Penn State's James Franklin discusses Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen's success
01/01/2025 04:16 AM
The key matchup most people were focusing on going into the New Year’s Eve showdown between Boise State and Penn State football was running back Ashton Jeanty versus the Nittany Lions’ defensive line. While that was definitely a difference-making battle, more fans clearly should have been talking about the two other impactful ball carriers in the game.
Kaytron Allen set the tone with 17 rushes for 134 yards and Nick Singleton scored an outcome-clinching 58-yard touchdown in Penn State’s 31-14 win in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl. The respective performances of these junior teammates helped lift the fan base into a state of euphoria, as the program inches closer to the national championship game.
Climbing that hill will be daunting, to say the least, but head coach James Franklin will likely trust his talented backfield to make big plays against whatever foe awaits his team in the Orange Bowl. He is incredibly pleased by what both Allen and Singleton achieved in State Farm Stadium on Tuesday.
“Kaytron breaks tackles and runs people over,” Franklin told the media postgame, via The Daily Collegian’s Lexie Linderman. “And Nick obviously, if you give him a crease, he’s got a chance to go 80 at any minute. They’re really good complimentary backs that have been playing together for a long time.” Linderman added that Franklin said Allen and Singleton are the first two Penn State players to rush for 1,000 yards in the same campaign.
James Franklin on Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen's success today.
Said this is the first time since Penn State joined the Big Ten the Nittany Lions have had two 1,000+ yard rushers in the same season. pic.twitter.com/OXPXRazzCi
— Lexie Linderman (@lexieleigh28) January 1, 2025
Penn State football leans on their RBs vs. Boise State
It was truly a historic day for two of the team’s most important members. Their contributions are a key reason why the Nittany Lions are 13-2 heading into the CFP Semifinals. When they execute on the field, everyone’s job becomes much easier. Quarterback Drew Allar threw three touchdowns versus Boise State, but he did not have to play hero ball (13-of-25 for 171 yards). Effective rushing also enabled John Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren to thrive in the red zone, where he showed off his tremendous body control by scoring two TDs.
The offense generates significant momentum when Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton are accumulating yardage on the ground. Penn State football will do its best to implement that formula against either Georgia or Notre Dame next Thursday in Miami, Florida. There will be fierce defensive pressure no matter who emerges victorious in Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl.
But these young athletes are certainly up for the challenge. They seized headlines in a game featuring the superb Ashton Jeanty, and if they do so again, the Nittany Lions will be strutting into Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a few short weeks.
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