Penn State Football: keys to success against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 12: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with head coach James Franklin during the first half of the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 12: Nicholas Singleton #10 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Kaytron Allen #13 after scoring a touchdown against the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Run, run, run … and then run some more

Realistically, if the Nittany Lions run the ball like they can and take care of business on defense and special teams, they could win this game comfortably without even attempting a pass. Of course, I don’t expect them to take that approach, but regardless, if this team runs the ball the way they have the past few weeks, Rutgers has no chance to even keep this one close.

Statistically, the Scarlet Knights are similar to Maryland and Indiana in terms of their (lack of) ability to stop the run, so the game plan offensively should be nearly identical to the one they rolled out each of the past two games.

The offensive line and tight ends need to dominate Rutgers’ front seven in the run-blocking department, and Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen need to continue to do their thing: find holes, run hard, and wear down the defense.

This is a game where both of them could surpass 100-yards, so I would expect them to at least be close if things go according to plan.

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