Penn State Football: three stats that will define success in 2022

Rushing yards per carry

A few months back, we took a look at the correlation between Penn State’s success in the running game and their success in the win column. (Find that article here).

While it is quite obvious that the inability to effectively run the ball is going to hinder a team’s ability to move the ball and score points, which will in turn hurt their record, all of the best teams under James Franklin have been outstanding on the ground. At times, they have even been dominant on the ground, such as the back end of the 2019 season.

Each of the last two seasons, Penn State Football has averaged well under five yards per carry, whereas in each season from 2016-2019, they averaged greater than five. To be more specific, their top three running backs last season (Keyvone Lee, Noah Cain, and John Lovett) averaged a combined 3.9 yards per carry on the year.

There are certainly a lot of variables that go into improving the running game: blocking, the ball carriers, scheme, etc., all of which will need to improve this season.

The running back unit returns their most productive back from each of the past two years – Keyvone Lee – who averaged 4.9 yards per carry in both 2020 and 2021. While it’s not entirely his fault, the veteran needs to find a way to get and stay over the five yards per carry threshold.

They also welcome Nicholas Singleton, who figures to have the same level of explosiveness as some Penn State backs from a few years ago. That will certainly help, because even if the blocking does not dramatically improve, his speed and elusiveness will allow for him to be able to create some positive yards on his own.

Regardless of who it is carrying the ball, Penn State needs to vastly improve upon their running game to be successful. Their primary ball carriers will need to average at least five yards per carry to help balance the offensive attack.