Five Penn State Offensive Players MSU Must Contain
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Two desperate teams are meeting in East Lansing this Saturday afternoon. Michigan State and Penn State are a combined 0-12 against Big Ten opponents, and are both 3-6 overall.
A big reason the Nittany Lions have struggled, despite being the No. 2 team in the country in the preseason AP Poll, is that they haven't had enough offense. PSU is 108th in total offense and 52nd in scoring. The offensive coordinator is Andy Kotelnicki.
Still, it's a talented team that was so highly regarded entering the fall for a reason. These are the players on the offensive side of the ball who stand out.
QB Ethan Grunkemeyer
Backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is now the starter for PSU after Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury against Northwestern. The game against Michigan State will be his fourth career start.
Grunkemeyer is coming out of the most difficult stretch imaginable for a quarterback, with his first career starts coming against No. 21 Iowa, No. 1 Ohio State, and No. 2 Indiana, in that order. Those teams' defenses rank fourth, first, and fifth in the FBS in yards allowed. MSU ranks 69th.
That's why Grunkemeyer deserves some slack for his not-so-impressive stats from his starts. In his three games as QB1, he's thrown for 457 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions.
He's gotten better, though. Grunkemeyer's passing yardage and completion percentage have increased in all three starts, and he threw downfield more in the most recent game against the Hoosiers.
RB Kaytron Allen
Running back Kaytron Allen has been Penn State's most consistent offensive player this season. He's run for 736 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, which ranks him fourth and tied for fifth in those categories in the Big Ten, respectively.
He's been a mainstay in the Nittany Lions' offense for four seasons now, too. This is his third season with double-digit touchdowns from scrimmage, and he is on pace to have his third 1,000-yard season from scrimmage.
RB Nicholas Singleton
Speaking of running backs who have had a great four-year career at Penn State, there's Nicholas Singleton.
It's been a quiet year for his standards, totaling 508 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns in nine games. Throughout his career at State College, Singleton has racked up 4,188 yards from scrimmage and 50 touchdowns. He had 93 such yards in the Nittany Lions' latest game against Indiana.
WR Trebor Peña
In the passing game, the first guy to keep an eye on is Trebor Peña. He leads PSU with 32 receptions and 331 receiving yards, though he only has one touchdown this year. Penn State will also give him a carry once in a while.
Peña was also a top transfer pickup for the Nittany Lions this offseason. Last season at Syracuse, Peña led the ACC with 84 catches, and his 941 receiving yards were the fourth-most in the conference.
WR Devonte Ross
After Peña, the second-leading receiver for Penn State is Devonte Ross. He hauled in 23 passes for 281 yards and a team-high three receiving touchdowns. His 12.2 yards per catch is the most on the team, among receivers with double-digit catches.
Ross is another portal pickup for PSU from the offseason. Last year at Troy, he had 1,043 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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