The Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-4,4-3) will be back in action for their penultimate game of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon when they host the No. 4 Penn State NIttany Lions (9-1, 6-1) at Huntington Bank Stadium.
The Gophers are coming off their second and final bye week of the 2024 season and will look to bounce back from a 26-19 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway last time out. Penn State will look to stay firmly in the College Football Playoff race as they control their destiny. Since losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes two weeks ago, the NIttany Lions have dominated both Purdue and Washington.
Here's everything you need to know for Saturday afternoon's matchup.
When, Where, How to Watch:
When: Saturday, November 23, 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Huntington Bank Stadium (50,805)
TV: CBS // Brad Nessler (PXP), Gary Danielson (Analyst), Jenny Dell (reporter)
Radio: KFAN | Mike Grimm (Pxp), Darrell Thompson (Analyst), Justin Gaard (Reporter)
SiriusXM: 158 or 196; SXM App
COACHING MATCHUP
Minnesota - P.J. Fleck (8th year at Minnesota ; 12th overall)
- Career Record: 86-60
- Record at Minnesota: 56-38
- Record against Penn State: 1-1
- Career accolades: 2x MAC Coach of the Year (2014, 2016), MAC Champion (2016), Big Ten West champion (2019), Big Ten Coach of the Year (2019)
Penn State - James Franklin (11th year at Penn State) ; 14th overall)
- Career Record: 121-55
- Record at Penn State: 97-40
- Record against Minnesota: 2-1
- Career accolades: Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year (2016), Sporting News COach of the Year (2016), Woody Hayes Trophy (2016), 1x Big Ten Champion
SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Gophers hold a 3-0 series advantage all-time. The two programs first met in 2016, a narrow 34-32 win for the Gophers. They would then pick up a 42-7 win in 2019 over the Scarlet Knights and a 31-0 win in 2022.
ODDS
WEATHER
It will be a chilly day at Huntington Bank Stadium with a high of 37. The good news is there will be minimal wind throughout the day and no precipitation is expected either.
PRESS CONFERENCES
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Playing its final home game of the regular season, Minnesota (6-4, 4-3) welcomes in No. 4/4 Penn State (9-1, 6-1) to Huntington Bank Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS and the Gopher Radio Network. The game will mark Minnesota's sixth all-time appearance on CBS and just the second home game (1982 vs. Illinois). It's the first time the team is appearing on the network since winning the 2003 Sun Bowl, while the last regular season game on CBS came on Nov. 15, 1986 with an upset at No. 2 Michigan.
2. Saturday marks the 17th battle for the Governor's Victory Bell, a full history of which can be found on Page 52 of the game notes. First played for in 1993 in recognition of Penn State's first Big Ten game, the all-time series record for the Bell is tilted in the Nittany Lions' favor at 10-6. The Bell is currently in Penn State's possession following a 45-17 victory in 2022. The Gophers are looking to avoid consecutive losses in the series for the first time since dropping four straight from 2005-10.
3. Minnesota is facing an AP Top-25 team for the fourth time this season as it takes on the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions. The Gophers fell at then-No. 12 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sept. 28 but bounced back to upset then-No. 11 USC the following week and won at then-No. 24 Illinois on Nov. 2. This is the seventh time in program history that the Gophers have posted two wins over AP top-25 teams in the regular season. They've never had three top-25 wins in one year. A win would also be the seventh top-25 win for the Gophers under P.J. Fleck, which would break a tie with Bernie Bierman and Murray Warmath for the most in program history. The last top-4 win for Minnesota came at Penn State in 1999 as the Gophers won 24-23 when the Nittany Lions were ranked second, while the last such win at home for Minnesota was in 1977 over a No. 1 Michigan team.
4. Max Brosmer has been excellent in 2024, completing 218-of-325 passes for 2,251 yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions for a rating of 137.0. He's also scored four rushing touchdowns. Pro Football Focus ranks Brosmer 11th among FBS QBs with a passer grade of 86.5 this year, while his overall offensive grade of 86.8 ranks tied for 19th at the position. He's fifth in the Big Ten in both passing grade and overall grade. Brosmer's completion percentage of 67.1 percent is on pace to be the best in both Minnesota single-season history (min. 100 attempts) and career (300 att.). In addition, Brosmer's TD:INT ratio of 3.50 is second in Minnesota history. He has gone five straight games (and 199 passes) without an interception, the longest streak at Minnesota since Mitch Leidner went five games without a pick over the final three games of 2014 and first two of 2015. More on Brosmer can be found on Pages 4-5 of the notes.
5. The 2024 campaign is the eighth for P.J. Fleck at Minnesota, where his record stands at 56-38. He is fourth in program history in Big Ten wins (33) and is fifth in overall wins and games coached (94). Fleck's .596 win percentage is third best among Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, '45-50). In his 12th season overall as a college head coach, Fleck is 86-60 (.589).
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