James Franklin backs Nicholas Singleton after a slow start to the season

No. 7 Penn State has been under a magnifying glass following its disappointing overtime loss to No. 2 Oregon, with heavy criticism all around.

The Nittany Lions (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) were due for a big game victory. With College GameDay in town, there was all the anticipation needed in Happy Valley for a White Out game to remember. While the game will surely go down as a classic, it didn't go Penn State's way as it fell 30-24 in double overtime.

The blue and white defense held strong, backed by a fanatic crowd, and only allowed a field goal in the first half. Yet there lies the problem: the Penn State offense also struggled as it put up just a field goal, again indicating that those issues remain unaddressed.

However, it isn't all the struggles the Nittany Lion faithful expected. The passing unit showed flashes of unexpected brilliance behind transfer additions Trebor Pena, Kyron Hudson, and Devonte Ross; but, it still appears limited by quarterback Drew Allar's struggles.

This passing inconsistency was somewhat expected, as it plagued Penn State the previous season, but there was always hope behind what was considered one of the best backfields in the country.

Coming into this season, it was expected for the duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen to create a dominant running force and alleviate the passing game's struggles. Both tallied over 1,000 yards in 2024. Unfortunately for the blue and white, this hasn't been the case so far in 2025.

In the loss to the Ducks (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) on Saturday, Singleton and Allen combined for under 80 yards on the ground with 11 and 12 touches, respectively, while Oregon's freshman rusher Dierre Hill Jr. tallied 85 yards on only 10 carries.

This reflects the ground game overall this season, which hasn't lived up to the hype entirely. Part of that reason has been the slow start for Shillington, Pa. native, Singleton, who has yet to tally a 100-yard game this season. His yards per carry currently sits at 3.8. Singleton is also over 100 yards behind Allen for rushing yards so far, despite having the most touches on the squad, and has had a longest rush of only 16 yards.

Singleton needs to help Penn State's offense build momentum. On top of it, turning the start of his 2025 senior campaign around will redeem his NFL Draft stock that may have dipped due to the unexpectedly slow beginning. He, like other Nittany Lions, such as Allar, need to figure out how to spark scoring and spark it fast.

Despite worrying figures, head coach James Franklin backed Singleton and believes he is doing all he can with what he's been given so far this fall as he expressed this in his midweek press conference ahead of Week 6.

“Although the statistics would not say this, I think [Singleton] is playing very consistent [to] how he’s played in the past. " Franklin said. "The difference with [Singleton] is there’s been usually one or two runs where there’s been a space, there’s been a gap, there’s been a hole where he can rip off an explosive run and he’s been a guy that’s been able to do that throughout his career."

As Franklin stays firm in his support for Singleton, he'll soon need to determine how to juggle the playing time in the backfield as the stats unveil to tell two different stories. The head coach of the Nittany Lions may soon look towards Allen, who is currently winning the battle on the stat sheet, to amp up production in the run game. For now, though, Franklin isn't searching for a new answer.

Singleton will have a chance to improve his season against UCLA, which is winless and allowed the most rushing yards in the Big Ten so far at 931, more than 200 yards above the next highest.

The weaker rushing defense will give Singleton the chance to break free for big runs he hasn't been given this season yet. In order to develop a strong run game and grow into a feared opponent as a result, Penn State will need to rely on its backfield to step up, more specifically, Singleton.

It's clear that coaching believes in Singleton regardless of his production, but he needs to demonstrate to the masses that his talent justifies the belief, as fans may begin losing hope in the star rusher.