Penn State Football vs Michigan: Key players for Nittany Lions to pick up their third consecutive win over Wolverines

Penn State Football running back – Keyvone Lee

If it were up to me, Keyvone Lee would be the Nittany Lions’ workhorse at running back for the remainder of the season.

Despite poor offensive line play this year, Lee is still averaging a very solid 5.1 yards per carry.

Fun fact, Penn State Football all-time leading rusher Evan Royster only averaged 4.9 yards per carry in his senior season.

The Wolverines are allowing 3.7 yards per carry, so they are certainly a solid rush defense.

While the running game will not be the reason Penn State wins this game, it is still important to be able to successfully pick up positive yardage when they do opt to keep it on the ground, to force the defense to honor the run and have at least somewhat of a balanced attack.

Lee’s only career 100 yard rushing game to date came last season against Michigan, when he went for 134 rushing yards and a touchdown in The Big House. If he gets the ball at least 15 times, he might be able to do it again this year.

The sophomore running back could also play a big role in the passing game, as Sean Clifford will need to have a reliable check-down option to get the ball out quick against the Wolverines’ excellent pass rush.

If Lee has a good drive and looks to be finding his groove, the staff needs to stick with him and allow him to get hot and wear down the defense, unlike they did in previous games.

He needs to run with good vision and get upfield, taking what the defense gives him. If he does that, especially with a lead late in the game, Keyvone Lee can be a big reason why the Nittany Lions’ offense has success against Michigan on Saturday.