The Penn State football team will head into the first round of College Football Playoff action in its own house on Saturday, facing one of the most intriguing postseason candidates in the SMU Mustangs. One of the biggest storylines to follow will be the quarterback matchup between Kevin Jennings and Drew Allar, but those two players will not be the only ones to watch.
For Penn State and SMU, there are a lot of other players that could have an impact on the outcome of the game who aren't taking the direct snap. Here's a look at two Penn State players to keep an eye on who can serve as a potential x-factor on Saturday.
Watch out for Penn State RB Kaytron Allen in the College Football Playoff
One of the things the Penn State football program has been most renowned for is what the Nittany Lions have been able to get going in the ground game. Allen currently totals 822 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 173 carries, also reeling in 15 receptions for 119 yards with two touchdowns through the air.
In the 45-37 loss to the Oregon Ducks, Allen exploded for 124 rushing yards and one touchdown on a total of 14 carries. Quarterback Drew Allar noted the importance of Allen and fellow rusher Nicholas Singleton following the loss.
“They're two special backs,” Allar said in the postgame press conference. “When they get momentum going, they're really hard to bring down. And there was a couple times where they bounced off guys at the line of scrimmage and made something out of nothing.”
Also, SMU Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee recognizes what he is up against as he prepares to face the Penn State rushing duo.
“When you can run for 300 yards on Oregon, you’re pretty good,” Lashlee said in a recent press conference.




“They compliment each other with that one-two punch… They end up running the same couple of run plays over and over. It’s just they window dress it and get to it a bunch of different ways. And so whether they shift in motion or give you unique pictures to still run inside zone or counter or stretch or whatever the run plays are, to them, they’re running the same plays over and over again, but to the defense, they’re presenting different pictures.”
… And the other part of the tandem, Nicholas Singleton
Allen is just one piece of the 1-2 punch that exists within the Penn State football rushing attack. The other half of it is Nicholas Singleton. He hasn't been as much of a dynamic piece consistently, however, though that is not for a lack of talent or the ability to produce. It is largely to blame for the fact he's been dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him from playing at full capacity.
It should be noted that he has seen a large uptick in production over the past three contests and appears to look like a player who is at 100 percent health-wise. That's the first time we have seen him look like that all season long. Over those past three appearances, has carried the ball 36 times for 255 yards with three touchdowns.
So far this season, Singleton has racked up 838 rushing yards with seven touchdowns on 131 carries. He has also been a part of the passing game, reeling in 37 receptions for 335 yards with five touchdowns.
How he could keep that up could make a big difference in how Penn State is able to roll in this matchup. The Nittany Lions and the Mustangs are set to kick off at noon ET in Happy Valley on Saturday.