penn State still managed only 68 yards on 31 carries, good for 2.2 yards per rush and a 31% rushing success rate. Through Week 6, the Nittany Lions are sitting No. 96 nationally in rushing success rate and averaging just 78.3 rushing yards per game in Big Ten play.
That’s a massive issue for an offense that was built to be more balanced, especially after a staff and core that ran the ball 53.5% of the time at Iowa State last year. This season, Penn State is closer to even, but offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser made clear in his Tuesday press conference that the group may have to lean more heavily on quarterback Rocco Becht if the ground game stays stuck in neutral.
As amusing as the idea of Becht throwing 40 times a game to a thin receiving group might be, that’s not the ideal path. The better answer is still to find a way to run the ball, and Mouser has already pushed through most of the obvious schematic options. That leaves personnel, and now the coaching staff sounds like it’s at least considering that route.
“Obviously, that’s been a squeaky wheel for us,” Mouser told reporters about the run game, “and that’s certainly been a discussion for, are we playing the right people?”
That question points straight at an offensive line that has not held up its end of the bargain. The running back room, led by Carson Hansen, has not helped much - Hansen returned to his RB1 role in Week 6 - but the problems start in the trenches, both on the ground and in pass protection. Left guard Trevor Buhr and center Brock Riker, who has been dealing with injury for much of the season, have been the biggest trouble spots.
Right guard Cooper Cousins has performed well, and right tackle Anthony Donkoh has as well. But overall, this is a weak-link unit, and that matters even more when the offense wants to live on inside zone and duo. Mouser said on Tuesday that his ideal run game is “I think between inside zone and duo, we have to get good at one of those.”
If that’s the goal, the interior has to play better. Those concepts, especially when run from shotgun as often as college offenses do now, demand dependable guard play.
They also demand backs with patience and vision, and Penn State does not appear to have that part solved either. For now, the line is the clearer problem.
A small tweak may be on the table, with Riker possibly getting healthier and Vaea Ikakoula an option to step in at center, as he did against Buffalo. But that kind of swap probably only moves the needle a little, if at all.
The more dramatic idea is a full reshuffle, and while it sounds extreme, the case for it is obvious enough. Donkoh is Penn State’s best offensive lineman.
He’s usually the kind of player you want locked in at tackle, but he played guard last year and played it well. Meanwhile, Penn State has more theoretical answers at tackle - Owen Aliciene and Garrett Sexton were both in the mix at left tackle with Malachi Goodman - than it does inside, especially with Will Tompkins out for the year.
That opens the door to a full reworking: Donkoh to right guard, Cousins to left guard, the better of Riker and Ikakoula at center, and Aliciene or Sexton at right tackle.
It would not be simple. Moving Donkoh or Cousins midseason comes with risk, and asking the entire line to reset its chemistry at this stage is no small thing. But the current setup has already failed to deliver, and that reality makes almost any change worth considering.
Even if the run game only improves a little and pass protection takes a step back, Penn State may still end up in the same place. But at least the staff would be trying something different with a unit that is not good enough to support the offense as it stands.
With the season sliding and the roster needing a bigger overhaul this offseason, evaluation has to become the priority. That means getting a look at the young tackles, seeing whether the backs can produce with better blocking, and eventually finding out what the young backup quarterback can do.
In Other News...
Penn State Still Feels The Fallout From One Costly Decision
Penn States coaching change in October 2025 set off a stretch of uncertainty that still shapes how the program is being judged today. James Franklin was dismissed after a third straight Big Ten loss, and what followed was a 54-day search that eventually landed on Matt Campbell. The move gave the Nittany Lions a fresh start on the sideline, but it also came with the kind of scrutiny that never really disappears once a high-profile job opens up.
The process drew plenty of attention along the way, including interest in Bob Chesney and Kalani Sitake, and it has only sharpened the conversation around athletic director Pat Krafts decisions. Penn State opened the next season 3-0, but the losses that followed knocked the team out of College Football Playoff contention and left the program dealing with the bigger question of whether the right call was made when the search finally ended. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Used White Out Weekend To Turn Up Recruiting Pressure
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The event also gave Penn State a chance to keep pushing ahead while the calendar still has room to shift. Along with hosting the visitors, the program handed out new offers to players in the 2028, 2029 and 2030 classes, widening the board while the buzz from the weekend was still fresh. For a staff that knows how much the White Out setting can matter, the message was clear: the pressure is on now, long before these recruiting battles reach the finish line. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Suddenly Has A Defensive Problem It Cant Ignore
Penn States defense hit a rough patch in Week 6, and Marcus Neal Jr. ended up at the center of it. The Iowa State transfer safety was benched after struggling in coverage during Big Ten play, a reminder that the Lions portal-heavy approach does not always come with instant answers, especially when the schedule tightens and the margins get smaller.
Neal is not the only former Cyclone who has had trouble settling in. Linebackers Kooper Ebel and Jeremiah Cooper have also underperformed, with tackling and coverage issues becoming part of the conversation. For a defense that wants to stay dependable deep into conference play, the question now is whether Penn State needs to lean less on some of those Iowa State transfers and give younger options a bigger look. [Read more 🡒]