STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — On the field, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen complement one another out of the Nittany Lions’ backfield like a scoop of cookies-n-cream from Penn State‘s Berkey Creamery.

Off the field, the star rushing duo and longtime roommates see few differences. They’re both quiet, soft-spoken and football junkies.

“He’s like my twin,” Allen said. “We down near like the same person, just in different bodies.”

In their final season together, the two seniors have an opportunity to make history — in multiple ways.

According to ESPN Research, Singleton and Allen are the first Power 4 running back duo to each rush for 750-plus yards in three consecutive seasons since at least 1996. (Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El and Levron Williams matched the feat from 1999-2001, but Randle El was a quarterback).

Singleton and Allen are well on their way to making it a fourth straight year.

Allen has rushed for 273 yards while averaging 8.0 yards per carry; Singleton is at 179 yards and 4.4. The two have combined for eight touchdowns.

Even more impressively, each is within striking distance of breaking Penn State’s career rushing record.

“Penn State’s got an unbelievable history at the running back position,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said of an illustrious alumni group that includes reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley, Pro Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris and 1995 No. 1 draft pick Ki-Jana Carter. “Great, great players. And yet these guys have shared carries their entire careers. … So that’s a crazy stat.”

Evan Royster (2007-10) holds the record with 3,932 yards. Barkley is second at 3,843. Allen (3,150) and Singleton (3,091) are each within 900 yards of passing Royster with nine regular-season games left.

“Finishing 1 and 2 at Penn State would be crazy,” Singleton said. “We want to leave here with a legacy. But our [main] goal is to win a national championship.”

Penn State hasn’t won a national championship since 1986.

But with a backfield featuring Singleton, Allen and veteran quarterback Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions believe this is the year they can finally get over the hump.

On Saturday, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town, No. 3 Penn State faces sixth-ranked Oregon before a prime-time “White Out” crowd (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) with a golden opportunity to jump-start its title quest.

“This is going to be a statement game for our season,” Allen said.

Statements have eluded the Nittany Lions in recent history. Singleton and Allen each rushed for more than 100 yards in last year’s Big Ten title game, but the Ducks prevailed 45-37.

The Nittany Lions still made the College Football Playoff.

But under Franklin, Penn State is 4-20 against AP top-10 opponents. Singleton and Allen have only two career wins against top-10 teams — Utah in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season and Boise State in last year’s CFP quarterfinals.

After falling in the CFP semifinals on Notre Dame’s game-winning field goal to end their junior seasons, Singleton and Allen both considered leaving for the NFL draft. Multiple NFL scouts told ESPN last winter that they viewed the two backs as potential second- or third-round picks.

But neither wanted to end their college careers on such a crushing loss. They also wanted one more season playing and living alongside one another.

“We both came in together,” Singleton said. “Now, we want to finish this off the right way.”

Allen and Singleton first met during a recruiting visit in 2021 when Penn State played Auburn. Because neither talks much, it took time for them to get to know one another well. But while vying for carries as freshmen, the two developed a friendship — instead of a rivalry.

“It was never about trying to go against each other,” Allen said. “We were both trying to take advantage of our opportunities, helping each other out and pushing one another. That’s my brother. We’ve both just been trying to help each other reach our goals.”

When Singleton found a new two-bed apartment before their sophomore season, he asked Allen to room with him.

Now, the two are virtually inseparable.

They claim that they’ve never had a fight or argument. They’re both neat and so low-key, they never bother one another. They also share almost everything, including groceries.

“He’s such a humble guy, a really good roommate and an even better person,” Singleton said. “I can go talk to him about anything. … And he makes sure he does everything right.”

They’ve also made each other better players, keeping one another fresh late in games and late in the season. Combined, they’ve missed only one game – Singleton against UCLA last year.

“The season is long,” Singleton said. “A lot of running backs are getting 20-30 carries a game and they take a beating. We split carries and that keeps us healthy.”

Their complementary skill sets have also given Penn State one of the nation’s most effective rushing attacks. Since they arrived in 2022, the Nittany Lions rank ninth among Power 4 teams in rushing yards per game (190.6) and fourth in yards per rush after contact (3.07).

Singleton and Allen see themselves as college football’s version of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who powered the Detroit Lions to a 15-2 record and top seed in the NFC last year.

Like Gibbs, Singleton brings the speed, with reliable hands to haul in passes out of the backfield. Like Montgomery, Allen brings the power, with the vision to exploit open running lanes between the tackles. Franklin said the “combination” of what they can do is what makes them “such a problem” for defenses.

“Nick has been one of the most consistent players in terms of his preparation that I’ve been around,” Franklin said. “Kaytron is faster, stronger and more explosive than he’s ever been.”

In turn, Singleton and Allen have given the Nittany Lions reason to believe this could finally be their season — and make this one final ride even more special.

“We ain’t never going to get this moment back,” Allen said. “So we’re just trying to make the most of it.”

One of the most anticipated weekends on the 2025 college football calendar is upon us.

The headliner comes Saturday night when No. 6 Oregon visits No. 3 Penn State. A potentially season-defining occasion, the clash of Big Ten powers, will test quarterbacks Drew Allar (Penn State) and Dante Moore (Oregon), Nittany Lions coach James Franklin and the Ducks’ backbone as they step into the hostile confines of Beaver Stadium in Week 5.

Elsewhere, eyes will fall on a trio of juicy SEC matchups: Alabama–Georgia, Auburn–Texas A&M and Ole Miss–LSU, all of which could hold significant implications for the conference title race and the College Football Playoff field.

Ahead of a series of high-level games, our college football reporters deliver their insights on keys to the weekend’s biggest matchups, five quarterbacks putting themselves on the map this fall and the best quotes so far from Week 5. — Eli Lederman

Jump to:
Georgia-Alabama | Quarterbacks to know
Key conference matchups
Quotes of the Week

What does each team need to capitalize on to win?

Georgia: If the Bulldogs are going to defeat the Crimson Tide for only the second time in the past 11 meetings, they’ll have to avoid getting themselves in another big hole — and take advantage of playing Alabama at home for the first time in nearly 10 years.

In last season’s 41-34 loss in Tuscaloosa, the Bulldogs trailed by three touchdowns before the end of the first quarter and by 28 points less than 18 minutes into the game. Georgia put together a furious rally in the fourth quarter, scoring three straight touchdowns to grab a 34-33 lead.

The Crimson Tide won on Jalen Milroe‘s 75-yard scoring pass to Ryan Williams with 2:18 to go.

Georgia had a similar slow start in its 44-41 victory in overtime at Tennessee on Sept. 13. The Volunteers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-7 lead, and the Bulldogs had to come from behind on the road. They were fortunate that Tennessee missed a 43-yard field goal attempt to take the lead near the end of regulation.

The Bulldogs didn’t do a good job of containing Milroe last season. He threw for 374 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 117 yards with two scores, including several long runs to keep drives alive. New Tide quarterback Ty Simpson isn’t as fast as Milroe, but he also isn’t a statue standing in the pocket.

Williams burned Georgia’s secondary on some big plays last season, finishing with six catches for 177 yards. The Bulldogs had similar problems against Tennessee’s fast-paced offense, and they’ll have to shore up those mistakes and play better on the back end. Getting pressure on Simpson would also help; the Bulldogs had only four sacks in their first three games this season.

On offense, Georgia needs to do a better job of protecting quarterback Gunner Stockton, who took too many hits at Tennessee. The Bulldogs need to find more ways to get the ball into the hands of Zachariah Branch, and tight ends Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie also need to get their share of touches. Shoring up the right side of the offensive line, which has been a trouble spot, will allow them to be more involved in the passing game. — Mark Schlabach

Alabama: It has not been pretty for Alabama on the road under Kalen DeBoer. Alabama is 2-4 since he became head coach, including a 31-17 loss to Florida State to open the season. In that loss, the Crimson Tide looked lethargic at times and ended up being beaten up front on both sides of the ball. So to give themselves any chance against Georgia, their first road game since Week 1, they simply must play better on the offensive and defensive lines. Getting defensive lineman Tim Keenan III back from an ankle injury will be huge in that respect. Alabama has struggled to rush the passer without him, and has only four sacks on the season. Georgia has done a nice job using Gunner Stockton in the run game when needed, so slowing him down is also going to be key. That is also an area in which Alabama struggled against the Seminoles.

On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said it would continue to rotate its starting offensive line unit to find the right combination. Getting Jam Miller back at running back is also is a big addition, not only because of his running ability but his presence as a pass blocker in the backfield. But more than anything, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said the team was eager to prove it has learned how to handle adversity in-game, something that cost it in the opener.

“There’s a difference when you have to go on the road, particularly in the SEC and in a hostile environment and respond to adversity,” Wommack said. “At times, we have been a team that has been reactionary to adversity, and we’ve got to be more responsive. It’s at the forefront of our minds, and I expect to see a very responsive football team on Saturday.” — Andrea Adelson

Fernando Mendoza

Curt Cignetti found a gem via the transfer portal yet again. Mendoza was solid at Cal the past two years, but he was surrounded with little talent and playing in an offense that probably didn’t maximize his skill set. Turned loose at Indiana, he has looked like a genuine Heisman Trophy candidate, including a dominant five-touchdown performance in a win over Illinois. For the season, Mendoza has 14 touchdown passes without an interception.

Tommy Castellanos

When Castellanos talked smack about Alabama this summer, it became a national punchline. When he backed it up with a win over the Tide in Week 1, he had the last laugh. Through three games, Castellanos’ 91.6 Total QBR ranks third nationally, though he’ll be in for a test the next two weeks — a road trip to Virginia on Friday for what could be a shootout and then a showdown against rival Miami. If Castellanos takes down another top-five team, the Heisman might be his to lose.

Beau Pribula

A part of the same class as Drew Allar, Pribula wasn’t able to get onto the field with any regularity at Penn State. He entered the portal and landed at Missouri, but he didn’t win the starting job there until just before the opener. And yet, once he was given his chance to shine, Pribula has looked like a star. He has racked up 11 TDs so far this season and has the Tigers undefeated and trending up in the rankings.

Brendon Lewis

The sixth-year senior has been through his share of growing pains. He was a well-regarded recruit at Colorado but was part of the brutal 2021 season that led to the arrival of coach Deion Sanders, then transferred to Nevada, where his team struggled again. Now he has found the right fit at Memphis, where he has the Tigers 4-0 and well positioned to snag the Group of 6’s playoff spot.

Drew Mestemaker

North Texas is 4-0 and Mestemaker has 10 TD passes and no picks. It’d be a great story if that was all there was to it. But this rags-to-riches tale goes much deeper. Mestemaker wasn’t even the starter at his high school and arrived at UNT as a walk-on. He got the start in last year’s bowl game after Chandler Morris entered the portal, then beat out Reese Poffenbarger for the starting job this fall. He has rewarded the Mean Green’s belief with a red-hot start to the season. — David Hale

Biggest things that need to happen in these matchups

Auburn-Texas A&M: This series has been a strange one since 2021. The Aggies won twice at home, both times by 17 points. Auburn won twice at home, by three in 2022 and then two last year, in a 43-41 upset in four overtimes. This game, in College Station, will be another interesting one. The Aggies are coming off a bye week after their upset of Notre Dame, their first nonconference road win against an AP top-10 team since 1979. Auburn lost 24-17 at Oklahoma and is 0-5 under Hugh Freeze against ranked teams on the road. For the Tigers, they’ll first need to shore up an offensive line that gave up eight sacks on Jackson Arnold from a standard pass rush. But Auburn will look to move the ball with its rushing attack (198 yards per game, 5.0 yards per carry) against the Aggies, who are giving up 139 yards per game on the ground and are 102nd nationally in scoring defense at 28.7 points. But if the Aggies can get Arnold into being one-dimensional and having to play from behind, that will give them an advantage. They can do so by utilizing the dynamic duo of Mario Craver, the SEC’s leading receiver with 443 yards, even with the bye week (he had seven catches for 207 yards against Notre Dame), and KC Concepcion, who had four catches for 82 yards against the Irish. — Dave Wilson

LSU-Ole Miss: Last season’s showdown went to overtime in Baton Rouge. Expect another tight battle that comes down to details and who capitalizes on opportunities. Third-down conversions are going to be essential. Ole Miss’ offense is 5-of-17 on third and medium (3 to 7 yards) this season, and LSU’s defense is getting stops on 14 of 22 chances in that spot. This is where Lane Kiffin’s decision at QB becomes even more critical. Trinidad Chambliss is averaging 12.3 yards per carry on third downs and has yet to take a third-down sack. Can he be efficient in those high-pressure moments against the best defense he has faced? For LSU’s offense, the big question is injured running back Caden Durham‘s availability and finding answers in the run game so Garrett Nussmeier isn’t frequently stuck in third-and-long. The Tigers’ average third-down distance this season has been 7.9 yards, which ranks 114th in FBS, according to ESPN Research. — Max Olson

Oregon-Penn State: Quarterback Drew Allar needs to be a reason — perhaps the reason — why the Nittany Lions notch a signature win in a game in which they have most of the advantages. Allar wasn’t overly sharp in his past two performances, completing fewer than 58% of his passes against both Villanova and Florida International. He will need to be sharper against a talented but quite young Oregon defense, and start to change his big-game rep. Oregon must show it can handle one of the toughest environments in college football, Beaver Stadium at night in a White Out. The game marks a big growth opportunity for Ducks quarterback Dante Moore, a first-year starter, and also promising young players such as wide receiver Dakorien Moore and defensive backs Brandon Finney Jr. and Aaron Flowers. The Ducks visited Michigan and Wisconsin in 2024, but they haven’t faced an elite Big Ten opponent on the road until now. — Adam Rittenberg

Quotes of the Week

“We need this place rocking,” Penn State coach James Franklin said ahead of the Nittany Lions’ White Out game against No. 6 Oregon. “Need to have a distinct home-field advantage. We always do, but I’m expecting this to be an environment like no one has ever seen.”

“We’ll do everything we can to be prepared for that environment for sure,” said Oregon’s Dan Lanning, who was also asked about the song “Mo Bamba”, which has become a fixture of No. 3 Penn State home games. “I don’t love that song.”

“I would say he’s probably the hottest quarterback right now in all of college football,” Georgia’s Kirby Smart said of Alabama’s Ty Simpson ahead of the Bulldogs’ Week 5 visit from the No. 17 Crimson Tide. “His two last outings, I don’t know [if] I’ve seen an incompletion. The ball does not hit the ground. He’s been accurate. He’s been quick with the ball. They’re really hard to defend because of their skill. They’ve got tremendous skill — receivers, backs, tight ends. But you got to have a trigger guy that can get those guys the ball and they do.”

“We ain’t with that get-back stuff,” Colorado’s Deion Sanders said as his team prepares to face No. 25 BYU nine months after the Cougars blew out the Buffaloes in the 2024 Valero Alamo Bowl. “I ain’t with that get-back stuff. I’m with that let’s-get-them stuff. They played their butts off, kicked our butts in the bowl game. Now we have a whole new team.”

“I always love when you guys say that, like, ‘Oh, OK, now we’ll go actually, like, try and game-plan really hard,” Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin said with the Rebels set to host No. 4 LSU on Saturday. “It’s OK. My boss says the same things when we play Arkansas. ‘Hey, I really need this one.’ Oh, OK, well then we’ll actually, like, try this week. We were just going to not try.”

“Is it hot in here or is it just me every week?” Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy speaking to reporters three days after the Cowboys 19-12 loss to Tulsa and less than 24 hours before he was fired Tuesday morning after his 21st season in charge of the program.

Chase Briscoe doesn’t feel comfortable.

“I’ve never brought a single dime to any race team, so really, all I can bring is myself,” he told ESPN. “If you’re not performing, and all you can bring is your helmet, it makes it really easy for them to go in another direction. It’s why you have to perform and show your worth. Yeah, we’ve been fortunate enough to do that this year, but I’ve always felt my back is against the wall, and that’s what’s always driven me.”

The comments, especially now that Briscoe has won two races for Joe Gibbs Racing and appears to be a legitimate NASCAR Cup Series championship contender, are not so much surprising as much as they are unwarranted. Those two wins have established Briscoe as the driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota and have shown that he and crew chief James Small, who are only in their first season together, are building a great partnership.

Briscoe not only led all Cup Series playoff drivers with the most points scored in the first round of the postseason (133), but led the entire series in points earned in those three races. He had the second-most stage points earned (30) to Bubba Wallace (35). And he led 451 of the 1,107 laps in those races.

Feeling like he is replaceable is emblematic of who Briscoe is as a driver. Perhaps it stems from sleeping on the couches of friends for so long early in his career, or it could come from having long believed that he needed race teams more than they needed him. After winning the first race in the first round of the postseason, though, Briscoe is now coming around to the idea that he’s a valuable asset.

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“I always feel like I’m auditioning, still, every week to a certain extent,” he said. “I certainly feel way more comfortable now having multiple wins, but this is still a dog-eat-dog world and you have to perform. I could very easily be running badly right now and on the chopping block. You have to perform at this level.”

Briscoe was hired to inherit the car driven by Martin Truex Jr., a former series champion and likely first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer. Briscoe had won two races in his Cup Series career (spanning 144 races across four seasons) before joining the Gibbs fold. While those in the industry have never doubted his talent, the 2025 season is the first time he’s had all the resources required for on-track success.

The good news is that Briscoe has always felt he’s performed better in higher-pressure situations. Not only on the racetrack, but in life.

It’s how he views his ride with Joe Gibbs, and he came into it feeling he still has something to prove in the Cup Series. The same could be said for Small, who wants to demonstrate that he can guide the No. 19 team to success without Truex, who was given much of the credit. Whether one considers it the team’s driving force or added motivation, it has worked to everyone’s advantage.

“We both had, I felt like, a lot of people doubting us,” Briscoe said. “‘Why are they in that role?’ James got a lot of flak for how he and [Truex] would go back and forth [on the radio], and now, knowing James, I’ve never met someone more competitive and more determined to win and willing to do what it takes to win. It’s been good because we both kind of have that chip on our shoulder; we want to prove we belong.

“I think James has certainly proven this year that he is an elite-level crew chief and that’s fun for me to see his progression. We’re living this together, and at Pocono, you saw how for both of us the weight of the world was lifted off our shoulders. Then, when we did what we did at Darlington (sweeping the stages and winning the race after leading 309 of 367 laps), it’s like a whole new level of confidence we’ve both reached at the same time together, which is fun. The race team has, too.”

And yet, perhaps because of that uncomfortable feeling Briscoe lives with, he isn’t quite ready to say the success he’s having means he’s arrived as a Cup Series driver.

“I’m torn, but I think you have to have a sense of that,” he said. “I don’t think you can ever say, ‘Oh, yeah, man, I’ve made it.’ But in the same sense, I’ve certainly made it. I never in a million years thought I would race a single Cup Series race. I never thought I’d run a Truck Series race. Now, to have four Cup Series wins, yeah, I’ve certainly made it from that standpoint.

“But with how my career has progressed, you honestly keep changing the goal posts. It went from, ‘I want to make it to Cup.’ Then you make it to Cup and then it’s, ‘I want to win in Cup.’ Well, you win in Cup and now you move the goalposts [again]. So, I don’t know. I’ve made it in very many ways, but I feel like I still have a lot more that I want to do.”

One of those things would be another Round of 8 appearance, if not more. Briscoe believes it’s expected as a Joe Gibbs Racing driver to at least make it that far into the postseason. From there, if Briscoe were to advance all the way to the Championship 4, it would be the first time he’s accomplished such a feat.

It’s been a season of firsts, though. In his first year in a Gibbs car, Briscoe has won multiple races for the first time in a single season, has eclipsed the most laps led, top-five and top-ten finishes he’s ever earned in a single season, and has led the point standings for the very first time.

The next first on the list would be a berth in the Championship 4. Of course, the icing on the cake would be if Briscoe were to cap off this season of firsts with his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.