When Is the Penn State-Minnesota Game Kicking Off? Pregame Updates, How to Watch

Saturday's Penn State-Minnesota football game remains on scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff, despite the Golden Gophers' late arrival to State College. The Minnesota football team was among many affected by Friday's FAA nationwide ground stop, the longest in 25 years.

Minnesota finally arrived in State College at noon Saturday, according to Flightaware, after departing Minneapolis at 10:10 a.m. ET. The Gophers had about five hours of free time before arriving at Beaver Stadium just before 5 p.m.

Because of the delay, Minnesota is arriving in State College about 17 hours later than its original schedule. The team faces logistical and preparation challenges of playing a game on the same day as its flight, scheduled to last about two hours.

According to the Big Ten, officiating crews already were on-site for games Friday, meaning officials did not have to scramble to find flights Saturday as airlines unwind their network of cancellations and reschedulings. Penn State had hoped to keep the 7 p.m. ET kickoff in place throughout the process.

Latest Penn State vs. Minnesota injury updates

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks at the clock following a first down against the Washington Huskies. — Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks at the clock following a first down against the Washington Huskies during the fourth quarter at Husky Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State's pre-game availability report listed two key defensive pplayers as out: defensive end Caleb Bacon and cornerback Jahmir Joseph. Both play significant roles on Penn State's defense at their positions.

Bacon in particular has been one of the team's top pass-rush threats in recent weeks. Without Bacon, freshman Jackson Ford should get more snaps in the edge rotation. Ford played two snaps at Washington last week after not getting on the field defensively in the first five Big Ten games.

Starting left tackle Malachi Goodman and safety are listed as game-time decisions. Goodman missed most of the second half last week against Washington. Penn State coach Matt Campbell praised replacement Garrett Sexton, particularly for his role on Carson Hansen's game-sealing, 36-yard run in the fourth quarter.

"Honestly the big block that happens at Carson's run at the end of the game is because of Garrett Sexton," Campbell said.

Penn State receiver Koby Howard is out for the seventh straight game. Campbell said this week that Howard's return from a September injury is on pause and suggested that the receiver might not play during the remainder of the regular season.

"We're kind of in a pause state right now on where Koby's at," Campbell said. "Again, we were trying to beat a timeline coming back, and I think the reality is, as I've continued to say, I refuse to put Koby on the field until he's 100 percent ready to go back on the football field.

For Minnesota, two starting defensive linemen are listed as out: Riley Sunram and Theorin Randle. Sunram is second on the team in tackles for loss (5.5), and the linemen have combined for three sacks.

Minnesota cornerback John Nestor, who has started all nine games, is a game-time decision. Tight end Pierce Walsh, who started six games, is probable.

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What is the Penn State vs. Minnesota point spread?

Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck reacts to a call against the Indiana Hoosiers. — Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck reacts to a call against the Indiana Hoosiers second half at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The travel situation and injury updates appear to have moved the line further in Penn State's favor. According to DraftKings, Penn State is 12.5-point favorite as of Saturday morning, up two points from earlier in the week.

Penn State is a -500 favorite on the money line, while Minnesota is +380. Those lines have moved significantly as well. DraftKings set the over/under ar 42.5 points.

How to watch, stream Penn State vs. Minnesota

The Penn State-Minnesota game is scheduled to kick off just after 7 p.m. ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. FS1 has the Penn State broadcast for the second straight week, with the broadcast team of Dan Hellie and Robert Smith in the booth. Hellie and Smith called last week's Penn State-Washington game as well.

The Penn State-Minnesota game can be streamed on FOX One, FOX's subscription streaming service.

Penn State broadcasting update

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

Brian Tripp will replace Jack Ham in the radio broadcast booth for Saturday's Penn State-Minnesota game. Ham, who has been the Penn State football radio analyst since 2000, continues to recover from the medical emergency he experienced last Saturday at Washington.

Campbell provided a positive update on Ham's recovery process earlier this week. Tripp will join play-by-play announcer Steve Jones for the broadcast on the Penn State Sports Network.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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