National college football analyst makes staggering prediction about ‘filthy’ Penn State Nittany Lions RB room
Penn State has a lot of well-deserved hype entering this season. Not only is it a popular pick to overtake defending national champion Ohio State and Big Ten champion Oregon by winning a league title, but its aspirations are much higher.
Losing in the Orange Bowl to Notre Dame allowed running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen to reassess whether they wanted to turn pro or stay in school after each had productive seasons this past fall. Neither did. Quarterback Drew Allar joins both, who opted not to enter the draft after backup quarterback Beau Pribula left the program.
With the three-headed monster set to run it back this fall, it begged whether the Nittany Lions have the nation’s best running back room.
According to 247 Sports’ Brad Crawford, it does by a relatively wide margin – describing the Nittany Lions, Texas Longhorns, Fighting Irish, Ducks, South Carolina Gamecocks and five other programs as “filthy.”
However, Crawford wrote one aspect of Penn State’s position group separates it from the rest of the country: red zone efficiency.
“There’s a reason Penn State likes its chance to get back to the College Football Playoff this season as one of the top teams in the Big Ten,” Crawford wrote. “With the return of Allen and Singleton after matching 1,000-yard performances in 2024, the nation’s top two-headed monster is back for another round. The Nittany Lions finished four points short of getting to the national championship game with this backfield last fall and the offensive line should be a team strongpoint. You’re not going to get much yardage out of Allar on the ground, but he is a load in the red zone at 6-5, 240 pounds.
Crawford could easily be right. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, its home schedule serves as a benefit.
A rematch against Oregon in late September is one to circle, as are November matchups against Indiana and Nebraska. Its season is going to likely be defined by whether coach James Franklin can end a near-decade-long losing skid by beating Ohio State. Penn State poached the Buckeyes’ former defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, to join Franklin in State College, making the stakes of the game much bigger.
Nevertheless, expect Singleton and Allen to do their thing to help carry Penn State to a potential national title berth, as this fall’s team is potentially set up to be Franklin’s best during his tenure thus far.
