By: Tyler Millen – GoPSUsports.com
Two regular season games remain for No. 4 Penn State who is coming off a 39-point win on the road against Purdue. The Nittany Lions march to Minneapolis for a clash with Minnesota for the 17th time in program history on Saturday at 3:30 on CBS.
Penn State (9-1) has won its last two games by a combined score of 84-16 and faces a 6-4 Golden Gophers team looking to bounce back after a 26-19 loss to Rutgers on Nov. 9. The Nittany Lions hold a 10-6 lead in the all-time series and took the last meeting 45-17 in 2022 at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State has won six of the last eight meetings against Minnesota who is led by eight-year head coach P.J. Fleck. Minnesota is tied for fourth in the country with 16 interceptions and is 17th nationally in passing defense which will challenge junior quarterback Drew Allar who has a 71.9 completion percentage, 2,253 passing yards and 16 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
Head coach James Franklin said the Golden Gophers, “do a really good job with their run blitzes, but they’re going to line up and play hard and play fast and play physical, and that’s showing up.” Minnesota is 11th nationally in total defense, 12th in scoring defense at just 17.7 points per game allowed and is first in the Big Ten in turnovers created which has become a point of emphasis for Franklin.
“The stats that we talk about week in and week out is the turnover ratio and the explosive play ratio and those two things are going to be critical on Saturday,” Franklin said. “And with a team that’s doing a really good job of turnover ratio, I think they’re plus-12, that’s going to be a major factor in the game and we’ve done a good job of protecting the football and we’re going to have to continue to do that.”
A key matchup on Saturday will be the Nittany Lions rushing defense against the Golden Gophers ground game. Penn State is fifth in the country in rushing defense – allowing 98.6 rushing yards per game – and Minneasota is 121st nationally in rushing offense with just over 100 yards per contest.
The Nittany Lions are fourth nationally in total defense with 272.6 yards per game allowed and stand sixth in the country in scoring defense with 13.6 points per game allowed. Penn State has allowed just 49 second-half points across 10 games in 2024 and Franklin said his defense is hungry to generate more turnovers.
“The next step is not just the confidence of breaking the ball up, but…
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