Penn State Football: five reasons for optimism for the Nittany Lions’ trip to The Big House
By Nick Kreiser
Penn State Football carries their 5-0 record into Ann Arbor this weekend for a top 10 showdown against Michigan in what is (so far) the biggest game of the season for both teams.
It’ll be a tough game for sure, and yesterday we discussed a few causes for concern for Penn State in this one; but if they can come away with a win, the door is wide open for this team to have a season to remember, and there’s more than enough reason to believe they can.
These are five reasons to be optimistic that Penn State Football will remain unbeaten this weekend with a victory over the Michigan Wolverines.
Reason for optimism #1 – the running game
Coming into the season, Penn State needed to find a running game to balance the offense and take the pressure off the passing game–and they’ve done exactly that.
Improved run blocking combined with the sensational combination of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen in the backfield has made the running game a strength of this team and one that can help them win these big games.
Although Auburn did not have as good of a defense as what the Nittany Lions will face this week at Michigan, we still caught a glimpse in that matchup of not only how good this running game can be, but how much easier it makes Sean Clifford’s job. The Tigers still featured a good front seven with multiple future NFL players.
This Penn State Football rushing attack is plenty good enough to keep the offense ahead of schedule and avoid third and long situations. It also does a nice job of setting up the play action pass for Sean Clifford, which has been particularly effective in the red zone so far this year.
With Kaytron Allen’s vision and ability to consistently pick up positive yards, and Nick Singleton’s overall explosiveness and speed, this duo can have a lot of success in what looks to be the first of many top 10 matchups in their careers. Plus, a couple long runs by Singleton could really prove to be a momentum shifter–all he needs is a crease.
Even with the competition now getting tougher, I believe the Penn State running game will continue to improve and be effective; and it will give them a great chance in this one.