Penn State at Minnesota

Written by Steve Janus

This Saturday the Penn State Nittany Lions will look to get things turned around when they head to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers. Penn State was off last week, but in their last game against Illinois the Nittany Lions were blown out at home 33-13, while the Golden Gophers suffered their sixth straight loss last week, falling at Purdue 28-17. The Nittany Lions have won three straight in the series, including a 20-0 win last year. If you are thinking about betting on the game this weekend, the current college football odds have the Nittany Lions favored by 9.5-points over the Golden Gophers at home.

Penn State (3-3, 0-2 Big Ten): The loss to Illinois tied the third worst home loss in school history. Penn State was simply out played on both sides of the football. Offensively the Nittany Lions managed just 235 yards of total offense, including just 65 yards on the ground. Freshman quarterback Robert Bolden really struggled against an improving Illinois defense, as he completed 8 of 21 attempts for 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Nittany Lions finished just 2 for 14 on third down conversions, and finished with just seven first downs for the game.

Defensively the Nittany Lions weren’t much better, as they allowed Illinois to run for 282 yards and pass for another 155 yards. The 282 rushing yards was the most Penn State had allowed since allowing 288 to Minnesota in 2004. The offense should have a much easier time moving the football this week, but if the defense doesn’t play better, this team could be in a lot of trouble.

Minnesota (1-6, 0-3 Big Ten): The Golden Gophers offense really struggled to get things going early last week, as they didn’t score a single point until five minutes were left in the third quarter. Purdue jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and never looked back. Minnesota added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was just too little too late. The 17 points was the lowest total for the Gophers offense all season.

Minnesota has had some success running the football this season, but managed just 65 yards against the Purdue defense on Saturday. Quarterback Adam Weeber was the leading rusher with 42 yards, while also throwing for 214 yards with two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions. Da’Jon McKnight led all receivers with six catches for 123 yards and a score. Defensively the Golden Gophers allowed 230 rushing yards, and if they allow Penn State that same success on the ground this week, they are going to have a hard time keeping the game close.

Looking at the Odds: As bad as Penn State has looked in its first two conference games, I think there is pretty good value on them against a bad Minnesota team. The Nittany Lions will be able to move the ball on the ground on offense, and defensively I think they match up very well with the Golden Gophers. I think you have to be all over Penn State at -9.5 in this one! My final score prediction is Penn State 34, Minnesota 20.

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