What We Learned From Penn State's Satisfying Win Over Minnesota

STATE COLLEGE | As Penn State players “gossiped” (their head coach's word) during dinner Friday about whether they’d even play Saturday, that head coach refocused his team. “You’d better worry about yourself,” Matt Campbell said.

Well, they did. The Nittany Lions (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) trounced Minnesota 42-14 on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium in their most complete game of the season. The Nittany Lions took a 28-0 lead against the Golden Gophers, who arrived in State College less than seven hours before kickoff because of the nationwide FAA ground stop that halted air traffic Friday.

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said the travel issues didn’t affect his team and otherwise called its first half “completely unacceptable.” Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions won their third straight game to officially become bowl eligible.

Here’s what we learned from Penn State’s victory, which was backed by another 28-point first half.

Penn State continues its first-half domination

2️⃣ drives, 2️⃣ touchdowns ✔️

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— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) November 15, 2026

Penn State has been a different team since the bye week, especially in the first half. The Nittany Lions have scored touchdowns on 11 of their 16 first-half drives since the bye, combining for 77 points and 789 yards (263 yards per first half) through three first games.

The team also has scored on its opening possession in five straight games, notching four touchdowns and one field goal. And that field goal came after a 16-play, 69-yard drive that burned 5:58 of game clock against Michigan and its 13th-ranked scoring defense. It’s hard to get better than that, especially in Big Ten play.

“I think now everything's just clicking for us,” quarterback Rocco Becht said. “We're able to be more detailed in our plays in the first half.”

As they have in their previous two wins, the Nittany Lions have leaned on their rushing attack in the first half. Against Minnesota, Penn State ran for 173 yards (8.2 per carry) one week after rushing for 110 against Washington. On Saturday, that was largely thanks to Carson Hansen, who ran for a season-high 126 yards.

“It definitely gives us a lot of confidence,” left guard Trevor Buhr said of the run game, “just honestly, an energy boost. We're like, yeah, let's keep going, keep going, and just kind of get that snowball effect and keep building that momentum. Try to carry that throughout the game. That gives everyone a lot of confidence.”

Overall, the Nittany Lions dominated the Golden Gophers in the first half, outscoring them 28-0 and outgaining them 214-60. Penn State did its damage quickly, too, as it didn’t even win the time-of-possession battle (Minnesota had the ball for 30 more seconds).

Carson Hansen has repayed Matt Campbell’s trust

Off to the races 🏁

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Hansen has taken his game to new heights since the bye week. He rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries against Purdue and Washington. Against Minnesota, Hansen took that up a notch, rushing for 125 yards on 12 carries, all in the first half, while extending his touchdown streak to six games.

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The senior was injured in the final minute of the first half, however, and did not return. Campbell said he didn’t believe the injury to be “significant.”

Hansen has been Penn State’s most explosive back over the past three games. He combined for three carries of 20+ yards against Purdue and Washington, including two runs of at least 35 yards. His 36-yard gain in the fourth quarter sealed last week’s win over the Huskies.

Hansen added three more rushes of at least 20 yards against Minnesota, including two for at least 30. All that after Penn State’s backs had zero runs of at least 10 yards through the first four Big Ten games.

“Man, I thought he was unbelievable tonight,” Campbell said. “Obviously, it stinks that he got dinged up, because it had a chance to be a really powerful night for him, for sure.”

Hansen has looked like a different version of himself these past three games. He’s hitting holes quickly, being patient when he needs to and finally is making defenders miss in the open field.

Hansen was so dominant that the Nittany Lions didn’t even threaten to beat the Golden Gophers through the air. Becht threw the ball just nine times in the first half, including four attempts before the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.

Penn State marginally improved upon its second-half issues

Big Ben x2

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— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) November 15, 2026

The story of the week was Penn State’s shaky second-half performances in Big Ten games. The Nittany Lions had been outscored 84-40 in six second halves and 42-9 in third quarters through the Washington game. Campbell called it “a real problem.”

Penn State partly put those criticisms to bed Saturday, with Becht and the run game leading a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive out of the half. In the previous six conference games, the Nittany Lions’ averaged 3.05 yards per play on their first possession after halftime. On Saturday, they averaged 7.5.

But what stood out on that drive was Campbell’s determination that Penn State wouldn’t open another third quarter with a scoreless drive. The head coach went for it on fourth-and-1 on his own 35-yard line during the team’s first set of downs.

Running back Cam Wallace converted with a 2-yard rush before Becht capped the drive off with a 4-yard touchdown to Ben Brahmer. It was the first third-quarter touchdown Penn State has scored in a Big Ten game this season.

However, Minnesota rallied for two touchdowns shortly after that, eventually outscoring the Nittany Lions 14-7 in the third. The Golden Gophers had three passes of 15+ yards, including one of 58.

That was all for Minnesota, though. Penn State’s defense settled in, and the offense scored a touchdown with backup quarterback Alex Manske late in the game. Overall, the Nittany Lions played a much-improved second half.

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