Penn State and Minnesota are on the cusp of being bowl eligible despite trending in opposite directions.
The Nittany Lions (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) will look to match a season-high three-game winning streak on Saturday when they host the Golden Gophers (5-4, 3-3) in University Park, Pa.
Penn State followed a four-game losing streak with victories over Purdue and Washington the past two weeks.
“We are growing a lot closer to the team that we want to be, who we’ve got the ability to become. I think that part’s impressive,” Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell said on Tuesday.
“I think it’s always a work in progress. I don’t care who you are, where it is, what point of the season it is, that’s always the challenge, trying to get in the most consistent rhythm to win the football game.”
Rocco Becht threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns in Penn State’s 28-25 victory at Washington last Saturday. He has totaled 100 touchdowns (79 passing, 21 rushing) in his career.
Carson Hansen rolled up a season-best 119 yards versus the Huskies and rushed for a touchdown in his fifth straight game.
Chase Sowell had four catches for 125 yards and a receiving score for the Nittany Lions, who likely still can walk right into a bowl game with struggling Rutgers and Maryland still on their schedule.
While Penn State is ascending, Minnesota lost its second in a row and third in four contests with a 34-20 setback to UCLA last Saturday.
Drake Lindsey’s 4-yard touchdown pass to George Rohl pulled the Golden Gophers into a tie at 17-17 early in the fourth quarter. The Bruins responded with a 75-yard touchdown pass on the next play from scrimmage to deflate Minnesota.
“We talked about flushing it, we talked about response (on Monday),” coach P.J. Fleck said on Tuesday. “… You’ve got to own it. That’s what the team meeting is for, everybody owns it. We meet before we have our team meeting as a staff, we all own it as coaches.
“Players have to own it, too. … When things aren’t going right, if you don’t think you’re part of the problem, you’re wrong. I didn’t say the only problem, but part of it because we’re a team. We all need to be part of the solution.”
The Governor’s Victory Bell is awarded to the winner of this contest. Penn State won the past two matchups, in Minneapolis in 2024 and in University Park in 2022.
–Field Level Media
