UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For two weeks, Penn State’s running game looked like it was waiting for something to click.
Against Buffalo, it finally did.
There is an obvious disclaimer attached to Penn State’s 55-13 win. Buffalo isn’t quite the 1985 Chicago Bears defense. It isn’t Michigan or USC, either. The Bulls weren’t equipped to consistently match Penn State’s size and depth up front.
But that doesn’t make what happened Saturday meaningless.
For the first time this season, Penn State’s offensive line and running backs didn’t merely produce enough – they imposed their will.
The Nittany Lions finished with 305 rushing yards on 40 attempts, averaging 7.6 yards per carry, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). They scored five rushing touchdowns, produced nine runs of at least 10 yards and forced 11 missed tackles.
That explosiveness had been conspicuously absent.
Through the first two games, Penn State had just four runs of 10-plus yards on 76 attempts. The underlying numbers showed an offense generating yards after contact but struggling to turn good runs into game-changing ones.
Saturday offered the first glimpse of what the new version might look like.
Quinton Martin Jr. was the headliner, rushing 10 times for 100 yards, including a 61-yard burst. Cam Wallace turned 10 carries into 77 yards, highlighted by a 59-yard touchdown run. James Peoples added 58 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts, while Carson Hansen scored and averaged 7.4 yards per carry.
Four backs. Four different skill sets. One rushing attack finally playing in rhythm.
The directional numbers make the offensive line’s performance even more impressive.
Penn State accumulated 157 yards on 11 carries to the left edge, an absurd 14.3 yards per attempt, after that area had been one of its least productive through two games. The Nittany Lions also gained 78 yards on 11 attempts off the right edge.
This wasn’t production isolated to one gap or one concept. Penn State was creating running lanes across the formation.
Offensive lineman Vaea Ikakoula described the problem of the first two weeks perfectly without necessarily intending to.
“I think we just meshed really well,” Ikakoula said. “We’re just getting together. We’re rolling.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The redshirt freshman center received 27 run-blocking snaps, the most of any Penn State offensive lineman, and earned a 61.1 PFF run-blocking grade. But some of the biggest performances came around him.
Anthony Donkoh led Penn State with a 75.4 run-blocking grade, followed by Trevor Buhr at 73.3. Owen Aliciene posted a 72.5 in 12 run-blocking snaps.
It wasn’t flawless. Left tackle Malachi Goodman finished with a 46.6 run-blocking grade. There are still areas Penn State will have to clean up before the competition dramatically increases Ikakoula understands that.
“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.”
And perhaps the most revealing thing Ikakoula said came when discussing what Matt Campbell believes is still missing.
“Finding that one inch,” Ikakoula said. “Cam always talks about finding the inch.”
That has been Campbell’s message from the beginning.
Against Temple, Penn State was a block here, a read there or one defeated defender away from producing explosive runs. Against Buffalo, those inches became yards.
Campbell also credited the blocking beyond the offensive line Saturday, specifically pointing to improved perimeter blocking that allowed Penn State’s backs to operate in space.
Now comes the real test.
Wisconsin arrives Saturday for Penn State’s Big Ten opener, and Buffalo won’t be the measuring stick anymore.
Nobody should look at 305 rushing yards against a MAC opponent and declare Penn State’s running game fixed. But that misses the larger point.
It might never have been broken.
Penn State needed its offensive line, backs and scheme to begin operating together rather than independently. Saturday was the first time that happened for four quarters.
The Nittany Lions spent two weeks searching for inches. They showed against Buffalo, they finally found some room to run.
