The stat has become as recognizable as Penn State's 9-2 record or his No. 22 jersey: The Nittany Lions are undefeated when Evan Royster rushes for at least 100 yards.
They didn't need 100 rushing yards from him Saturday, not when he was running and catching the way he did in his team's 31-20 win over Indiana.
Royster managed only 95 rushing yards, but his threat as a pass catcher has made it increasingly clear that the Lion offense goes as he does, be it on the ground or not.
The redshirt junior caught four passes for 39 yards and scored a rushing and a receiving touchdown against the Hoosiers.
His 13-yard catch and run on a screen with six seconds left in the second quarter evened the score at 10 and gave the Lions much-needed momentum heading into halftime.
"That was huge," center Stefen Wisniewski said. "We really needed that, just for a morale booster and [to] get the crowd back into it, let ourselves know that we were coming back."
Royster said the offense had been working on the play in practice for a few weeks, and that it finally worked because everyone held his blocks better.
That didn't keep Bill Lynch from fuming on the sideline, though. The Indiana coach tossed his gum and got in officials' faces because no holding penalty was called on the play.
"Ya think?" Lynch sarcastically said when asked if he saw a penalty.
"I'm not gonna comment on it," he later added.
Penn State right guard Lou Eliades looked like the guilty party, though Royster agreed with the no-call.
"A lot of times when we run screen passes it looks like a hold, but really it's tough for a guy to get off when he's fumbling and he's going backwards and trying to make a play," Royster said. "A lot of times it looks like holding and it's not."
Royster's second touchdown came of the more traditional variety, as he scored on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend Penn State's lead to 24-10.
Despite the familiarity of a short plunge, the Fairfax, Va., native welcomed the opportunity to score on the pass, saying it spreads the field for the offense.
"It kind of helps me out to get the ball in open space and not have to run through seven guys instead of one or two," Royster said. "So it makes things a little easier on me."
Soon, Royster will be faced with the difficult decision of coming back to Penn State for his fifth season or declaring for the NFL draft, a dilemma he said he hasn't given much thought to.
Royster said he prepared for Saturday like it was any other game, regardless of if it was his final one at Beaver Stadium or not.
"We try not to think about it," he said of himself and fellow redshirt junior Navorro Bowman. "If either of us decide to leave, then we didn't get to run out with the rest of the seniors and stuff, but it's a real minor thing."
