It’s time for Penn State football to start using some common sense.
Common sense is a valuable asset, especially after a setback, such as Penn State’s loss to Oregon this past Saturday.
For the past several years, Penn State and its fans have been blessed with not one, but two great college running backs.
For the past several years, Kaytron Allen has generally been seen as “the other guy.”
That’s because his backfield mate, Nick Singleton, has always been the main character. When Penn State fans talk about the two backs, it’s always “Nick and Kaytron” or “Singleton and Allen,” not the other way around. But right now, “the other guy” is Penn State’s best guy, not just in the backfield but on the entire offense.
It’s easy to see why.
Singleton was the No. 1 prep running back in the country coming out of high school. Allen wasn’t. Singleton grew up in Pennsylvania. Allen didn’t.
Through three seasons of college, Allen certainly had his moments, but it always felt like Singleton was the top dog.
Coming into this year, Singleton had 499 career carries to 559 for Singleton.
Now, Allen is the top dog, and everybody seems to understand that, but the Penn State coaching staff.
The numbers are all there. Here is what they are through four games:
Allen: 327 yards, four touchdowns, 7.1 yards per carry
Singleton: 200 yards, five touchdowns, 3.8 yards per carry.
Not close, is it?
Allen was Penn State’s best runner in each of Penn State’s first three games and deserved to be the guy against Oregon. It looked like he might be early on, since he got two carries before Singleton got one.
Then, Singleton got the next nine and didn’t do much with them. By the end of the night, Singleton ran the ball 11 times and gained just 21 yards.
That’s less than two yards per carry.
Now, Singleton is a much better back than that, and there’s little doubt that he’ll be better going forward. But it’s fair for Penn State fans to question how much better Singleton will be, and to illustrate, I’ll go back to the numbers:
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Yards per carry per season
Singleton: 6.8 (2022), 4.4 (2023), 6.4 (2024)
Allen: 5.2 (2022), 5.2 (2023), 5.0 (2024).
Even before this season, Allen had been the more consistent back, so even if Allen regresses to his floor, which is five yards per carry, Penn State football fans know they’re getting a reliable player.
The biggest fear surrounding Singleton is that he regresses to what he was in his worst season, 2023.
752 yards on 4.4 yards per carry isn’t terrible, but it’s hardly elite.
During that season, Singleton never had a run longer than 24 yards.
This season, Singleton hasn’t had a run longer than 16.
This quote from coach James Franklin at his weekly presser Monday is quite telling.
“You know, I think Nick, although the statistics would not say this, I think he’s playing consistent, how he’s played in the past,” he said. “The difference with Nick is there has usually been one or two runs where there has been a space, a gap, a hole, where he can rip off an explosive run. He’s been a guy that’s been able to do that throughout his career with a 60-yard run, 80-yard run, that obviously changes the perception and statistics.”
What this says is that Singleton needs to break off a huge run to be a star.
Allen doesn’t need that.
Last season, Allen didn’t have a run longer than 32 yards and still ended with 1,108 total, the highest of his career.
Some might read this as a hit piece against Singleton. It isn’t. Singleton is a quality tailback, and Penn State is going to need him for another deep Playoff run to be possible.
But it’s impossible to argue that Allen should be the primary focus of Penn State’s running game without laying out the facts, and the facts are that, right now, Allen is as good as he ever was, and Singleton is nowhere close.
Allen told reporters via Zoom Tuesday that we haven’t seen the best of him.
“I don’t think I’ve hit my best peak yet,” he said. “I’m still reaching for it.”
For Allen to hit his “best peak,” Penn State football needs to utilize common sense and make him the guy.
