Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from emotional loss at Minnesota
By Zach Bigalke
Minnesota won the Governor’s Victory Bell at home in their rivalry game against fellow unbeaten Penn State football. What did we learn about these teams?
Minnesota scored almost immediately after an interception on Penn State’s opening drive. Tanner Morgan connected with Rashod Bateman on a 66-yard touchdown strike, the longest scoring play given up by the Nittany Lions this season and the first time in 2019 that they conceded points in the opening quarter.
Penn State responded quickly, as Journey Brown busted off a 45-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to tie things back at 7-7. From there, the two teams continued to trade punches on an epic day in Minneapolis. Coming down to the wire, Minnesota eventually prevailed 31-26 in an instant classic of an interdivisional battle.
The Nittany Lions drove down inside the red zone with just over a minute remaining and down by five points. Penalties soon pushed the visitors backward, forcing them to shoot for the end zone. Sean Clifford threw his third interception of the game, sealing the victory for Minnesota.
Thus it is the Golden Gophers rather than the Nittany Lions that remain undefeated through the second weekend of November. What does this result mean for both teams, in the Big Ten race as well as in the battle for one of the four College Football Playoff spots? Here are three things we learned from the showdown at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday in the huge Week 11 matchup.