Penn State Football Ground Game Blues

After the 24-0 victory over Kent State, Penn State's record stands at 2-1.  This should be no surprise, as most experts expected the Nittany Lions to lose on the road at #1 Alabama.  The concern, however, evolves around the balance of the season during Big Ten conference play.  Most fans understand that this years team is made up of over 70% underclassmen, but most fans also expected a solid running game to buy time for these young men to mature into a solid team. There is much concern in Happy Valley right now over the way Penn State has played against the early schedule of Youngstown State and Kent State.  The red flag has been the struggling running game. The Lion's ground game has not lived up to expectations and this will be a major problem in October and November. While we are all pleased with the play of true freshman quarterback Rob Bolden, he will not be able to win games alone. The Lions must take a hard look at the running game and insert more underclassmen soon, if Evan Royster's production does not soon pick up.  Through the first three games of 2010, senior Evan Royster has compiled only 110 yards on 31 carries.  Joe Paterno is loyal to his seniors, but if the yards are not adding up by the end of the Temple game, a change should be made. At the start of the season I predicted the Lions would finish at 9-3 (not including the bowl game).  At this point , we could be looking at a 2010 season that ends at  7-5 or even 6-6 (not counting a possible bowl game). While I expect a solid game by the entire team against Temple this weekend, I think we will all see how the season will unfold when  the Lions visit Iowa on October 2nd. If the Lions can pull it together, and run on the road against a tough Hawkeye team, we might still see a nine win season.