While the Penn State defense didn’t seem to have any answers for the Bowling Green offense in the first half of Saturday’s 34-27 win over the Falcons, the Nittany Lion offense kept the game close.

After the Falcons took their opening drive 75 yards down the field and took a 7-0 lead, Drew Allar took the field while already facing a deficit. The offense made quick work of Bowling Green and marched down the field for a drive that ended in an Allar rushing touchdown that tied the game 7-7.

The running game was successful against the Falcons as the Nittany Lions racked up 234 rushing yards on Saturday, with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both eclipsing 100 yards on the ground. Singleton ended Saturday with 119 rushing yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, while Allen finished the day with 101 yards on 14 carries.

“Both the running backs had really big games for us,” Franklin said. “To be able to have that type of balance in the passing game and the running game is really important.”

Both Allen and Singleton were able to break big runs during the contest on Saturday, too. Allen got the first carry of the day and went 26 yards into enemy territory before being forced out of bounds. Singleton followed the play with a 17-yard run of his own. Singleton continued to be explosive throughout Saturday with five carries that went for over 15 yards.

With the Falcons scoring quickly, Singleton knew that breaking big runs early was going to be key to the offense’s success.

“We knew we had to step up as an offense,” Singleton said. “One of the things we know as an offense is that we have to start fast. We did that.”

Along with a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Singleton also caught a touchdown pass. While he said he’s developing as a pass-catcher, the 14-yard reception was his only target of the day.

On a day when the passing attack was efficient, with Tyler Warren amassing 146 yards through the air, the running game shined, too.

Even Allar leaned on his legs a few times with a six-yard touchdown run and two scrambles that went for 14 and 12 yards, respectively.

“Tyler Warren had a great game being explosive, [Allen] had a lot of good runs, too,” Singleton said. “It shows the offense’s confidence just to keep moving down the field.”

Allen didn’t find the end zone in Saturday’s win but broke two runs for 26 yards apiece while averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

Being co-starters doesn’t bother either Singleton or Allen, and they’ve both noted how easy the transitions are during games. Whoever has the bigger game doesn’t matter to the pair, and they say they’ll continue to push each other to get better every week.

“[Singleton] is who I communicate with most on the team,” Allen said. “We’re always with each other and always talking to each other. That’s my dog.”