Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.

Penn State football has looked much closer to the team fans were promised lately, as a 28-25 victory over Washington last Saturday extended the Nittany Lions’ winning streak to two.

With just three games remaining in the regular season, the blue and white will look to continue to keep the momentum going in primetime at Beaver Stadium when Minnesota comes to town. 

A win over the Golden Gophers would give Matt Campbell his sixth win of the season and clinch bowl eligibility for Penn State. The Governor’s Victory Bell trophy is also on the line, a piece of hardware first erected to commemorate the Nittany Lions’ inaugural Big Ten game on September 4, 1993, against Minnesota.

The Nittany Lions continue to struggle in the second half, something the coaching staff has made a priority to clean up this week. It will be interesting to see whether adjustments are made before Penn State’s final real test of the season.

Minnesota and Penn State have played a handful of competitive games as of late, most infamously the 2019 matchup in Huntington Bank Stadium (then known as TCF Bank Stadium).

The Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers were both undefeated at the time and ranked No. 4 and No. 17, respectively. 

A Sean Clifford interception into the arms of Jordan Howden sealed a signature 31-26 win for Minnesota, and was undoubtedly one of the biggest heartbreaks of the James Franklin era for a Penn State team destined for the College Football Playoff.

More recently, the Nittany Lions got the best of Minnesota in the 2022 White Out, and eeked out an impressive, one-point road win in 2024 to essentially lock up a playoff berth. The game featured a Penn State fake punt on the final drive, and multiple fourth-down conversions.

Other notable moments between the two teams include Saquon Barkley’s game-winning overtime touchdown in 2016, which sparked the Nittany Lions’ improbable run to a Big Ten Championship. That team will be honored at Beaver Stadium during Saturday’s game.

The blue and white are 11-6 all time against Minnesota, and are 9.5-point favorites, per FanDuel.

The Team

Minnesota has been pesky all season, although their 5-4 record may not reflect that.

After starting the season 1-1 with a loss to Mississippi State, the Golden Gophers have since knocked off Washington on the road, defeated Michigan, edged out No. 15 Iowa, and went toe-to-toe with No. 9 Indiana, losing in overtime.

The maroon and gold have been a middle-of-the-road team in the conference for most of the last five years, with their last nine-win season coming in 2022.

Minnesota’s head coach is PJ Fleck. You might be familiar with his viral moment from earlier this season, when Fleck took the blood of his star linebacker, Maverick Baranowski, and wiped it on his face following a victory.

Fleck has coached the Golden Gophers since 2017, and holds a 71-48 record in that span. He is the second-longest tenured active Big Ten coach, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.

Before arriving in the Twin Cities, Fleck coached at Western Michigan for four seasons and was the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.

Greg Harbaugh Jr. is the offensive coordinator and has served in the role since 2023, though he was a co-coordinator for two seasons. Prior to that, he was the program’s tight ends coach for one year.

With a struggling Minnesota offense, Harbaugh has quickly found himself on the hot seat. And no, he is not related to Jim or John Harbaugh.

On the defensive side of the ball, Danny Collins is the man in charge. He has spent 14 years with Fleck, and 10 with Minnesota, but is in just his second season as a coordinator for the Golden Gophers. He previously served as the team’s safeties coach.

The Offense

It’s been a rough couple of years offensively for Minnesota, which currently averages the third-lowest yards per game in the Big Ten.

Junior quarterback and second-year starter Drake Lindsey has had a particularly poor stretch of play this season, completing 60.8% of his passes for 1,797 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also has seven interceptions this year, and his QBR ranks second-to-last in the conference.

Javon Tracy has been Lindsey’s top target, tallying 485 yards on 49 receptions and just one touchdown. Noah Jennings follows close behind stat-wise, as his 421 yards on 34 receptions are second on the team.

Wideout Jalen Smith is the team leader in receiving touchdowns with three. The tight end group hasn’t been a reliable source of production, either, with Roman Voss and Pierce Walsh combining for just 14 receptions this season.

On the ground, Minnesota has been at the bottom of the barrel. Its 103.2 rushing yards per game is the worst in the Big Ten, but a lot of that can be attributed to injuries to the Golden Gophers’ offensive line.

Darius Taylor leads the team with 97 carries and is a reliable red-zone option for Minnesota, with six touchdowns. However, he has just 263 yards on the ground, averaging a measly 2.7 yards per carry. His season has been slowed, however, by an early-season lower-body injury.

Running back TJ Thomas leads the team with 400 rushing yards on 69 carries. Minnesota has not had a rusher eclipse 80 yards since the maroon and gold beat Akron in Week 3.

Up front, interior linemen Ashton Beers and Brett Caroll will both be sidelined with an injury. Despite the team’s health struggles and lapses in the run game, this unit’s pass protection has been solid, allowing 11 sacks this season. 

The Defense

Minnesota’s defense has been middle of the pack this year, surrendering an average of 331.6 yards per game and 22.9 points.

Baranowski has been far and away Minnesota’s best player on defense. He leads the Golden Gophers with 69 total tackles, 37 solo, and also has one sack, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery attributed to his name.

Baranowski’s tackle count is the eighth-best individual mark in the Big Ten.

Joey Gerlack, Baranowski’s fellow linebacker, has also had a productive season, recording 47 total tackles, 26 solo, one sack, three pass deflections, one interception, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

On pass defense, Minnesota has allowed 192.7 yards per game, but the Golden Gophers have some forces to be reckoned with in the secondary.

Cornerback Aydan West is tied for second in the Big Ten with nine pass deflections and has picked off one pass. Safety Kerry Brown has 52 total tackles and five pass deflections on the year.

Zack Harden has accrued 48 total tackles, five pass deflections, one sack, and one interception.

As for the guys up front, defensive lineman TJ Busch Jr. has impressed, with six sacks this year, the fourth most in the conference. 

2025 first-team All-Big Ten selection Anthony Smith has also been effective at defensive end, notching over 34 quarterback hurries.

Special Teams

The Golden Gophers have one of the best units in the Big Ten in the return game. On kickoffs, Minnesota averages 24.1 yards per return, and on punts, that mark is 16.9. Both numbers rank second-best in the conference.

The team has also returned two punts for touchdowns, the longest an 87-yard effort by wide receiver Javon Tracy.

Senior Luke Drzewiecki is the place kicker, and he has quite the range for a collegiate athlete. He drilled a 60-yard field goal in the final minute of the fourth quarter against Indiana and is 3-for-5 on kicks over 50 yards this season.

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