What’s at stake?
Penn State is in prime position for a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff and still in the mix to make the Big Ten championship game, with a home game against struggling Maryland waiting after this challenge on the road against a well-rounded opponent. Losing to Minnesota team coming off a bye week would be a big blow to Penn State’s playoff push and all but take a conference title off the table. Minnesota can vastly upgrade its bowl bid with a win and take some momentum into a final-week rivalry game at Wisconsin.
Key matchup
Penn State TE Tyler Warren vs. Minnesota defense. Warren, a first team AP Midseason All-America selection, totaled 190 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage last week in a blowout win at Purdue. He is second among all FBS tight ends in receiving yards (808) and also taken 13 of his 16 rushing attempts for either first downs or touchdowns. The Gophers are second in the FBS in passes defended per game, tied for fourth in interceptions per game and tied for 17th in yards allowed per pass attempt.
Players to watch
Penn State: DE Abdul Carter has had multiple tackles for loss in three straight games. The junior, who played linebacker the previous two seasons, second in the FBS with 17½ tackles for loss and seventh with eight sacks this year.
Minnesota: LB Cody Lindenberg. The fifth-year junior leads the Gophers with 76 tackles, coming off a career-high 14 tackles at Rutgers in their last game on Nov. 9.
Facts & figures
This will be Penn State’s fourth visit to Minnesota since Huntington Bank Stadium opened on campus in 2009. The Nittany Lions won in 2010 and lost in 2013 and 2019. ... Penn State has won its first four road games in a season for the first time since 2011. ... Penn State QB Drew Allar is third in the FBS in yards per pass attempt (9.8) and fifth in completion percentage (71.9) ... The Nittany Lions have allowed 49 second-half points this season for the second-best per-game average in the FBS. ... Minnesota is 2-1 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game. The Gophers have never posted three wins against ranked opponents in one season.
