Penn State has Found Something in Their Run Game Since the Bye Week

Penn State stumbled into the bye week two weeks ago on a four-game losing streak with no identity on the offensive side of the ball. They were putting a lot of responsibility on quarterback Rocco Becht and the passing game, which wasn't getting the job done.

Coming out of the bye week, the Nittany Lions have clearly found something very positive on the ground. 

In the four conference battles, they rushed for just 300 yards and four touchdowns on clips of 2.6 yards per carry and just 75 yards per game.

Coming out of the bye week in just two games, they have amassed 443 yards and five touchdowns with an average of 5.3 yards per carry and a bit over 221 yards per game. 

It has been a very impressive turnaround for the Nittany Lions and such an important trend for Penn State as they have been trying to establish their culture on the program. This is something that can span across years and be the turning point in the program as it continues forward.

That's the big-picture impact, but the little-picture impact is that, for this year, this has been such a pressure release for the entire team, specifically the rest of the offense. When a team can control the game on the ground, it frees everything up.

That was visible in the second half against Purdue and in the first half against Washington. For this team, they had been searching desperately for a running back that they could rely on, and they found it in Carsen Hansen.

Coming out of the bye week, he rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown against Purdue and then topped that with a 119-yard, one-touchdown performance against Washington. Most importantly, he brings the big-play potential to the Nittany Lions offense. He has carries of 42 and 36 yards in the last two weeks, which is huge for the Penn State attack.

It has been such a welcome development for this team for all of the reasons above, but also because the offensive line is starting to come together. It hasn't been good; really, it hasn't even been close to good, but they have all stayed in the fight and have found something.

Is it perfect? No, not even close. However, it is much better than what it was, and the things that are going right for Penn State are things that are repeatable and can carry over into the years to come.