The Gophers have spent the past two weeks proving they can hang with the Big Ten’s heavyweights. The harder part has been closing the deal.
Minnesota went toe-to-toe with a top-five AP team for the second straight Saturday, and for the second straight week, the opponent delivered the decisive blows. After a 23-16 overtime loss at defending national champion Indiana, the Gophers watched a 17-17 fourth-quarter tie against UCLA unravel into a 34-20 defeat when the Bruins hit back-to-back 75-yard touchdown passes.
Now the challenge gets even bigger. Minnesota heads to Penn State on Saturday at 6 p.m. Central on FS1, trying to shake off a rough stretch against the top two teams in the Big Ten standings.
“We’ve got a lot of good football ahead of us,” linebacker Joey Gerlach said.
The words sound right. The next test will tell the real story.
Minnesota is 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, tied with Northwestern for ninth place and one game behind a six-team logjam in third. The Gophers have dropped two in a row, their first losing streak since last November, when they fell to Oregon and Northwestern back-to-back.
Under coach P.J. Fleck, they’ve had a skid of three or more games only three times in 10 seasons, which says plenty about how often this program has found a way to steady itself.
They’ll need that kind of response again down the stretch.
The Gophers are still one win short of bowl eligibility, with Northwestern coming to Minneapolis on Nov. 21 and Wisconsin waiting on Nov. 27 after the Penn State trip. If there aren’t enough six-win teams to fill every bowl opening, 5-7 teams could still get in. According to On3.com, the selection process has changed: a bowl’s conference would choose the replacement rather than using Academic Progress Rate scores, and if an ESPN-owned bowl is picking among Group of Six teams, ESPN would make the call.
Minnesota’s defensive front may already be stretched thin. Sophomore tackle Riley Sunram was out of uniform Saturday, and his right arm was in a sling during the second half. Junior tackle Jaylin Hicks left the game in the second half with his left leg in an immobilizing brace.
There’s also plenty on the line in the rivalry department. The winner takes home the Governor’s Victory Bell, a trophy Minnesota last claimed in 2019.
Penn State has won the trophy in 2022 and 2024 and leads the series 11-6. If the Gophers pull it off, they’d hold all four of their official rivalry trophies at once.
They already beat Wisconsin last year for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, then took the Little Brown Jug from Michigan and Floyd of Rosedale from Iowa this season.
Penn State arrives with momentum after an 0-4 start in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions have won two straight, beating Purdue 31-17 in State College and Washington 28-25 in Seattle to move to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the conference.
Former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell brought 24 Cyclones with him through the transfer portal, and that group has already made its mark. Quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns against Washington, while receiver Chase Sowell, another Iowa State transfer, caught four passes for 125 yards and a score.
Penn State running back Carson Hansen, a senior and former Lakeville South standout, leads the team in rushing with 493 yards and six touchdowns on 103 carries. At Iowa State, he ran for 1,780 yards and 19 touchdowns over three seasons.
In Other News...
Minnesota Just Landed The Kind Of Win Its NCAA Case Needed
Minnesotas early-season resume got a meaningful boost in a tight 63-61 win over Cincinnati, a game that had the feel of a November grinder from the opening tip. Kyan Evans carried the Gophers offensively with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Minnesota found enough second chances on the glass to offset a Cincinnati defense that forced 17 turnovers and kept the pressure on throughout.
The finish was the kind that can matter long after the box score fades, because this was the sort of non-conference test Minnesota needed to survive rather than simply play. Bobby Durkin delivered the decisive shot in the final seconds, with Isaac Asuma helping set up the closing possession, and the Gophers left with a 3-0 record and a win that should travel well when the NCAA conversation starts to sharpen later in the season. [Read more 🡒]
Minnesota Just Got A Brutal Reality Check In The CFP Race
Week 10s ranked-vs.-ranked chaos did Minnesota no favors in the wider College Football Playoff picture, and the Gophers are now watching the bracket conversation from an increasingly uncomfortable distance. Across seven major matchups, the weekend helped clarify which contenders still have a path, which ones can afford a stumble and which teams have already put themselves in position to survive the committees scrutiny.
For Minnesota, the sting is less about one result than the way the board has shifted around it. The expanded playoff coming next season would change the math for plenty of programs, but this years race is still unforgiving, and every outcome involving the sports top-ranked teams tightens the margin for anyone trying to break through. The Gophers can keep score from here, but the latest round of results made their climb look even steeper. [Read more 🡒]
Bobby Durkin Just Delivered A Gophers Road Win Fans Needed
Minnesota got the kind of road win that can steady a team early, and it came in a tense finish at Fifth Third Arena. The Gophers slipped past Cincinnati 63-61 behind a clutch night from Kyan Evans, who led Minnesota with 26 points, while Tylen Riley answered with 25 for the Bearcats in a game that stayed tight all the way down the stretch.
Bobby Durkin ended up with the shot Minnesota will remember, drilling the decisive three after Isaac Asuma helped set up the final possession following a Cincinnati miss at the line. It was the sort of finish that can change the mood around a team in a hurry, especially on the road, and it gave the Gophers a result they badly needed after a game that could have gone the other way in an instant. [Read more 🡒]