No. 3 Penn State v. No. 6 Oregon is a close battle already on Saturday night with the team heading to the locker rooms with a 3-3 score at halftime.
For the Nittany Lions (3-0), there are few things head coach James Franklin wants them to refine to come out with a win. Aside from the defense getting the Ducks (4-0) off the field, Penn State's offense looks uncomfortable early on. Quarterback Drew Allar is hesitant and looks frantic while his backfield can't establish a sound run game.
James Franklin wants running backs to be more prominent in second half of Penn State v. Oregon
Oregon's offense also being hesitant with quarterback Dante Moore is helping the Nittany Lions find their footing, but the Ducks currently have a better game on the ground. Between six rushers, Oregon accumulated 77 yards in the first half in the run game. Penn State, though, posted a lackluster 24 yards.
When paired with a quarterback who looks scared to solidify a threatening pass game, the old reliable backfield needs to step up. If Allar won't use Trebor Pena, Devonte Ross, and Kyron Hudson, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen need to take control. Allen only had 10 yards on four carries while Singleton has eight yards over six rushes.
Matayo Uiagalelei has swallowed up the run game. The offensive line hasn't had a consistent answer for him, and the two star running backs can't break tackles to make any significant progress on the field. Either the run game needs to open up, as Franklin said before heading into the locker room on the NBC broadcast, or the pass game needs to erupt. It's one, the other, or both. It can't be none, which is what the first half looked like.
"We knew this was going to be a battle. We couldn't play worse on the offensive side of the ball in the first half," Franklin said to Brian Tripp of the Penn State Sports Network at halftime. "We got to get it cleaned up."
If Singleton and Allen step up in the second half and Allar overcomes the high stakes environment, the Nittany Lions can establish a more dominant game and pull out a win. After winning the toss and deferring, they will receive the ball to start the backhalf of the night.