Penn State football’s last away game of the 2024 regular season is upon us. The Nittany Lions face Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium, with the game airing on CBS.

James Franklin’s team blew out Purdue 49-10 on the road last week. The Golden Gophers are coming off a bye week, and they lost 26-19 at Rutgers the week prior. Let’s preview them ahead of Saturday’s clash.

The Team

Minnesota is 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers’ 25-17 win over No. 25 Illinois is their lone victory against a ranked opponent, although they upset then-No. 11 USC 24-17 on October 5.

PJ Fleck is in his eighth season as Minnesota’s head coach. He’s gone 56-38 with five bowl appearances in Minneapolis. Fleck formerly led Western Michigan for four years, with a 30-22 overall record and a 2016 Cotton Bowl loss.

Greg Harbaugh Jr. and Matt Simon are co-offensive coordinators. Harbaugh is in his fifth season at Minnesota and second as co-offensive coordinator. Simon is in his eighth year with the Golden Gophers and fifth as co-offensive coordinator.

Corey Hetherman is Minnesota’s defensive coordinator. He was previously Rutgers’s linebackers coach before taking the Minnesota job last offseason. Nick Monroe is his co-defensive coordinator, who joined the program in 2023.

Penn State is 10-6 in the all-time series against Minnesota. The Nittany Lions prevailed 45-17 in the 2022 White Out, but the Golden Gophers shocked them in the last matchup at Huntington Bank Stadium with a 31-26 upset in 2019.

Offense

Minnesota averages 26.7 points per game. The Golden Gophers are averaging 333.3 yards per game, with 228.6 passing yards and 104.7 rushing yards per game.

Graduate student Max Brosmer is the starting quarterback. The Roswell, Georgia, native has 2,251 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 67.08% completion rate. Despite four rushing touchdowns, he has -29 rushing yards.

Much of Minnesota’s work comes via Darius Taylor. Taylor has 136 carries for 708 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Marcus Major, his understudy, has 286 yards and two touchdowns.

Taylor is also heavily involved in the receiving game, with 312 yards and two touchdowns. Major is also a threat, with 138 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, tight end Jameson Geers has 215 yards and two touchdowns.

On the receiving end, Daniel Jackson leads the Golden Gophers with 712 yards. However, his three touchdowns are one fewer than Elijah Spencer’s, who has 482 receiving yards. Le’Meke Brockington is the No. 3 wideout, with 201 yards and a touchdown.

Aireontae Ersery, a potential first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, anchors Minnesota’s offensive line at left tackle. Tony Nelson plays guard, while Greg Johnson is at center. Ashton Beers is at right guard, while Quinn Carroll lines up at right tackle.

Defense

Minnesota holds opponents to an average of 17.7 points per game. The Golden Gophers have allowed 296.4 yards per game, including 176.6 passing yards and 119.8 rushing yards. They have the No. 11-ranked total defense, including a No. 17-ranked passing defense and a rushing defense that’s tied for No. 34 with James Madison.

Linebacker Cody Lindenberg leads the Golden Gophers with 76 tackles. He also has six pass breakups, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries, one sack, and an interception. Alongside him is Maverick Baranowski, who is third with 48 tackles. Baranowski has two pass breakups and two picks. Devon Williams also sees action, and he has 34 tackles, a pass breakup, and an interception.

Danny Striggow anchors Minnesota’s defensive line. The defensive end leads the group with 41 tackles, and he also has six quarterback hurries, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Opposite Striggow is Jah Joyner, who leads the Golden Gophers with 4.5 sacks. Joyner also has 28 tackles, nine quarterback hurries, seven pass breakups, 5.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.

Deven Eastern and Anthony Smith are the starting defensive tackles. Eastern has 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Smith has 19 tackles, seven quarterback hurries, six tackles for loss, and four sacks. Jalen Logan-Redding also sees time with 22 tackles along with five quarterback hurries.

Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson line up at left and right cornerback, respectively. Walley has 35 tackles, nine pass breakups, and two interceptions. Robinson has 37 tackles, six pass breakups, and three picks. Jack Henderson starts at nickelback and has 31 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one interception, and a fumble recovery.

Safety Kerry Brown has 49 tackles with two interceptions and two pass breakups. Koi Perich lines up next to him, who leads the team with five interceptions. Aidan Gousby is also in the mix, with 23 tackles, one interception, and a pass breakup.

Special Teams

Dragan Kasich is 15-of-21 on field goal attempts, hitting his longest successful attempt at 53 yards. He also handles kickoff duties, averaging 64 yards with 45 touchbacks over 55 attempts. Mark Crawford, the punter, averages 43.37 yards per punt with 58 yards as his longest.

Perich handles both kickoff and punt returns. On kickoff returns, he’s averaging 18.75 yards, while he’s averaging 12.92 on punt returns.