Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from the win vs Ohio

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Sep 10, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton (10) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ohio 46-10. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Is the running back situation solved?

Penn State football had three running backs split equal carries against Purdue last week, that was not the case on Saturday.

Junior Keyvone Lee got the start, but he finished with just one carry. That’s because freshman Nick Singleton took this game over rather quickly.

Singleton took his first carry of the day for 11 yards on Penn State’s opening drive. That was just the start though, as on Penn State’s next drive, Singleton bounced a run outside and took it 70 yards for a touchdown.

In the second half, Singleton did almost the exact same thing again, this time scoring from 44 yards out.

At the end of the day, Singleton ran the ball ten times for 179 yards and two touchdowns. It was the best performance by a Penn State running back since Journey Brown in the 2019 Cotton Bowl.

Singleton’s ten carries led the team, with fellow freshman Kaytron Allen second on the team (for running backs) with six carries. Lee finished the day with just one carry.

It’s difficult to say if Singleton did in fact win the job outright or not because of how little the starters played. The staff could have just been resting Lee- like they did with Clifford- and let the youngsters play.

Regardless, Singleton showed he has the speed the Penn State backfield has been missing the past two years. His role will definitely increase throughout the year.

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