Penn State, winless in the Big 10, is looking for answers up front with trip to Michigan looming

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Even though Penn State’s results don’t show it, Matt Campbell believes his team is making progress.

With a trip to Michigan looming, the Penn State coach would like to see more. Campbell is looking to his offensive line to help develop some semblance of an on-field personality to help the Nittany Lions break through for their first conference win under new leadership.

Getting more physical in the running game against the equally struggling Wolverines (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) would certainly help.

“I think you’re trying to figure out, especially up front, where can we settle this group of young men into,” Campbell said. “I think we’ve dabbled in a little bit of everything trying to find what these guys do best and give them the most confidence.”

So far it’s been a struggle, and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser isn’t ruling out scheme tweaks and personnel changes.

“We have to find an answer there,” Mouser said. “Obviously that’s been a squeaky wheel for us and that’s certainly been a discussion, are we playing the right people? I don’t think it’s ever a ‘we are what we are’ but we are a running game without an identity and that’s the reality of the situation.”

Penn State’s offense generated 48 and 68 yards on the ground in its last two games and averaged just over 2 yards per carry against Northwestern and No. 19 Southern California.

The Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) haven’t been held under 100 yards rushing in three straight games since 2021 when they ran for 62, 33 and 93 against Illinois, Ohio State and Maryland, respectively.

“There’s a couple where, man, there’s one guy that’s off in the run game, and we can’t get to where we need to get to to get to the explosive run,” Campbell said. “I know I sound like a broken record, but I will tell you this: I think it’s inches rather than gaps. We got to continue to pound away at it.”

With Michigan’s 17th-ranked rushing defense rested and coming off a bye week, Campbell and Mouser are open to any and all solutions. That includes switching up the front five.

So far, the Nittany Lions have started the same five — tackles Malachi Goodman and Anthony Donkoh, guards Trevor Buhr and Cooper Cousins, and center Brock Riker — across the offensive front in all six games.

Penn State has been without redshirt senior Dominic Rulli, who is dealing with an unspecified injury. He was not listed on the team’s recent injury report and could factor into the rotation against Michigan. Garrett Sexton, who has played in four games this year, could see more time in addition to vaunted prospect Owen Aliciene, who is coming off a redshirt season with the program’s former coaching staff.

Meanwhile, Carson Hansen has taken the majority of the carries (57), with James Peoples not far behind with 52 touches. (Fellow running backs Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace didn’t factor into the offense in Saturday’s loss.)

Both carried the ball against the Trojans, with 41 of the team’s total yards rushing coming in the first half. Neither has been able to find much room to rip off explosive runs.

Penn State is 124th nationally with just 17 runs of 10 or more yards. The Nittany Lions have only three runs of 20 or more.

It’s not a familiar feeling for Mouser, who spent 10 years at Iowa State, where he coached future NFL players Breece Hall and David Montgomery in relatively successful zone and duo run schemes.

Hall ran for 3,036 yards and 41 touchdowns over his final two seasons in Ames while Montgomery racked up 2,362 yards rushing and 24 scores in his last two seasons.

“For us, it’s about putting the right people in spots when you go out there and be able to talk about where you’re blocking and where you’re going," Mouser said, "and as simple as that sounds, we haven’t done it and it’s been very frustrating for us offensively.”

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