Quinton Martin Jr. Leads Improved Penn State Ground Game in Demolition of Buffalo

After a pair of subpar performances on the ground to begin the season, Penn State’s rushing attack rounded into form during a Saturday afternoon rout of Buffalo.

The Nittany Lions cruised to a 55-13 victory, completing their nonconference slate at 3-0 to kick off the Matt Campbell era. Against a decent Bulls run defense that entered the game allowing just 3.2 yards per carry, Penn State gashed them on the ground from start to finish.

“Obviously I think (the running backs) all had a couple great moments … all four guys did some great things with the ball in their hands at critical moments,” Campbell said after the game.

After totaling 79 carries for 311 yards (3.9 average) with two touchdowns through two games, the Nittany Lions kicked into high gear, eating up 304 yards of natural Kentucky bluegrass at Beaver Stadium for five touchdowns, a complete turnaround.

A team whose passing production had nearly doubled its rushing yards through two games suddenly looked more balanced, with 53% of the season-best 573 yards of total offense coming via the ground. That includes four scores from running backs, plus one from wide receiver Koby Howard on a reverse sweep trick play.

“I thought there was growth, but I also thought there was growth because there was some really good blocking on the perimeter,” Campbell said. “The ability to get the ball out in space and those guys be able to make some plays happen in space was really awesome.”

His analysis matches the tape, as the team generated more explosive plays mainly via outside runs. Heading into the matchup, Penn State’s longest rush was a 16-yarder by Cam Wallace during garbage time against Marshall. On Saturday, the Nittany Lions had five runs of 16 or more yards, including a 61-yard burst by Quinton Martin Jr. that nearly resulted in a touchdown and a 59-yarder from Cam Wallace that did.

The team averaged 7.4 yards per carry, and removing quarterbacks, that figure jumps to 8.6. All four primary running backs were over 7 yards per touch, led by Martin at 10.0. Additionally, Hansen and Peoples found the end zone for the first time this season, quelling some worries about their overall production.

But it was Martin who led the way, becoming the first Nittany Lion back to eclipse 100 yards this season and doing so after receiving zero snaps a week ago at Temple. Campbell said he had his best week of practice to earn his way back onto the field, and Martin agreed.

“Amazing to be back out there with my team and making plays again,” Martin said. “I wanna be out there helping my team win in the best way that I can. But at the end of the day, I trust my coaches’ decision.”

The redshirt sophomore anticipated playing against the Owls and was frustrated to not see the field after traveling with the team. The multi-hour bus ride from Philadelphia back to State College gave him time to reflect, and he also called his parents for support.

This week, he showed up to practices with a renewed energy, determined to make his return to game action.

“Just not messing up any plays, being on top of everything, blitz pickup, formations, where I need to go, where I need to be, hustling, effort, everything goes into it,” Martin said.

After earning his way back into the lineup Saturday, he delivered the best performance of his career from a yards-per-carry standpoint and nearly matched his career-best 103 yards from last year’s Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson, which came on twice as many touches.

He toted the rock the same number of times as in the season opener against Marshall, but nearly tripled the yardage, proving that the sense of urgency carried from the practice field into game action.

“Just don’t leave anything in the gray area,” Martin said. “If you want it enough, you’re gonna go out there and chase it, no matter what, no matter what you gotta do.”