What’s Wrong With Penn State’s Run Game?
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Penn State has cruised to a 2-0 start to the 2026 season after downing their first two non-conference opponents by a combined total of 72-9.
The offense is rolling, led by fifth-year senior quarterback Rocco Becht, who has 539 yards, seven touchdowns, a 75.6% completion rate and no turnovers. Becht’s favorite targets have been sophomore wideout Koby Howard (nine catches, 229 yards and one touchdown) and tight end Ben Brahmer (six catches, 87 yards and three touchdowns).
While the passing attack has been virtually unstoppable so far, the same isn’t true of Penn State’s run game.
Is it Time to Worry About Penn State’s Run Game?
In the 27-9 win against Temple, Penn State’s rushing attack struggled. The Owls held the Nittany Lions to 148 rushing yards and no touchdowns. The last time Penn State was held without a rushing score against a non-Power 4 opponent was against San Diego State in 2015.
Opportunities to punch in a score were there; Penn State had six red zone trips on nine total drives, but the run game floundered near the goal line.
After Tony Rojas’ interception on the 5-yard line, the Nittany Lions ran the ball three straight times and gained as many yards. Becht’s pass to tight end Andrew Rappleyea was off target on fourth down, and Penn State failed to come away with points.
“Ithinkyougobackandyoulookatthosethreerunsdownintheredzone, they’reallthere,” head coach Matt Campbell said after the game. “The first one, it’s a bad run. The second one, we get beat on the inside. And the third one, we get beat at right guard.
We’re off by an inch, but it’s a game of inches, especially if we play on the road. You have to have great execution, and we didn’t do it.”
The run game wasn’t much better against Marshall either. The Nittany Lions averaged 3.6 yards per carry as a team, but at least found the end zone twice when the game was already put away in the second half.
Two games aren’t indicative of what’s to come, but they are red flags. If the run game can’t dominate inferior opponents like Marshall and Temple, then who’s to say it will be effective in Big Ten play?
Is Penn State Leaning on the Right Back?
Iowa State transfer Carson Hansen has been the Nittany Lions’ primary back, rushing 30 times for 132 yards and no scores this season. Hansen has always been a ground-and-pound, physical back at 6′-2″, 216 pounds, but has few explosive runs and little receiving upside.
Hansen has only had 20 rushes go for 15+ yards over the last two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. For comparison, Kaytron Allen, another big physical back, had 30 carries go for 15+ yards over the same time. Hansen also had only 43 career receptions for 337 yards (112.3 yards per season) and two touchdowns at Iowa State.
Penn State fans have noticed Hansen’s inefficiency. The senior back is averaging 4.4 yards per carry and has had just one rush go for over 10 yards after facing two Group of 6 programs that each ranked in the lower half of college football in run defense a season ago. However, Campbell remains optimistic about his RB1.
“There were some really great Carson Hansen runs,” he said after the win against Temple. “I feel how I probably felt last week: we’re a hair off on some things. I thought there was probably good growth.”
Despite this, many fans have questioned if Hansen is the right back to lead the offense.
Penn State also has Ohio State transfer James Peoples, who opened eyes in the spring with his dynamic play style and athleticism. On Saturday, Peoples hurdled a defender for his biggest run of the game: a 12-yard rush.
James Peoples hurdle pic.twitter.com/90BRlbJdFN
— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) September 12, 2026
Yet, Peoples has been limited to just 15 carries for 73 yards so far this season in his backup role.
The fan favorite right now seems to be redshirt sophomore Quinton Martin Jr., who was notably absent from the game plan last week.
Martin did not play a single snap on offense against Temple after rushing 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown against Marshall the week prior. Cam Wallace is the only other Penn State running back to find the end zone this season, and he played just one snap against the Owls.
Hansen has been Campbell’s workhorse back for the last two seasons at Iowa State, and it makes sense for him to get the nod again this season. But struggling to get past the second level against two Group of 6 opponents isn’t very encouraging. It might be time to give Peoples, Martin and Wallace more opportunities.
How Penn State Can Improve the Run Game
To Marshall and Temple’s credit, both teams did a good job at stacking the box when Penn State was in big personnel packages. The Nittany Lions have liked to run 13 personnel (one running back and three tight ends) this season to establish the run game, but stacking the box can make it difficult for the offensive line to create big holes.
Now, to the offensive line’s credit, the holes have been there; they just aren’t very large.
“Ithoughtwewerereallyphysicalatthepointofattackagain,” Campbell said. “Ithoughtwetookastepforward,buttheteamthatwewanttobeandtheteamthatweweretodayarestillnotequaltowhatwewanttobecome.”
What Hansen excels at is knowing where the hole will open, hitting it and running downhill. But against these loaded boxes, putting your head down and diving ahead will only get a few yards most times, especially if the holes close quickly.
What Penn State needs to do is either find a running back who can hit the gap aggressively, like Hansen, but also search for open grass past the line, or play more 11 and 12 personnel to stretch the defense and lighten the box.
Fortunately for Penn State, there’s still time to figure out the run game. With the Nittany Lions hosting Buffalo this week, it’s another opportunity to hone in on improving the rushing attack before opening up Big Ten play on the road at Northwestern.
Main Image: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
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