Penn State Football: Ranking top backfield duos in Nittany Lions history

Penn State Football: Ranking the top backfield duos in Nittany Lions history

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 26: Quarterback Todd Blackledge #14 of the Penn State University Nittany Lions looks to pass as running backs Curt Warner #25 and Jon Williams #44 block during a college football game against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers at Beaver Stadium on November 26, 1982 in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeated Pitt 19-10. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

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Daryll Clark #17 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images) /

5. QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster (2008-09)

Quarterback Daryll Clark and running back Evan Royster may be the most underrated backfield in Penn State history. The two shared the field in 2008 and 2009, with the Nittany Lions going 22-4 in those two seasons.

Clark totaled 5,595 yards with 43 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in those two years. He added another 17 scores on the ground. His 2009 season is one of the best ever by a Penn State quarterback at the time, as he completed 60.9% of his passes for 3,003 yards with 24 touchdowns to ten interceptions.

Royster, Penn State’s all-time leading rusher, ran for 2,405 yards and 18 touchdowns in the two years he shared the backfield with Clark. Royster added two receiving touchdowns to his stat line in 2009. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft by the then called Washington Redskins.

The 2008 season was a heartbreaking one for the Nittany Lions, with them losing just one game in the regular season on a last-second field goal by Iowa. That loss kept the Nittany Lions out of the BCS championship game, but a Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl wasn’t too shabby.

Between winning 22 games, including the Capital One Bowl to end the 2009 season, in two years and featuring the program’s all-time leading rusher, it was a no-brainer to include this backfield on the list.

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