Penn State football’s running backs rushed for just under four yards per carry in their season opener against Marshall.

Carson Hansen and Cam Wallace led the team with 11 rushes each, both racking up 40 yards and some change, while Wallace found the end zone in the fourth quarter. Quinton Martin Jr. logged 10 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown, followed by Ohio State transfer James Peoples with eight carries for 31 yards.

Together, the group logged 40 carries for 159 yards, which isn’t terrible, but Hansen believes the room left a lot of meat on the bone.

“[I] wasn’t really too happy, but hungry to get back this week and get into practice,” Hansen said Wednesday during post-practice media availability.

Hansen pointed out that he missed a couple of reads and didn’t finish all of his runs to the standard both he and the team expect.

“We just got to keep refining the details, and we’ll get it sorted.”

By contrast, Matt Campbell defended his rushers during his Wednesday press conference, affirming their practice intensity and gameday preparation.

“I thought those running backs played really good last week,” Campbell said. “So, you know, I’m not too concerned about where those guys are.”

Campbell pointed out that the Penn State offense is focused on taking what defenses give them.

Marshall stacked the box frequently to stop Penn State’s ground game. In turn, Rocco Becht exploded for 271 yards and four touchdown passes.

So while grinding out shorter carries can be frustrating for fans of the blue and white, maintaining proper game flow and capitalizing on wider passing lanes because of fewer defenders in coverage is how this offense will sustain in the long term.

Additionally, the Nittany Lions have several perimeter weapons that can do damage, meaning all skill players will have to stay patient and prepared for their opportunities.

“The ball; there’s only one of them. This is a great team sport, [but] you only get 60 or 70 plays,” Campbell said. “I think everybody knows that their time is coming to be the difference-maker in the game, but I think all those guys were really excited about where we were by the end of the football game.”

On a smaller scale, all four of Penn State’s runners are capable of handling respectable workloads, which is a blessing for the depth of the room, but a curse for the individual volume the running backs can expect.

That competition, however, breeds growth.

“It’s always fun because we compete in the room, but we’re also brothers at the same time,” Hansen said. “We just gotta keep competing because it raises the standard.”

Hansen rotated in and out with Iowa State, logging 339 carries in two years as a starter, compared to his backup Abu Sama’s 264 carries.

While the large score disparity against the Thundering Herd contributed to tighter snap counts for the Nittany Lions’ running backs, Hansen will certainly have to share opportunities with Martin, Wallace, and Peoples going forward. That can be frustrating for a position that depends on finding a rhythm.

“You want to be in there as much as you can. But I think we’ve done a great job of doing those rotations. I’m excited for this next game and moving forward,” said Hansen.

The Nittany Lions’ Week 2 matchup against Temple will be even tougher sledding than Marshall. The Owls allowed just 97 yards on 30 carries to Rhode Island last Saturday.

Of course, Rhode Island is no Penn State, but Hansen himself acknowledged the difficulties that Temple’s scrappy defense presents. Penn State’s runners expect another batch of loaded boxes this Saturday.

“It is what it is. We got to go run through it. If not, we’ll throw it over the top,” said Hansen.