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Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions’ performance vs. Purdue

By Dylan Burd

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 05: Noah Cain #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions is tackled by Cory Trice #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 05: Noah Cain #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions is tackled by Cory Trice #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

THE RUNNING BACKS . B+. . .

It looks like one running back finally might’ve separated himself from the rest this week. True freshman Noah Cain had 12 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown in the game along with three receptions for 25 yards, and once again was the player to bring Penn State out of their offensive slump.

On the second to last Penn State offensive drive of the game, Noah Cain had five carries for 64 yards and a touchdown on the 7-play, 87-yard drive. In the game against Pitt, Noah Cain had six carries for 40 yards and a touchdown on a single drive to give Penn State a 17-10 lead.

Following the game, James Franklin acknowledged Cain’s performance and hinted that he could move up on the depth chart by the time of next week’s game at Iowa. Cain is now averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and has five touchdowns on the season.

In terms of the other running backs, Devyn Ford had seven carries for 38 yards, and Journey Brown had five carries for 21 yards. Brown also had two receptions for one yard. Ricky Slade had four carries for two yards and a reception that went for a loss.

Going forward, I fully expect it to be a near 50-50 split between Journey Brown and Noah Cain. If Cain can repeat his performance against the Iowa front seven, it’s going to be absolutely huge for the Nittany Lions.

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