After a four-game losing streak to start Big Ten play, Penn State has turned things around since its bye week. The Nittany Lions have won two straight games, including last week's test at Washington, and are one victory away from bowl eligibility.

Several NIttany Lions have stepped up since the bye week, helping Penn State get its first Big Ten wins of the season against Purdue and Washington. Here’s who’s played those important roles on the team. 

Penn State's offensive line

Penn State failed to establish a run game through much of 2026, and the offensive line played a role in that. The starting unit had new faces in left tackle Malachi Goodman, left guard Trevor Buhr, center Brock Riker and right guard Cooper Cousins. Anthony Donkoh plays right tackle after starting at right guard last season.

But since the bye week, the run game has averaged 5 yards per carry, doubling its 2.5 average in the first four Big Ten games.

“You've got five guys that are playing together on that offensive line for the first time,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said. “I think that was trying to get the cohesion and unification of that group, and then you had guys playing injured for a while in that group.”

Campbell said the offensive line used the bye week to get healthy and simplify the offense to execute better. While he never missed a game, Riker didn’t play the majority of the Buffalo game due to injury. Goodman missed the second half of the Washington game with an injury.

Backup left tackle Garrett Sexton replaced Goodman, helping the line open running lanes during the last drive of the Washington game. Penn State held onto the ball for the final 7:40, led by a 36-yard rush from running back Carson Hansen.

“To watch Garrett go in, honestly the big block that happens at Carson's run at the end of the game is because of Garrett Sexton,” Campbell said. “I think both those guys, for Garrett being a young player that's growing, and Malachi being a very young player that's growing, I thought it was a really huge step forward for both those guys on Saturday.”

Running backs Carson Hansen and Cam Wallace

Penn State also had run-game issues because no backs had separated themselves. That changed during the bye week. Hansen and fellow back Cam Wallace have given the Nittany Lions a spark offensively. 

“[I’ve] really challenged those guys for a long time, the whole running back room, to be able to have somebody go and draw a line in the sand and say that, ‘I'm going to be the guy, or we're going to be the guy,’” offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said after the Purdue game, when Hansen and Wallace combined for 231 rushing yards. “Those guys did a great job over the bye week of doing that, and leaving no doubt.”

Prior to Wallace’s 135-yard breakout game against the Boilermakers, Penn State didn’t have a rusher eclipse the century mark in Big Ten play. Now, a rusher has done it in back-to-back weeks, as Hansen had 119 yards against Washington.

Cornerback Ibn McDaniels

Cornerback Ibn McDaniels didn’t have a significant role in the secondary before the bye week, but now he does. He played 16 snaps against Washington, recording a key interception on quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in the fourth quarter. His development also has been instrumental in helping starters Audavion Collins and Daryus Dixson get breaks during games.

“I'm happy for him,” safety Jamison Patton said. “It's long overdue. He's been doing great at practice and really all throughout camp. He's just been growing and getting better each and every week. It's been really cool to see that.”

Campbell said McDaniels has played “as good as anybody the last two weeks.” If Williams had an extra possession Saturday, there’s a real chance Washington could have tied or taken a lead late in the game, underscoring the importance of McDaniels’ interception.

Quarterback Rocco Becht

Quarterback Rocco Becht did not play well to start Big Ten play, especially on the road. He threw two interceptions in a loss at Northwestern and made three costly turnovers at Michigan that led to a 21-18 loss before the bye week. However, Becht has improved since then.

Becht has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 415 yards and three touchdowns since the bye week. He had one deep throw to wide receiver Chase Sowell that was perfectly placed during the Washington game. More importantly, Becht hasn’t turned the ball over since the Michigan loss.

“I feel like the confidence is starting to kind of bleed over into the offense,” Sowell said. “You can feel the energy and the confidence that he's playing with on the field. He's building the confidence through making stuff simple for him, and then at the same time, just being decisive.”