Wisconsin exposed a lot of Penn State football’s issues on both sides of the ball on Saturday.

Whether it was poor tackling or weakness in the offensive line, the Badgers put a lot of solid tape on how to defeat the Nittany Lions.

One thing Wisconsin didn’t expose was Penn State’s run game. That ship sailed a while ago.

The Nittany Lions registered another lackluster performance out of the backfield, trotting out four different running backs in the first quarter alone as they look for a clear-cut starter.

James Peoples led the way with 14 carries for a career-high 67 yards. The Ohio State transfer has looked like the most explosive and well-rounded back through four weeks of play, but it’s still unclear if he’ll get to tote the rock to start on Friday against Northwestern.

“Of course you don’t want that, what happened last Saturday, you don’t want the outcome. But we understand there is still a lot more ahead of us,” Peoples said after practice Wednesday. “You got to be looking down the line and seeing what you got in front of you to understand, ‘Okay, we can’t get stuck in the past.'”

Peoples currently leads the running back room with 199 yards on the season, but every other back is also above the 125-yard mark.

He looks most like what Penn State wants in production and on-field impact, but the coaching staff still hands significant carries to Carson Hansen, Quinton Martin Jr., and Cam Wallace.

It’s understandable that the run game doesn’t need to be 100% figured out by Week 5. At the end of the day, each of the four backs brings something the others don’t.

Hansen is good in short-yardage situations, Peoples is good at bouncing to the outside, and Martin and Wallace can bring quick juice with their hard-running style.

What isn’t understandable is just how much of a competition it still is.

There are still so many question marks surrounding the room, even if Peoples has produced at a higher rate more consistently.

“It’s competitive for sure, but we’re brothers. Of course we’re on the field, like, I was praying for Carson, praying for the guys. Man, take us out of it before the game,” Peoples said. “When you get your opportunity, you do what you got to do. I think that just shows the brotherhood we have in our room, just making sure we’re going to do whatever’s best for the team.”

One thing that clearly separates Peoples from the rest of the room is his experience. He pounded over 100 carries as an Ohio State Buckeye over the last two seasons for over 500 yards and five touchdowns.

Hansen’s experience is strictly tied to the Big 12. Martin and Wallace didn’t get many chances to rush in the last two years, with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen dominating the backfield.

Despite that gap, Peoples still wants to listen to Campbell and running backs coach Savon Huggins to go along with what’s best for the team.

Penn State fans don’t really care who it is, either; they just want more production and better performances.

“Looking over the past few games, and especially the one on Saturday, [it’s] just key blocks. On the running game, it takes everybody having to do their job … And making one man miss as we always have to is what we preach in the running back room,” Peoples said.

“I think we’re just one hair off with details … Which we’re getting fixed right now, and I think we’re doing a way better job than last week just building up momentum.”

If there’s a game for Penn State to get the run game going, it’s Northwestern.

Indiana running back Lee Beebe Jr. thrashed the Wildcats for 203 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, good for 8.5 yards per carry. Three of Indiana’s four plays of 20-or-more yards against Northwestern came on the ground.

Whatever Friday holds for the Nittany Lions’ struggling running back room, they need to figure it out quickly to avoid another offensive collapse like the one they had against Wisconsin.

“Execution in detail. That’s all it is. When the moment is there, you’ve got to be able to do your job in the moment. That’s all it is,” Peoples said.