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3 Takeaways from Minnesota Football’s blowout loss to Penn State

By Tyler Gransee

Oct 22, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Mohamed Ibrahim (24) is congratulated by quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (8) after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Mohamed Ibrahim (24) is congratulated by quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (8) after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Minnesota football was overwhelmed by the whiteout crowd and Penn State last night, losing 45 to 17.  What did we learn from last night’s game?

Minnesota football has now lost three straight games dropping the Gophers’ overall record to 4-3 and their conference record to 1-3. As if Minnesota sports fans haven’t had to deal with enough disappointment and heartbreak, the Minnesota football team has added to the pain.

Minnesota’s offense struggled, but that was expected without Tanner Morgan. The defense giving up 45 points is noteworthy and concerning for the rest of the year. Last night the Gophers’ defense gave up 479 total yards, including 295 passing yards to Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford.

Minnesota struggled to get anything going through the air or on the ground on the offensive side of the ball. Five false starts in the first half did not help the cause either. Mo Ibrahim still finished the game with 102 rushing yards but averaged a season-low 3.4 yards per carrying.

Here are three key takeaways from the loss to Penn State

What is the future of the Minnesota QB position?

Tanner Morgan was inactive for last night’s game with a head injury, so Athan Kaliakmanis got the start. Kaliakmanis, a freshman, had appeared in two out of the Gophers’ first four games, but last night was his first collegiate start.

A whiteout crowd of 110,000 fans at Beaver Stadium is not the ideal game to have a freshman quarterback receive his first-ever collegiate start. Kaliakmanis could have been worse but showed his lack of experience throughout the entire game. Kaliakmanis completed just 9 of his 22 passes, throwing one touchdown and one interception.

One bright spot in Kaliakmanis’ start was his rushing performance, finishing with a stat line of 7 attempts for 45 yards including a long 16-yard run.

Looking towards next year, as Minnesota sports fans frequently do, raises the question of who will be the quarterback for the Gophers. As of now, a quarterback competition seems likely between Athan Kaliakmanis, true freshman Jacob Knuth, and incoming freshman Drew Viotto.

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