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Penn State Football: 3 keys to beating Rutgers

By Lawrence Santa Maria

Nov 30, 2019; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Jahan Dotson (5) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Rutgers 27-6. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2019; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Jahan Dotson (5) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Rutgers 27-6. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Penn State football looks to put back-to-back victories together as the Nittany Lions head to Piscataway to take on much improved Rutgers Saturday at noon.

After picking up their first win of the season in Ann Arbor last Saturday Penn State football will hit the road once again, this time headed for New Jersey and a clash with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers notched their second win of the season Saturday against Purdue, which was also the Knights’ second road win of 2020. The Scarlet Knights are much improved under head coach Greg Schiano, already surpassing last season’s win total.

Rutgers has not beaten Penn State since joining the Big Ten in 2014, being outscored 162 – 32 and without a touchdown since their first meeting in 2014 in Piscataway.

If there was ever a year for Rutgers to beat Penn State football, all indications say this would be it.

With that being said, Penn State played their most complete four quarters of football against Michigan, and are looking to build on that momentum.

Here are three keys to a Penn State football victory Saturday:

Penn State ground game vs Rutgers defense

With Sophomore running back Devyn Ford not making the trip due to a death in his family, Penn State football freshmen Keyvone Lee and Coziah Holmes shared the load of the rushing atack last Saturday.

Lee made the most of the opportunity, being named the Big Ten freshman of the week after he rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against the Wolverines.

As a team, the Nittany Lions ran for 254 yards and three scores, with quarterback Sean Clifford getting in on the mix with 74 yards and a touchdown of his own. The success of the running game set up the RPO and play action passing that just has not been there for the offense in previous weeks.

Rutgers ranks 10th in the Big Ten in rushing yards allowed, surrendering 169 yards a game on the ground. Purdue, a team that does not normally run the ball very well and ranks near the bottom of the conference in rushing, gashed the Scarlet Knights for 175 yards on just 33 carries Saturday afternoon, with tailback Zander Horvath going for 101 of them. That marks three straight weeks Rutgers has allowed a 100-yard rusher, with Michigan and Illinois having the same success in prior weeks.

With Devyn Ford back for Penn State this week it will be interesting how they rotate the touches in the backfield. Ford has been the go to guy for most of the season, however the freshmen, especially Lee have proven they deserve more chances to be the lead dog.

If Penn State can run the ball like they did against Michigan, the offense can work off of that and will make the game much simpler for quarterback Sean Clifford and should go a long way in leaving New Jersey with a victory.

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