The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Oregon Ducks will meet for the sixth time in their program's history on Saturday night for the second-ever AP Top 10 White Out matchup at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State and Oregon are two of the most talented rosters in the country, with star players all over the field.
The Ducks' defense has been strong all season, but it will face its toughest test of the season against the Nittany Lions, especially in the run game.
Penn State's 'Two-Headed Monster' vs. Oregon
Penn State is one of the few programs in the country that truly has two star starting running backs. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen both ran for over 1,000 yards last year, and found the end zone a combined 20 times.
The two stars know they're splitting the backfield together, but stuck together at Penn State creating one of the most dangerous running back rooms in the country.
"They’re a two-headed monster,” Oregon nickel Jadon Canady said (h/t oregonlive.com). "I think both of them are equally as good. Both guys can do it all; run, catch, pass block. There’s not a fall off. We’ll have to tackle pretty well, cover well in the screen game, angle routes, wheel routes and attack them the entire game."
“I hope at the end of the year we can be tied.”
— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) September 6, 2025
—Penn State running back Kaytron Allen on the race with fellow RB Nick Singleton to be the Nittany Lions’ alltime leading rusher. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/9jR2Sg5OM4
Singleton and Allen make you defend in all facets of the game, and constantly put pressure on opposing defenses.
In Penn State's one matchup with Oregon last year, Singleton and Allen each rushed for over 100 yards. Singleton added four catches for 43 yards, and Allen contributed three catches for 15 yards and a rushing touchdown.
"All the aspects you’d want, they have a lot of them. I have a lot of respect for those guys. Definitely not the average running back we’re facing — both of them — but I feel like we’re ready," Oregon edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei said (h/t oregonlive.com). "That’s definitely something we remember as a defense. We can’t just rely on one side of the ball. We got to dominate in that part of the game."
Through three games this season, Allen has 273 yards and three touchdowns, and Singleton has 179 yards and five touchdowns.
As for the Ducks this season, Oregon is allowing 108.8 rushing yards per game, and just 3.3 yards per carry. Both are better than last year's numbers, even without the postseason games against Penn State and Oregon.
Elite college football running back tandems are nothing new.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 4, 2025
None of them played in an era when staying was harder than going.
Enter, Penn State's Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. pic.twitter.com/vp1pv3ane6
"We’ve seen highlights of us playing really good run defense at times this season and we’ve seen times when we haven’t," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said (h/t oregonlive.com). "We got to make sure we put our guys in great position to have success and then do a good job against this rushing attack. You’re not going to hold these guys to zero yards rushing. They’re really good at back."
Lanning knows completely shutting down Penn State's backfield isn't going to happen, but keeping it from controlling the game is crucial.
The battle of the tenches is always a key part of the game to watch, but it could be the deciding factor in Saturday night's White Out game.
No. 3 Penn State and No. 6 Oregon kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Beaver Stadium on NBC.