Penn State’s path to a ranked win in Year 1 of the Matt Campbell era just got a lot tougher.
Minnesota had a chance to show up in Happy Valley next week with a number next to its name, but that door slammed shut Saturday in Minneapolis. No. 8 UCLA kept rolling, moved to 9-0, and left with a 31-20 win over the Golden Gophers.
That result dropped Minnesota to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play, which means the Gophers will arrive at Penn State unranked.
The Bruins’ rise is drawing plenty of attention around State College, too, even though Penn State doesn’t face UCLA this season. Fans have been tracking what first-year coach Bob Chesney is doing after he was one of the biggest names in last season’s coaching search before PSU ultimately hired Campbell. Chesney, a Kulpmont, Pennsylvania native who is less than two hours from State College, was viewed by many as a natural fit because he had already won at the DIII, DII, FCS and FBS levels.
It’s still far too early to know how things will ultimately shake out for UCLA and Penn State, but with UCLA looking like a playoff team and PSU sitting at 1-4 in the Big Ten, it’s easy to see why fans are wondering what might have been with Chesney on the sideline in Happy Valley.
For now, Penn State has to get through Washington before turning to Minnesota. That matchup also carries some history with it: Minnesota coach PJ Fleck is 1-2 against Penn State, and all three of those games came when James Franklin was leading the Nittany Lions.
The last time Minnesota won in Happy Valley was 2003, when the Gophers beat a PSU team that finished 3-9, 20-14.
Penn State and Minnesota are set to kick off at either 7 or 7:30 on FS1.
In Other News...
Penn State Suddenly Has A Bigger Question Than Bowl Eligibility
Penn State is sitting one win away from bowl eligibility at 5-4, and the conversation around the Nittany Lions has already started to shift beyond simply getting to six victories. Around the sport, projections are floating a range of possible destinations if they do qualify, with outlets linking them to bowls such as the Dukes Mayo Bowl, Music City Bowl, Cactus Bowl, Fenway Bowl and First Responder Bowl.
ESPNs Football Power Index still gives Penn State a 62.6 percent chance to win out and a 99.7 percent chance to reach bowl eligibility, which means the bigger question is no longer just whether the Nittany Lions get there. It is what kind of finish they can put together, and which postseason path might be waiting once they clear that threshold. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Big Ten Position Suddenly Feels More Complicated
Week 10 did not offer much in the way of marquee Big Ten showdowns, but it still managed to shift the leagues balance in a meaningful way. With Ohio State and Oregon both playing without their starting quarterbacks, the conferences hierarchy felt a little less settled than it did a week ago, and the ripple effects reached well beyond those two teams. Several of the leagues preseason heavyweights, including Ohio State, Indiana and Michigan, have already had their seasons altered by quarterback injuries, which has made every result feel a little more volatile than expected.
For Penn State, that kind of uncertainty matters because the path through the Big Ten is no longer as straightforward as it looked in September. The latest ranking of the leagues teams is as much about recent form as it is about who has managed to survive the injury grind, and coaching changes have only added another layer to the conversation. With so many contenders dealing with instability, the Nittany Lions are left navigating a conference picture that suddenly feels more crowded, more fragile and a lot harder to read. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Found An Intriguing New Defender In Its Washington Win
Penn State got a useful glimpse of a younger defender in its win over Washington, and Ibn McDaniels made the most of the opportunity. The linebacker was on the field for 16 snaps and came away with a key interception, a play that stood out in a game where the Nittany Lions were also managing health and sorting through a long list of snap counts across the roster.
For McDaniels, it was his most meaningful action since Big Ten play began, and it gave the staff another data point on a player who has been waiting for a bigger role. Matt Campbells praise only adds to the intrigue, because Penn State could use more reliable depth on that side of the ball as the season moves deeper into conference play. [Read more 🡒]