Against Ohio on Saturday in Beaver Stadium, Nick Singleton broke Penn State’s drought of 100-yard rushing games by a single back. Just. Like. That.
Bing, a 70-yard touchdown dash along the Penn State sideline in the first quarter.
Bang, a 48-yard burst on the opening drive in the third quarter.
Boom, a 44-yard TD sprint later in the quarter, again, much of the scoring scamper coming along the PSU sideline.
“He can straight up just run,” tight end Tyler Warren said of Singleton after the game. “Look at him run. It’s pretty obvious as to what he can do. He’s one of the fastest dudes I’ve ever seen.”
When it was all Nick and done, he had 179 yards on 10 carries — for a gaudy 17.9-yards per carry average, as Penn State defeated Ohio 46-10 in its home opener to go 2-0.
It had been 17 games since a single Nittany Lion running back had rushed for 100 or more yards in a game. That was 651 days ago when Keyvone Lee — a true freshman at the time — carried 22 times for 134 yards at The Big House in Penn State’s 27-17 win over Michigan.
(Times change: Lee had one rush for zero yards against Ohio, on Penn State’s eighth play of the day.)
“We beat that streak today,” said offensive tackle Bryce Effner. “That’s all I gotta say about that. It’s been a long journey, but I think it’s finally clicked this year. It’s going to be great.”
That sub-century streak included such single-game rushing leader performances like John Lovett’s 13 rushes for 20 yards against Ohio State last year. Three times during the streak, QB Sean Clifford was Penn State’s leading rusher, including a 13-carry, 36-yard performance against Iowa, when he left the game in the middle of the first half, and the Nittany Lions’ Outback Bowl loss to Arkansas.
Singleton’s run of big runs on Saturday was exactly why Penn State recruited the five-star Gatorade Player of the Year — Penn State’s first-ever — from Governor Mifflin (Pa.) High School, where he set the Berks County high school record with 6,326 rushing yards and 116 touchdowns.
Last fall, Singleton revealed in an interview with Audrey Snyder of The Athletic that Penn State running back coach Ja’Juan Seider told Singleton that he was exactly what Penn State needed.
Seider was right.
“Seider’s been telling me that I’m the one who can really take it to the house like Journey, Saquon, Miles Sanders — those type of backs,” Singleton said. “They don’t have that explosive running back that can take it to the house. They have good running backs, but not the person that will like go for 60.”
Speaking of which:
Singleton’s 179 yards were the most by a Penn State running back since Journey Brown ran for 202 yards and two TDs on 16 carries in the 2019 Cotton Bowl against Memphis State.
Shelly Hammonds holds the Penn State record for most rushing yards (208) by a Penn State freshman in a game, which he set against Boston College in 1990.
Saquon Barkley’s first home game in Beaver Stadium as a true freshman came almost seven years ago against Buffalo on Sept. 12, 2015. (Has it been that long?) He ran for 115 yards and a TD on 12 carries. A week later, back in Beaver Stadium against Rutgers, Barkley exploded for 195 yards and two TDs on 21 carries. A few weeks later, after missing some time due to an injury, Barkley ran for 195 yards on 26 carries against Ohio State in The Horseshoe.
Barkley finished that freshman season with 1,076 yards on 182 carries, and followed that with 1,496 yards in 2016 and 1,271 yards in 2017. Barkley ranks No. 2 all-time among Penn State rushers (3,843 yards), trailing only Evan Royster (3,932). Barkley’s freshman and sophomore season totals are Penn State records for those class years.
Those numbers are a long way off for Singleton, but on Saturday James Franklin said he was happy with Singleton’s performance. And he should be.
As I wrote back in March, the Nittany Lions needed “more cowbell.” Singleton has clearly established that he is that back. And, he has done it quickly.
“What happens with Nick,” Franklin said, “he’s got such good speed that maybe in years past when the read (for finding a hole) would be cloudy, that the back would want to bounce it. We didn’t always have the speed to get to the edge like he does. And he’s shown the ability to do that.
“So, a run that may typically be three or four yards has a chance to be 80 with him.”
