For those of you who were looking for the Penn State running game they finally made an appearance on Saturday afternoon.

After averaging just 2.5 yards per carry in its previous three ball games the UMASS defense was exactly what the doctor ordered. The Nittany Lions racked up 228 yards rushing and five touchdowns against the Minutemen, drastically improving in the yards per carry department, averaging 5.1 per attempt.Penn State's rushing attack and another dominant performance from the defense helped the Nittany Lions come away with an impressive 48-7 non-conference victory. The win moves Penn State to 4-0, which is the first time it has gotten to that mark since the 2008 season when they started 9-0.Still, the story on the day was the running game. Coming into the game, Penn State had only rushed for 227 yards as a team and they showed no signs of improvement. The offensive line finally came through, seemed to be communicating better, and most importantly gave the Nittany Lions running backs some windows."I think it's great to establish a running game and be able to make some plays with multiple backs and multiple people," said Penn State coach James Franklin. "We were able to be balanced. We were able to take some pressure off of Christian Hackenberg, which is great."Hackenberg did see less pressure against the Minutemen, but it was obvious their defense was keying heavily on the passing game. They did a good job of not letting any of the PSU receivers get open for deep passing plays and overall Hackenberg was average, going 12-for-23 for 179 yards and no touchdowns. Even with the statistical drop on Saturday "Hack" leads the BIG 10 in passing at 315.2 yards per game, which is also good enough for 14th nationally.As noted, it was another dominant day for the Penn State defense, especially upfront. UMASS was held to just three yards on 28 attempts, which moves the Nittany Lions "D" to No. 1 in the country in rushing defense. They're also ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense (11.0 ppg) and 10th in total defense (270.8 yds/g). UMASS was held to just 266 totals yards."Our plan is to make teams one-dimensional," said Franklin. "It's great to have a plan and I think our defensive line has been really good all year round rotating those guys in and keeping them fresh. I think the combination of (Nyeem) Wartmen, (Brandon) Bell, and (Mike) Hull have been really good. I think the safeties are a factor in that as well."As most teams do, when Penn State gets off to a good start, they usually come away with the "W." The Nittany Lions were only able to muster six points in the first quarter, but then exploded for 28 points in the second. The defense has been stingy to say the least in the first quarter this season, allowing zero points. Penn State has not allowed an opponent to score in the first quarter in the past seven games, dating back to last season.The Nittany Lions faithful didn't have to sit on the edge of their seat for this one. After three competitive games against UCF, Akron, and Rutgers, Penn State controlled the game from the onset. A key to controlling a game from start to finish is that in the fourth quarter you can get some guys some reps, which is something that is extremely important for the Nittany Lions, considering their depth issues."I think the most valuable aspect is that we were able to get a bunch of guys reps," said Franklin. "We were able to stay healthy and I think where confidence comes from is that you get to play those other guys and now they can grow and learn from it. I think being able to get our starters out of the game, keep them healthy, keep them fresh, was important, too. I would say the tight wins are probably more important for building character and toughness than one like this."Next up for the Nittany Lions is Northwestern (1-2) at noon on Saturday. It will be the Homecoming Game for Penn State, who will be looking to move to 5-0 before they head to Ann Arbor, MI for a night game showdown with the Michigan Wolverines.