Oct. 18, 2022: Life does not get any easier for the reeling Gophers, as they look to get back on track in Happy Valley against Penn State in the annual “White Out” game.
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Broadcast Info:
- Date: Sat., Oct. 22
- TV channel: ABC
- Time of kickoff: 6:30 p.m. (CST)
- Broadcast team: n/a (play-by-play) & n/a (color)
- Betting line: Minnesota (+4.5) @ Penn State, o/u: (44.5 points)
Opponent Information (Penn State):
- 2021 record: 7-6
- 2022 record: 5-1
- @ Purdue 35-31 W
- V. Ohio 46-10 W
- @ Auburn 41-14 W
- V. Central Michigan 33-14 W
- V. Northwestern 17-7 W
- @ Michigan 17-41 L
- Head Coach: James Franklin (9th season)
Players to watch: Nicholas Singleton (RB), PJ Mustipher (DT), Joey Porter Jr. (CB), Ji’Ayir Brown (S), Sean Clifford (QB)
Three weeks ago, this game looked like it could’ve been one of the Big Ten’s best this season. Fast forward to now, Minnesota has lost two straight games and Penn State got thoroughly dominated by Michigan for 60 minutes. With veteran QBs on both sides, both of these programs have a lot more in common than people would think. The Gophers will look to get back on track under the bright lights of Primetime in OC Kirk Ciarrocca’s return to State College, Pennsylvania.
Penn State Season Storylines:
- Is Sean Clifford holding back Penn State?:
Penn State and Minnesota’s quarterback situations are quite similar. Sean Clifford is 24 years old admist his sixth season with the program and most fans seem to be asking for the backup. Clifford has been a succsesfull QB for as long as he’s been the starter, averaging 204.3 passing yards per-game, accumulating 85 total touchdowns and a 2.73 TD-INT ratio. Ultimately his 26-13 record is what fans are pointing two. Penn State is one of the most historic programs in college football, so 8 and 9 win seasons get stale after a while. Much like the Gophers, talented freshman 5-star QB Drew Allar is waiting in the wings. So with a talented overall roster, and still the same issues year-after-year, it’s fair to ask if Clifford is holding back the Nittany Lions’ ceiling.
- White Out Atmosphere:
Week Eight’s matchup between Penn State and the Gophers will be its annual “White Out” game. Since 2007 Penn State has had at least one game each season where nearly all 106,000 fans at Beaver Stadium don white apparel, making one of the most intimdating atmospheres in college football. With the Gophers coming to town off a two-game losing streak, and Penn State a dissapointing loss to Michigan, it might seem like a perfect bounceback spot for the Nittany Lions. With all that being said, Penn State is 7-6 all-time in official White Out games, so while the atmosphere continues to be top-tier, it has yet to show results on the scoreboard for Penn State.
- How good of a coach is James Franklin?:
Head coach James Franklin is admist his ninth season at Penn State. He has a 72-35 record, playing in a bowl game every single season except for the shortened 2020 COVID campaign. Seemingly always in the rankings, Penn State has been one of the more consistent programs in the Big Ten since Franklin took over in 2014. With that being said, the Nittany Lions only have one Big Ten Championship during his tenure and zero College Football Playoff berths. Penn State is an intersting program, beacuse many view it as a blue-blood of the conference, but with only five conference titles all-time and two national championships; should Franklin’s resume be praised or questioned. Franklin has led his team to three NY6 Bowls in 8 seasons, a 37.5% mark that most programs would LOVE. So while it seems like the Nitanny Lions are virtually the same team every season, Franklin is still one of the best coaches in the conference.
Gophers’ path to victory:
Unfortunately, there seems to be a few Gophers fans online that have given up on this season. I belive that is far to premature, and there is still plenty to play for. On-paper Penn State has a more talented roster than Minnesota. With that being said, they gave up 418 rushing yards (7.6 YPC) and four TDs last week to Michigan. If there is anything that the Gophers did right against Illinois it was run the football, as Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 127 yards (8.5 YPC).
As Ibrahim, has ran for 100+ yards in 14 straight games, it is fair to predict that he will do it again Saturday against the Nittany Lions. But the passing attack is a different story. Personally, I think a healthy Tanner Morgan gives the Gophers the best chance to win this game. In a big-time atmosphere, it would be a lot of pressure for redshirt-freshman Athan Kaliakmanis in his first start, while Morgan could “hopefully” run the offense smoothly and limit some mistakes. With the being said, I do think the ceiling is higher with Kaliakmanis at the helm, I have a feeling that if he is called to action, he is either going to have 250+ passing yards and a few TDs or struggle mightly against one of the Big Ten’s best teams and there is no in-between.
Overall, the Gophers’ defense needs to get back into a rhythym, allowing fewer than 20 or fewer points. An 8-game streak of doing so was broken last week against Illinois and I simply do not think this offense is playing well enought to out-duel a team like Penn State. If Joe Rossi is able to get his unit back to playing at an elite-level, I think Minnesota should be in this game until the end.
Penn State has better athletes than Minnesota, but they have both struggled with creating explosive on offensive. I believe, this game is ultimately going to come down to the QB position. Whoever is able to find that bigger play Clifford vs. Morgan or Kaliakmanis is going to have an advantage in the scoreboard. With uncertainty behind center for the Gophers, there are a lot of different ways this game can go, but a win here would provide a massive boost into the momentum of the season.