Penn State understands that, entering the 2026-27 college football season, to be the team it wants to be, it'll continue to be defined by running the football at a very high level.
If there's one thing Penn State has been just as good at as anybody in the country over the past few years, it's been rushing the football effectively.
Penn State has now gotten the reputation of having one of the best running back rooms in the country year in and year out, and new running back James Peoples is going to continue that trend.
There are a few other things to watch out for at Penn State this upcoming year, as it's obviously a big season.
With new head coach Matt Campbell running things now, Penn State will have to do what's needed on both sides of the football, and more importantly, win games that it hasn't in years past. A prominent ESPN analyst views both of those situations as two things to watch out for during this upcoming year.
"Spring storyline: For only the fourth time since 1966, the Nittany Lions have a new head coach. Matt Campbell takes over for James Franklin, who was fired in the middle of last season after 12 years in State College. Before arriving at Penn State, Campbell was the winningest coach in Iowa State history and was a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year. Campbell regularly pulled off big upsets at Iowa State. Can he now win the big games for the Nittany Lions? That inability to do so doomed Franklin, who went 4-21 against top-10 opponents during his Penn State tenure…
"Running back James Peoples. Peoples got 10 carries in last year's opener for Ohio State against Texas. That was the most he would get all year, as true freshman Bo Jackson quickly won the starting job and took away the bulk of the Buckeyes' rushing load. Still, Peoples averaged 5.6 yards per carry in a limited role for Ohio State. Now, he'll get a chance to become one of Penn State's featured running backs alongside fellow transfer Carson Hansen, who had 952 rushing yards and six touchdowns for Iowa State last year. The Nittany Lions have to replace outgoing seniors Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, the school's career leading rusher," Jake Trotter of ESPN wrote.
While I love the idea of Peoples going and making an impact for Penn State this year, I think the bigger focus is on what happens with Campbell. He has to be the guy for Penn State to be what it is finally expected to be, and that's going to include winning at the highest level.