Penn State football: Best wins over 2024 opponents – Minnesota

Penn State football and Minnesota kick off Saturday afternoon for the 17th time in the series. The Nittany Lions lead the series with ten wins to the Golden Gophers’ six.

The series started when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten. In 1993, to commemorate Penn State’s first Big Ten game, the governors of the two states established the Governor’s Victory Bell, which would be awarded to the contest winner.

When trying to pick Penn State’s best win in the series, it is easier to think of the most heartbreaking losses. There was 1999, for example, when the Lions entered the contest at 9-0 and ranked No. 2 before the Gophers sprung a 24-23 upset before the stunned Beaver Stadium crowd.

Nearly 20 years to the day later, Penn State football was 8-0 and ranked No. 4 before suffering a 31-26 loss in Minneapolis. Remembering watching the 1999 loss and being there in TCF Bank Stadium for the 2019 loss has given this writer some severe Gopher PTSD.

Honorable mention loss goes to the 2013 Penn State football squad. The loss was memorable because the Gophers players broke the trophy after the win.

Now that we got the sadness out of the way, there is one victory over Minnesota that stands above all: the 2016 game in Beaver Stadium.

A downtrodden Penn State football team with boos reigning down

If you are reading this, you almost certainly know the story of the 2016 Penn State football squad. A game against Minnesota in early October changed the course of not just the season, but the program.

The Nittany Lions finished the month of September at 2-2. Their losses, a close one at Pitt in a renewed rivalry and a 39-point shellacking in Ann Arbor, were all anyone could talk about.

It was James Franklin’s third season, and people expected improvement after his first two seasons finished 7-6. The expectations were high despite the program still having the albatross of depth attrition from the remaining effects of the 2012 sanctions.

Minnesota entered the contest with Penn State at 3-0, with wins at home against non-conference foes Oregon State, Indiana State, and Colorado State.

The Nittany Lions did not inspire confidence in the first half. A turnover on downs, several punts, and only three points filled the box score. Meanwhile, the Gophers scored 13 points, having the momentum with a touchdown and a field goal on their final two drives of the half.

Audible boos could be heard from the Beaver Stadium crowd on the BTN broadcast as the Nittany Lions made their way to the locker room.

A spark that lights the flame for the rest of the season

Penn State football got the ball first in the second half and promptly went three and out. More restlessness from the crowd ensued.

After a Minnesota drive stalled after six plays, the Nittany Lions had the ball back on their 20-yard line. Saquon Barkley was stopped for no gain. An incomplete pass followed from Trace McSorley. The tension from the crowd was palpable.

On 3rd and 10, McSorley hooked up with receiver Irvin Charles, creating an immediate spark.

The explosive play seemed to wake everyone up. The Nittany Lions scored 10 points on their next two possessions while holding Minnesota to punts. The Gophers would tie the game at 20 early in the fourth quarter.

Penn State fended off a deep Gopher drive with an interception in the end zone but couldn’t capitalize. Minnesota ultimately broke the tie with a field goal with less than a minute to go. But the Nittany Lions responded with an eight-play drive to send the game to overtime with a Tyler Davis 40-yard field goal.

Getting the ball first in overtime, Minnesota moved backward but managed to notch a field goal. On Penn State’s possession, Barkley did Barkley-like things, taking it to the house with only one play needed.

The Nittany Lions got the much-needed victory. We all know the rest of the story for Penn State football. The win over Minnesota started a nine-game winning streak, culminating in the program’s first Big Ten Championship in eight years.

Without the win over the Gophers, who knows what happens to the Penn State football program. Does James Franklin get fired after the season or get one more shot to turn things around? We will never know. But we do know the win changed everything, and Nittany Lion fans can be grateful for it.

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