Throughout much of the season, Penn State’s running back duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen disappointed. The sophomore pairing was widely predicted to be among college football’s best backfields, but that didn’t pan out the way many had hoped and believed it would.

A lack of explosive, home-run plays and a surplus of minimal gains were regular occurrences under then-offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. Yet when he was fired after Penn State fell 24-15 against Michigan, everything changed.

Allen recorded his first multi-touchdown game of the season and the third of his career against Rutgers the next week while rushing for 69 yards in the process. Singleton’s 5.5 yards per carry were a season-high up to that point, and his 61 rushing yards were the most since Penn State walloped UMass over a month prior.

However, it got better. On Black Friday, Penn State stormed into Detroit and shut out Michigan State 42-0 and the running backs exploded. Singleton and Allen each had a season-high 118 and 137 rushing yards, respectively, and a touchdown apiece. It was the type of performance many hoped the duo would deliver throughout the year, but the fact that it happened after Yurcich was fired and Ja’Juan Seider took over as the interim co-offensive coordinator with Ty Howle isn’t coincidental.

“The aggression of the offense just changed,” Allen said. “Everybody has a bond with Coach Howle and Coach Seider, and it made the offense way tighter.”

Now, as the team prepares to face Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on Saturday, the duo has a ripe opportunity to build on Black Friday’s performance against the Rebels’ weak run defense. Although he won’t be coaching, incoming offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will have the chance to see how Seider uses his players, which could be helpful for everyone involved.

“It’s good [to have Seider calling plays] because we can tell when we run the ball a little bit more,” Singleton said. “Just having him just call plays to look at different reads — he’s been really good.”

Against Michigan State, for instance, Singleton was asked to do what he does best — running to the outside and blowing by defenders for big gains. Once he finds a hole, he’s usually speeding towards the end zone. That was on display multiple times throughout his first season, and if it returns, it would be a huge step toward the Nittany Lions being able to beat teams multiple ways.

While Ole Miss’ defense is respectable, its bread and butter is its secondary, which helped make the Rebels one of the better passing defenses in the country. That, along with them being without edge rusher Cedric Johnson, is why Saturday could, and should, be a prime opportunity for Penn State’s running backs to build off of the last two games of the regular season under a different offensive coordinator.

“Everybody’s taking every day to try and get better,” Singleton said.

“Details — I’m just trying to get better at seeing the defense,” Allen said.