That was easily Penn State’s best win of the season. The team had some other high-scoring games earlier in the year, but those were against much weaker out-of-conference opponents.
This game against Minnesota
was Penn State’s first excellent game against solid competition all year, although things got a bit dicey at the end. The Nittany Lions won 42-14 in a game that was essentially decided in the first few minutes.The defense was excellent as always, and the offense easily had its most impressive performance of the season — although it was aided by some short fields given to it by the defense.
The blue and white are well on their way to a Bowl Game appearance and have gotten the season back on track with that win over the Golden Gophers. Now,
let’s take a look at what the driving factors of the game were.
Setting the tone
Penn State went into the game with a clear goal of establishing the run. The offense scored touchdowns on each of its first two possessions, albeit with shortened fields.
However, the most impressive part was that the Nittany Lions ran nine plays on those first two drives, and they ran the ball on seven of them. It was a notable switch from the pass-heavy offense that they had to run at different points this season, and it paid off in a big way.
Penn State averaged 5.6 yards per carry and took the wind out of Minnesota’s sails almost immediately. It may have taken much longer than expected, but the blue and white finally got the running game figured out.
One and done
Penn State’s blowout victory may not have been possible if it wasn’t for the defense stifling the Golden Gophers on third down. They failed to convert on their first six third-down opportunities, and that made it impossible to stay on the field.
Minnesota also had four three-and-outs in the game. The offense looked helpless and demoralized for most of the night thanks to the suffocating third-down defense from Penn State.
Pressure is on
Although the Nittany Lions have one of the best passing defenses in the league, they were unable to generate much of a pass rush this season. However, things changed against Minnesota when they sacked quarterback Drake Lindsay three times.
Penn State was even in his face a lot on plays where the defense didn’t record a sack, and the pressure was evident in Lindsay’s numbers. He completed barely over 50% of his passes because of his internal clock being sped up by the pass rush.
Field position
We alluded to it earlier, but field position played a huge part in this win for the Nittany Lions. They started in Minnesota territory on three drives in the first half alone, and they converted them all into touchdowns.
The only touchdown drive Penn State had in the first half that didn’t begin in plus territory was one that began at its own 47-yard line. The team struggled at times to sustain drives when it had to work all the way down the field, but luckily Minnesota didn’t make the Nittany Lions do that very much.
Second act
Penn State jumped out to huge in leads in back-to-back games, and in back-to-back games those leads dwindled in the second half. The offense comes out flat and predictable in the second half, and the quick possession changes allow the opponent to make a comeback.
Luckily, the Nittany Lions built up such a big lead on Saturday that Minnesota never got as close as Washington did a week ago. But if Penn State hadn’t scored what felt like a dagger touchdown to begin the second half, then we could be having a much different conversation.
Head coach Matt Campbell needs to get these second halves corrected before a potential Bowl Game next month.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: 5 major takeaways from Penn State’s blowout win over Minnesota
