The Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday afternoon were agonizingly close to pulling off an upset of No. 4 Penn State.
The Golden Gophers saw themselves take an early 10- lead in the matchup and a 19-16 lead into halftime before being outscored by the Nittany Lions 10-6 in the final 30 minutes of action.
In the loss, the Golden Gophers totaled 281 total yards in offense including 106 rushing yards. It's the first time this season that the Gophers rushed for more than 100 yards but lost, they were 5-0 previously this season.
Darius Taylor led the Gophers on the ground with 58 yards on 17 carries while Marcus Major also had 37 yards on 10 carries.
Senior quarterback Max Brosmer had a fine day in the boxscore, completing 15-of-23 passing attempts for 175 yards but ultimately had two turnovers in the loss that led to six points for Penn State.
Defensively, the Gophers put together a quality effort in hopes of slowing down Penn State's offense but found out how tough it is to truly shut down the Nittany Lions. Penn State totaled 361 yards in the game including 244 passing yards as starting quarterback Drew Allar was 21-for-28 in the game.
But who were the top performers according to Pro Football Focus?
Gophers Nation subscribers can take a look at the full PFF's grades and advanced stats for the Gophers in our Inside Gopher Nation forum, by clicking here.
TOP THREE PERFORMERS
OVERALL GRADE: 77.6
Ersery was the top overall performer for the Gophers in the loss to Penn State. The potential first-round pick offensive tackle was tasked with slowing down fellow potential first-round pick Abdul Carter for Penn State. Errery was fantastic, allowing just one pressure in the game. It was also another great day for Ersery when it came to his run-blocking. The Kansas City, Missouri native over the last two years has gone from a mediocre run blocker to one of the best run-blocking tackles in the Big Ten.
OVERALL GRADE: 77.1
Jackson showed once again on Saturday why he has a future in the NFL. Against one of the best secondaries i the country, Jackson had six receptions on eight targets for 90 yards, picking up five first downs in the process. The senior wideout is now up to 69 receptions for 802 yards and three touchdowns this season.
OVERALL GRADE: 76.6
The Pennsylvania native was the Gophers' top-rated defender on Saturday and was a pivotal part in shutting down Penn State's rushing attack. Smith was credited by PFF with three defensive STOPS ("tackles that constitute a "failure" for the offense") as well as two pass pressures and one sack. Smith has played arguably the best football of his career over the last five games for the Gophers.
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