There are many things that have gone wrong for theNittany Lionsthis season. However, if Penn State fans wanted to point out one specific weak point for the blue and white, it is their rushing attack. With most of these transfers coming from outside of the Big Ten, they are not exactly used to the physicality of the defenses they are facing. As a result, the run game ranks not only as one of the worst in the Big Ten, but in all of college football.
Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, who previously worked with most of the backfield at Iowa State, has had to contend with the questions concerning the ground game over the past three weeks especially in Big Ten play. Because of the offense as a whole's struggle, it has been a massive talking point
as not only a hindrance to any offensive explosiveness, but also as a potential focus going forward for the Nittany Lions.
“I don’t think that it’s ever like ‘we are what we are,’ but we’re a run game without an identity, and that’s the reality of the situation,” Mouser said during his press conference Tuesday. “And for us, it’s like, how can we get good at something to be able to hang our hat on? … We have to find a way to get better. It’s been our biggest focus.”
While the Nittany Lions have tried a number of things to get anyone going on the ground, it has not paid off as of yet. They currently rank 10th in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game with 141.7 and 90th nationally with 4.07 yards per carry. If those returns continue, there is no reason to believe there will be any signs of improvement. When you add in the fact that their leading rusher only has 232 rushing yards total and it just makes it more troubling for the Nittany Lions.
One player who could more heavily factor into the rotation could be sophomore Quinton Martin Jr., who didn't receive many snaps against USC. “Quinton is one of our more explosive guys and I think for us it felt like sometimes we were going between back-to-back-to-back-to-back like we did a couple weeks ago and weren’t allowing any of those guys to get into a rhythm and wanted to be able to work through some of that last week, and weren’t able to get traction and take off,” Mouser said.
If Martin could become something for the blue and white, then perhaps the offense will get closer to finding an identity. For now though, they may have to fight through the growing pains.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Taylor Mouser addresses run game issues
