Penn State’s running game finally had its moment to shine.

In the Nittany Lions’ 31-17 win over Purdue on Saturday, the team notched 269 yards on the ground, tying a season high set in Week 2 against Buffalo. Cam Wallace led the backfield, exploding for 135 yards and adding a touchdown.

A successful rushing performance starts with strong offensive line play, and Penn State has struggled to block effectively this season. 

Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser made it his mission during the bye week to change the narrative, hammering reps in individual positional group work during practice. 

“We are just going to block double teams for 20 straight minutes,” Mouser said. “Like we don’t need to do pass pro. I don’t need to throw the tight ends’ balls; we’re gonna go, and we’re gonna just hammer these double teams versus these different looks as many different ways as we can for 20 straight minutes, and we’ve done it every day through the bye week until today.”

Clearly, the work paid dividends. The group went 6-for-6 in power-run situations and created holes for the running backs to thrive.

Rather than a schematic change, an adjustment in work ethic and intensity is perhaps just what the doctor ordered.

“We’re gonna get together, and we’re just gonna freaking yell at these guys and get sweaty and let our face into people for a long, long time until these guys feel really good about what it looks like,” Mouser said.

Matt Campbell took the blame for needing to get back to the basics with the offensive line. 

He pointed to “over-scheming” at times in an attempt to maximize production, but suggested that might have caused his team to lose sight of the fundamentals.

“I think that was really the emphasis, and really kind of has been the emphasis since USC on, to be honest with you,” Campbell said. “I just think we had a little bit more time to fundamentally attack it during the bye week, but I think that group from the offensive side of it, we were able to find a little bit better rhythm in terms of how we want to run the football and what that needs to look like.”

Moving forward, fans can expect a more physical unit, one that will, in turn, aim to contribute to more rushing performances like the one Penn State had last weekend.

For one of the biggest offensive lines in the Big Ten, using its size to its advantage will help Penn State dominate the line of scrimmage.

“It’s going to be violent. It’s going to be downhill,” Mouser said. “It doesn’t matter what the calls are.”

Improved run blocking will also help pass protection. If the ground game can sustain its success, it makes it harder for a defense to predict the play call. 

“Doesn’t matter who the quarterback is; it makes it really, really hard when you’re just in the gun, and there’s no threat to run the ball, and everybody knows you’re going to throw it every single time. And it’s hard on the offensive line,” Mouser said.

“So I think it helps the passing game, it helps the receivers out, but more than anything, like it really helps the offensive line out, and you can play complementary football better that way.”

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