Heading into the 2025 season, college football is loaded with talent at the running back position.
Several teams could make a case for having the best backfield in the country, but two clear frontrunners stand out: Penn State and Notre Dame. A former Georgia football star is picking the Fighting Irish but says the Nittany Lions aren’t far behind.
Ex-Georgia Standout Picks Jeremiyah Love as Top Back, Keeps Eye on Penn State Pair
David Pollack, a former Georgia football star-turned-analyst, recently shared a video breaking down the top running back rooms in the country.
After confidently picking Notre Dame, led by superstar Jeremiyah Love, as his top choice, he admitted that the Penn State duo of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton isn’t far behind.
.@NDFootball‘s RB room is the standard in CFB this season
Follow See Ball Get Ball: https://t.co/eBBeDhErX4 pic.twitter.com/ymW6IB0ENN
— David Pollack (@davidpollack47) July 30, 2025
“Notre Dame has the best running back room in the country and it’s not close,” Pollack said. He then backtracked his initial statement, crediting the Nittany Lions duo, “Penn State definitely has a gripe, that’s fair. I jumped the gun a little bit on that.”
Pollack isn’t the only one with Love and the Notre Dame backfield at the top, as ESPN recently released its list of the best running backs in the country ahead of the 2025 season. Love came in at No. 1, followed closely by Singleton and Allen.
So the question is, which running back room is better?
Which Running Back Room is Better: Penn State or Notre Dame?
When it comes to the best running back in the country, both Pollack and ESPN are right. There is no more complete player at the position than Jeremiyah Love. In 2024, the Notre Dame back rushed for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Jeremiyah Love. Athlete. pic.twitter.com/Eb1MwVmCdo
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 7, 2024
Love combines power and speed, running through contact while showing breakaway ability in the open field. He is a strong receiving option out of the backfield and holds his own in pass protection. From top to bottom, Love stands out as the most well-rounded back in college football.
Looking at the rest of the Notre Dame backfield, it’s a solid group. Jadarian Price returns for his redshirt junior season in 2025 after rushing for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. The team also brings back former four-star Ayneas Williams, who ran for 219 yards during his true freshman season last year.
It’s a solid group, but when it comes to the best running back room in the country, Notre Dame doesn’t come close to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions boast one of the best running back duos in recent college football history. In 2024, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen each topped 1,000 rushing yards, combining for 2,207 yards on the ground. According to ESPN’s rankings, both players are among the top three running backs in the country.
Penn State rushed for 297 yards Vs the best front 7 in the nation! Allen & Singleton both rushed for over 100 yards and the OL was dominant
There is a lot to be excited about for the Nittany Lions heading into the Playoffs pic.twitter.com/XRK0ZjctbB
— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) December 8, 2024
Penn State also returns former four-star Corey Smith, who impressed as a true freshman with 152 yards on just 22 carries, averaging nearly seven yards per attempt.
While Pollack is right about Jeremiyah Love being the best individual back in the country, he missed the mark in naming Notre Dame as the top overall group. That title belongs to Penn State.
