The Minnesota Gophers had a golden opportunity to come into the Penn State week on a 5-game winning streak, at 7-3 (5-2), alone in 5th place in the new 18-team Big Ten, and likely ranked for a College Gameday showdown. Unfortunately, Athan Kaliakmanis and Rutgers had other ideas. The former Gophers QB had his best game of his collegiate career throwing for 240 yards and 3 TDs against a very solid Gopher defense. I have to give it up for Athan as I was one person who never gave him a shot. I still don't think he is very good, but I have to respect an ultimate competitor who can rise to the occasion like we saw from him in this personal revenge game. While Minnesota came into this game riding a 4-game winning streak, Rutgers had come into this game on a 4-game losing streak. Besides Athan, the rest of the Rutgers team also came to play. They had Minnesota flustered all game, not letting the Gophers dictate any portion of the afternoon. It sucks, but now the Gophers sit at 6-4 (4-3), tied for 5th place in the Big Ten with a couple more chances to improve their stock as the season comes to a close.
Next up, the Minnesota Gophers will host the 4th ranked, 9-1 (6-1), Penn State Nittany Lions for the Governor's Victory Bell Trophy on Senior Day. Penn State holds the all-time series lead at 10-6 and come into this game as 10-point favorites. I have searched through multiple websites for game predictions and haven't found a single person predicting a Gophers victory this weekend. In fact, there was only 1 prediction that had the Gophers losing by only 8 points. 90% of the predictions have Penn State winning by at least 2-3 TDs. I am going to be the outlier.
Prior to the Rutgers game, this Gophers team was one of the hottest programs in college football. They had a slip up but still have the roster to compete with the best of them. This is also the exact kind of game PJ Fleck will have his team ready for. Fleck feeds off of the doubters when nobody gives his team a chance, and when their backs are against the wall, the Gophers stardom shines. The bulletin board material is plentiful and you just know Fleck is squeezing every ounce of it to make his team believe that they can accomplish what nobody in the nation thinks they can. Max Brosmer, Darius Taylor, Daniel Jackson, Jah Joyner, and Koi Perich have an opportunity to stamp their legacy at the U of M.
Minnesota vs Penn State Prediction: This game is going to be a dogfight. Penn State may be the better team on paper by a mile, but this scrappy Gopher team shouldn't be counted out. Minnesota's defense is one of the best teams in the nation at creating turnovers and they will need to play their best game of the season. Penn State's defense is also insanely good. They have crazy depth on the defensive line that disrupts opposing offenses. Minnesota is 5-0 this season when they are able to rush for 80+ yards. Darius Taylor is going to have to be the superstar we have all come to know. This will also help open up the passing game for Max Brosmer to connect with him, Jackson, and Spencer all afternoon. I expect the Gophers to limit the deep shots and stick to a short passing game. Penn State's pass rush is filthy and accumulates a lot of sacks. On the other side of the ball, QB Drew Allar is very solid. His favorite target is TE Tyler Warren, who is probably the best TE in the nation. Their offense resolves around Warren and the Gophers better not lose sight of him. One of the big reasons I think the Gophers have a shot is because of freshman Safety Koi Perich, who also handles the kick/punt returning. We saw the star power of Antoine Winfield take over the game against Penn State in 2019, Perich has that same kind of star power. If Jah Joyner and the defensive line can fluster Allar, Koi Perich and the secondary will have multiple chances at interceptions. I predict this game to come down to the final drive, leading to a Gophers 27-22 victory, taking back the Governor's Victory Bell, and celebrating with a stormed field full of Maroon & Gold, yet again!
Let's go, Gophers! Take the trophy back, play spoiler to a University that I still can't believe is allowed to have a football program, and shock the nation!
Great moments are born from great opportunities 💯
I am ready to party like it’s 2019 :)
Go Gophers :)
ROWWWW