Four weeks into the season, with three games against non-power conference opponents, Penn State ranks No. 96 in the country in rushing success rate and No. 84 with just 4.64 yards per rush. The issues in that department aren’t confined solely to the backfield, but it doesn’t seem that head coach Matt Campbell, offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, and running backs coach Savion Huggins have found their answer at running back.
Penn State played four running backs: James Peoples, Carsen Hansen, Quinton Martin Jr., and Cam Wallace in the first quarter of Week 4 against Wisconsin. Peoples led the way with 67 yards on 14 carries; Martin had six carries, Hansen had four, and Wallace just two. Only Peoples averaged more than three yards per carry.
It’s becoming clear that Peoples is the most talented player in that group, but he’s also the best pass-catcher and pass-protector among the backfield, so he has passing-down duties locked up, and it doesn’t appear as though staff wants to play him every down.
Campbell admitted that Peoples has been the most consistent in his Tuesday press conference, but admitted that they’re still “looking for somebody to emerge” from that logjam and “grab a stranglehold” on that job.
Penn State can’t keep splitting the carries four ways in the backfield
It’s nice to keep your running backs fresh. That’s why most teams have moved away from having a true three-down bell-cow in their backfield and prefer to divvy up the carries and keep their best back fresh. However, there’s a point of diminishing returns with division of labor, and Penn State has clearly reached it.
From the outside, we don’t often think about running back as a position where the player needs to get into a rhythm the way a quarterback would, but ask any running back, and it’s absolutely the case. The more you’re seeing the run lanes open and understanding how your offensive line is opening them, the better you’re going to be.
It’s hard to come off the bench cold and do something with two carries. Some players are explosive enough to do it, but Penn State’s logjam doesn’t have any of those types of players. It mostly has bigger backs, particularly in Hansen and Martin, who are built to be between-the-tackles runners, not home run hitters.
Neither Hansen nor Martin has separated themselves. Martin went for 14 yards on his six totes, and Hansen managed 11 on his four. That’s bad any way you slice it, even if on many of those runs, blocking was the issue. Neither player is getting more than what’s blocked for them right now, and they probably won’t if their opportunities are so scant.
It’s time for Campbell, Mouser, and Huggins to pick which back they’re going to pair with Peoples and to ride them, at least for this Northwestern game. They have the luxury of riding the hot hand, but what if there is no hot hand? Well, if you continue to sub them in and out, you never let either start to heat up.
I’d probably lean Martin simply on upside, but Hansen nearly had a 1,000-yard season for Iowa State last year, so I understand the loyalty this staff has to him. And unfortunately for Cam Wallace, he can’t continue to get two touches a game. It’s time to make a tough decision because the longer this staff waits to do that, the worse this problem will likely get.
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