Penn State RB Noah Cain will miss rest of season due to injury

Things have quickly gone from bad to worse to even worse for the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

Penn State head coach James Franklin confirmed on Tuesday that running back Noah Cain suffered a season-ending injury during Saturday's overtime loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

Franklin hoped that Cain would serve as his top ball-carrier with Journey Brown indefinitely sidelined due to an undisclosed medical issue. Brown, a potential future first-round pick in an NFL Draft class, may not suit up for PSU this fall. 

As Tyler Donohue wrote for 247Sports, Cain was seen using crutches and wearing a supportive boot on his left leg and foot while on the sidelines this past Saturday after he carried the ball three times versus Indiana. He tallied 443 rushing yards and eight scores for the Nittany Lions last season. 

"Love Noah. So much respect for Noah. He worked really hard for this opportunity," Franklin told reporters on Monday without getting into specifics on what's troubling Cain ahead of Halloween, according to Nate Bauer of Rivals. "We met with Noah ahead of time and felt like this was the appropriate thing to do to give you guys a heads up."

Franklin went on about his team's altered offense. 

"Obviously, our circumstances have changed," he said. "At least at this time, we've lost Journey Brown and Noah Cain. We have to create a little bit more explosive plays. That's something that we felt like Journey and Noah were going to bring for us."

Quarterback Sean Clifford led Penn State with 119 rushing yards at Indiana. Devyn Ford, expected to become the team's next lead back, accumulated 69 yards and a gifted touchdown.