The Governor’s Victory Bell is up for grabs Saturday night, and both Penn State and Minnesota come in at 5-4 with bowl eligibility hanging in the balance. Minnesota makes the trip to Happy Valley for the first time since 2022, and the primetime kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Penn State is trying to stack a third straight win, while the Golden Gophers are looking to bounce back from a loss to No. 4 UCLA. The matchup has drawn plenty of confidence from the staff, though not everyone sees the same script unfolding.
Andrew Deal is taking Minnesota 28, Penn State 24, and he sees the Golden Gophers as the more dangerous team in the spot. He pointed to Minnesota’s close calls against Indiana and UCLA over the last two weeks, saying they showed the ability to hang with top competition even after a blowout loss to Purdue. Deal also noted that Penn State has looked better in recent games without putting together a complete performance, including last week against Washington.
In his view, that inconsistency shows up again. Minnesota’s rushing offense is last in the Big Ten after slipping below Washington, but Deal believes the Huskies showed enough on the ground against Penn State to give the Gophers a path. He expects wide receiver Chase Sowell to keep rolling, but says it won’t be enough to carry the Nittany Lions past Drake Lindsey and Minnesota.
Andrew Mercer sees a tighter finish, but with Penn State on top, 28-24. He highlighted Minnesota’s recent stretch against Indiana and UCLA, calling the Gophers a wild card that has already shown it can stay competitive even in losses.
Mercer also pointed to the matchup numbers: Penn State’s pass defense leads the Big Ten, while Minnesota’s passing offense ranks No. 14.
On the other side, Penn State’s pass offense ranks No. 6 in the conference, compared with Minnesota’s No. 8 pass defense.
Mercer expects Penn State to get touchdowns from Sowell and tight end Andrew Rappleyea, with running back Carson Hansen scoring for the sixth straight game. His bold prediction is that the Nittany Lions will seal it with a pick six off Lindsey’s eighth interception of the season, returned by Audavion Collins.
Lexie Linderman also has Penn State winning, 24-21, but she stressed how difficult Minnesota has been to pin down. She pointed to the Golden Gophers’ Big Ten wins over Michigan and Iowa, along with an overtime loss to Indiana and a competitive stretch against UCLA before the Bruins pulled away. At the same time, she noted Minnesota’s blowout loss to Purdue, a team Penn State handled easily.
Linderman said Minnesota has a history of keeping this matchup close, including Penn State’s one-point road win in 2024 and the 2019 loss when the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 4.
She also flagged Penn State’s second-half issues, but said Minnesota’s offensive numbers make it tough to trust the Gophers to exploit them. Minnesota ranks last in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game and averages just 209 passing yards per game, which puts pressure on Lindsey to carry the offense.
That’s why she sided with Penn State, with Hansen continuing his strong play since the bye week and helping the Nittany Lions clinch bowl eligibility with a third straight Big Ten win.
Noah Aberegg picked Penn State 20-13, leaning on the Nittany Lions’ defense and a balanced offensive effort. He noted that Penn State nearly let Washington back into the game last week, but also said the offense still flashed with four first-half touchdowns. Aberegg added that Koby Howard is likely to miss a seventh straight game after Matt Campbell said his return is “in a pause state.”
He expects Sowell to keep producing after another strong outing, with Brett Eskildsen, Benjamin Brahmer and Rappleyea also involved. Aberegg believes the run game will keep building too, with Hansen posting his second straight 100-yard game and Cam Wallace making key contributions.
On the Minnesota side, he expects a lower-scoring attack built around Lindsey, since the Gophers have the fewest rushing yards per game in the Big Ten. With Penn State’s secondary ranking third in the nation in passing yards allowed, Aberegg sees the Nittany Lions limiting Lindsey and closing out a third straight win.
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