James Peoples

#1 · RB · Jr. · Penn State5′10″ · 214 lb · San Antonio, TX · San Antonio Veterans Memorial

Rushing yards246229th of 278 running backsLast gameW 31–17vs Purdue · Oct 31
Nextat WashingtonSat Nov 7 · 3:30 pm ET
246 rushing yards in 7 games; their best was 67 vs Wisconsin.
Game 1: against Marshall, win 45-0, 31 rushing yards31WMRSHGame 2: at Temple, win 27-9, 42 rushing yards42WTEM@Game 3: against Buffalo, win 55-13, 59 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns59WBUFGame 4: against Wisconsin, loss 20-24, 67 rushing yards67LWISGame 5: at Northwestern, loss 13-34, 13 rushing yards13LNU@Game 6: against USC, loss 23-31, 20 rushing yards20LUSCGame 7: at Michigan, loss 18-21, 14 rushing yards14LMICH@Game 8: against Purdue, win 31-17, no carries in this gameWPURSeason high,in a loss
Game 1: against Marshall, win 45-0, 31 rushing yardsWMRSHGame 2: at Temple, win 27-9, 42 rushing yardsWTEM@Game 3: against Buffalo, win 55-13, 59 rushing yards, 2 touchdownsWBUFGame 4: against Wisconsin, loss 20-24, 67 rushing yards67LWISGame 5: at Northwestern, loss 13-34, 13 rushing yardsLNU@Game 6: against USC, loss 23-31, 20 rushing yardsLUSCGame 7: at Michigan, loss 18-21, 14 rushing yardsLMICH@Game 8: against Purdue, win 31-17, no carries in this gameWPURSeason high,in a loss
  • touchdown

Purdue · W 31-17

No carries.

Peoples has carries in 7 of Penn State’s 8 games: none against Purdue.

Dashed line: 100 yards.

This week

  • RecordPenn State is 4-4.
  • What fans say

    Penn State fans have asked for more carries for Peoples since the Sep 26 loss to Wisconsin.

    “I feel like we should be running Peoples kinda like Saquon as a quasi receiver”

    “Why does Matt Campbell forget Peoples exists and thinks Hansen is his only RB”

    “Where is Peoples this is his area to shine”

    From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.

  • Next gameat Washington · Sat Nov 7

What’s being said

6 stories in the last 60 days, from 6 outlets.

Sep 17 to Sep 23: 1Sep 24 to Sep 30: 1Oct 1 to Oct 7: 2Oct 29 to Nov 4: 2W 27-9 at TempleWW 55-13 vs BuffaloWL 20-24 vs WisconsinLL 13-34 at NorthwesternLL 23-31 vs USCLL 18-21 at MichiganLW 31-17 vs PurdueWSep 10Nov 4Most in a week: 2
Sep 17 to Sep 23: 1Sep 24 to Sep 30: 1Oct 1 to Oct 7: 2Oct 29 to Nov 4: 2W 27-9 at TempleWW 55-13 vs BuffaloWL 20-24 vs WisconsinLL 13-34 at NorthwesternLL 23-31 vs USCLL 18-21 at MichiganLW 31-17 vs PurdueWSep 10Nov 4Most in a week: 2
Stories per week. W and L: the team’s results.

Penn State Snap Counts vs. Purdue: More Cam Wallace Meant Less James Peoples

Nittany Sports Now Nov 2

All 11 stories this season

A play of his this season

  1. Q1, 8:00 · Penn State up 3James Peoples runs 16 yards for a touchdownBuffalo at Penn State, week 3Q1, 8:00 · Penn State 10, Buffalo 010-0score after the play10-0score after the playJ.Peoples rush right for 16 yards gain to the BUF00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playCFB ON FOX

All 2 of his plays on video

20% of the carries, 21% of the yards, 14% of the touchdowns

  • Carries20%57 of 289
  • Yards21%246 of 1,185
  • Touchdowns14%2 of 14

Share of the team's rushing yards, game by game

No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.

Who carried it

Share of the team's total this season.

Most of his carries go up the middle

102030
leftmiddleright
a carry, up for a gain and down for a lossa touchdown

Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of his carries with a spot in the play text: left 8, middle 30, right 12.

James Peoples

RB · Penn State · #1

On Trialas of Nov 4

James Peoples arrives at Penn State with a new fit to prove and an old chapter closed.

246rushing yards2rushing TD57carries

Rushing value per play

+0.14

our model · 2026 · 50 plays

Penn State fans can't agree whether the tape backs the reputation.

medium confidence4 sources

Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.

Read the story so far

James Peoples arrived as a 4-star prospect, the No.115 recruit nationally. James Peoples lines up at RB for Penn State.

On the field, the headline is 246 rush yds, with 2 rush td.

Penn State fans can't agree whether the tape backs the reputation.

The number to watch: +0.14 — rushing value per play.

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04

Style of play

Style of play

Play style

Does a little of everything without one standout trait.

Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration

Who gets the tough yard

2/17Inside-5 share

2 of the team's 17 inside-the-5 carries (11.8%).

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.