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Instant Reaction From Penn State's Uneven Win Over Minnesota

The Nittany Lions were exceptional early but lost their top running back and strayed in the third quarter again.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State Nittany Lions running back Carson Hansen (21) runs with the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions running back Carson Hansen (21) runs with the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Penn State Nittany Lions

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State ran its win streak to three games, becoming bowl eligible in the process, with a 42-14 victory over Minnesota on a nasty night at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions (6-4) lapped the weary Gophers in the first half, taking a 28-0 lead for the second consecutive week before leaking oil in another third quarter.

Running back Carson Hansen's exceptional night was cut short early by an injury, and tight end Ben Brahmer returned to the end zone for the first time in two months.

Here's the rapid reaction from a cold, wet, windy Beaver Stadium.

Penn State made Minnesota regret the trip right away

The Gophers landed in State College around noon, about 17 hours after they were scheduled, and arrived at Beaver Stadium five hours later. They appeared lively and motivated during warmups, and their small but vocal crowd had the players' backs pregame.

Then the game started. Penn State scored on three of its first four possessions, along with its last of the half, to take a 28-0 lead into halftime. The Gophers never looked comfortable. Quarterback Drake Lindsey flat-out fumbled a snap on his opening series, which linebacker Kooper Ebel recovered and Penn State turned into a touchdown.

Quarterback Rocco Becht singed a touchdown pass to Ben Brahmer on possession No. 2, which the 6-7 tight end snapped out of the air between two defenders. Carson Hansen scored from 46 yards, benefiting from two Minnesota defenders who collided on the tackle attempt. And Becht hit a wide-open Cam Wallace on a well-called third-and-goal play late in the half for the 28-0 lead.

And unlike last week at Washington, Campbell didn't take three timeouts into halftime. He called two on Minnesota's final series of the half, whose snaps all occurred inside the last 25 seconds. Campbell attempted to make the Gophers punt, and really tighten the screws.

Carson Hansen's superb night ends early

Penn State coach Matt Campbell said this week that Hansen, who is from Lakeville, Minnesota, was recruited largely as a safety out of high school. Campbell liked him as a running back at Iowa State. And according to Hansen's 247Sports bio, he didn't receive an in-state offer from P.J. Fleck and Minnesota. So maybe this game carried some personal undertones.

Hansen was superb in the first half, showing the kind of footwork, vision and cutback ability he had at Iowa State last season. Hansen rushed for 126 yards on just 12 carries, including the 46-yard score on which he danced past two Minnesota defenders.

Hansen, however, limped off the field late in the first half, getting stopped on a second-and-goal at the 1-yard line. He walked gingerly to the locker room before halftime and appeared to be testing his injury before the start of the third quarter.

Hansen ultimately did not play in the second half for precautionary reasons, as the Nittany Lions protected their lead. But the first-half Hansen is the back who Campbell brought with him from Iowa State. Hansen has rushed for 341 yards in his last six games and has a six-game touchdown streak.

About that third quarter...

Minnesota's Javon Tracy scored two third-quarter touchdowns, continuing a vexing arc for the Nittany Lions. Penn State had been outscored 42-9 in the third quarter of Big Ten games and was outscored 14-7 Saturday.

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Minnesota's second scoring drive of the quarter including a 22-yard completion on fourth-and-7, on which back Darius Taylor got behind new linebacker Marcus Neal Jr. Tracy then got open in the end zone for his second score.

Penn State's offense looked sharp to start the quarter, going 10 plays for 75 yards and Brahmer's second touchdown. But after that, the Nittany Lions clearly missed Hansen, going three-and-out and losing 10 yards on one of the series.

Did you notice?

Brahmer had not scored a touchdown since Penn State played Temple in September, a surprising stat for the team's 6-7 red-zone threat. Becht changed that Saturday, hitting the tight end for a pair of touchdowns. It could have been three, but a second-quarter touchdown catch, on which Brahmer juggled the ball before rolling underneath a camera platform, was overturned.

Campbell kept up his fourth-down bravado in the third quarter, going for it on fourth-and-one from his own 34-yard line. Cam Wallace ran for 2 yards, which Fleck didn't believe and challenged (it was upheld).

Penn State's defensive line got some assertive early pressure on Lindsey, sacking him twice and collapsing several of his pockets. The Nittany Lions made six tackles for loss in the first half. Like end Alexander McPherson's game. He had 1.5 tackles for loss, including a sack.

Backup quarterback Alex Manske led a late scoring drive, hitting James Peoles for a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Penn State recognized about 40 members from the 2016 Big Ten championship team at the end of the first quarter. In a video commemorating the season, Penn State showed a pair of hands holding the championship trophy but now the person (James Franklin) attached to those hands.

Penn State's announced attendance for the game was 105,291, a tickets-sold number that didn't represent the actual number in the building. But kudos to the actual 70,000ish fans who braved the first-half rain and wind. After halftime, maybe 40,000 remained, understandably.

Good news on Jack Ham

Pittsburgh Steelers former linebacker Jack Ham (59) looks on before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field.
Pittsburgh Steelers former linebacker Jack Ham (59) looks on before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field. | USA TODAY Sports

Penn State broadcaster Jack Ham is home in Pittsburgh after being from University of Washington Medical Center on Saturday. Ham spent nearly a week hospitalized in Seattle after experiencing a medical emergency before the Penn State-Washington game on Nov. 7.

Penn State broadcaster Steve Jones said on Saturday's pregame broadcast that Ham was scheduled to fly home Friday but was delayed by the nationwide FAA ground stop. Ham, 77, experienced what Penn State called a "medical emergency" just after the Nittany Lions arrived at Husky Stadium for their game against Washington. He was transported to University of Washington Medical Center, where he was until Saturday.

"We will hopefully get him back here sooner than later," Campbell said this week. "I want to just say from my end a sincere thank you to so many people that have reached out. Obviously, what Jack and his family mean to Penn State football, and on behalf of our program and obviously the athletic department, the love, the care that we have gotten on behalf of Jack, we really appreciate it greatly."

Up next

Penn State hosts Rutgers on Nov. 22 for its final home game of the season. It will be an out-of-the-ordinary Senior Day, as the Nittany Lions recognized a class of transfers, notably Becht, receiver Chase Sowell, cornerback Audavion Collins and defensive end Caleb Bacon.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET at Beaver Stadium. And Penn State will air on FS1 for the third consecutive week.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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