The Gophers have their own complaint, and it's about the head coach. The Twin Cities coverage after the UCLA loss focused on a P.J. Fleck punt, with the Star Tribune saying it 'exposes problems' and another recap calling it playing it safe and paying the price. That closed out a stretch of 3 straight ranked opponents that Minnesota finished 1-2. Now they go on the road, in November, to a stadium that's hard to win in even when it isn't snowing.
Both teams have been up and down all season. Minnesota beat Michigan 20-14 and Iowa 13-10 at home and lost by 28 at Purdue. Penn State started Big Ten play 0-4, losing at Northwestern 34-13 and dropping one-score games to USC and Michigan, then beat Purdue 31-17 and won at Washington. The Gophers' offense has topped out at 20 in each of its last 5 games. Penn State has scored 28 or more in each of its last 2.
The early forecast calls for 34 degrees, snow and a 12 mph wind. That's still 6 days out and could change, but it's the kind of night that favors the team that can run it, and Hansen's Washington game says Penn State can. Minnesota has won ugly games before, beating Iowa 13-10 and Michigan 20-14. That's probably the kind of game it needs here: short, low-scoring and close in the 4th quarter. If Penn State plays 60 minutes like its first half at Washington, Minnesota probably doesn't get that game.
