Passing game propelled Gophers over Lions
MINNEAPOLIS >> Penn State and Minnesota had two weeks to prepare for Saturday’s unbeaten showdown.
Both teams had two weeks to rest, watch film, develop game plans and practice. One team broke out to a fast start, and the other didn’t, which explains why the Nittany Lions faced an uphill climb all afternoon in a 31-26 loss to the Golden Gophers.
“We had a good week of practice,” defensive tackle Robert Windsor said. “I felt like our guys were ready, but we gave up too much in the first half. You can’t do that against a good opponent like this.”
Penn State expected Minnesota to pound the football and try to establish the run. The Gophers, as they had done periodically in their first eight games, used an extra offensive lineman. The wrinkle was that they did it to pass.
With a sixth lineman and a tight end and/or back often in pass protection, Tanner Morgan riddled the Lions secondary for 240 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, when Minnesota seized command with a 24-13 lead.
Morgan finished 18-for20 for 339 yards without a turnover, firing pinpoint throws to receivers who ran free. He got rid of the ball quickly, which neutralized Penn State’s pass rush.
“They played a much higher percentage of unbalanced (offensive line) early in the game, more than we have seen,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “When they do that, we felt like we had to commit more to stop the run. Then you’re one-on-one (in pass coverage), and their receivers made plays.”
Rashod Bateman caught seven passes for 203 yards and one touchdown, and Tyler Johnson had seven for 104 yards and one score. Sometimes they were the only receivers running routes and they still got open.
“We were a little tense in the first half,” said linebacker Jan Johnson, who played superbly with 11 tackles, including three in the backfield. “We weren’t used to getting punched in the mouth like that. We adjusted. We made some plays and things started to go better.
“(But) we can’t allow so many points to be put on the board. I think we gave up 450-plus yards (460) of offense. You’re not going to win a lot of games doing that.”
Or by the offense scoring just two touchdowns on six trips inside the red zone. Penn State rolled up 518 total yards, which is often plenty enough to win, but the Lions struggled inside the Minnesota 20-yard line.
The Lions kicked field goal on their first trip to the red zone after a delay of game penalty on thirdand-three and Sean Clifford’s low pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth. Clifford blamed himself for the penalty.
“Being on the road and dealing with the noise, you have to have a sense of urgency,” Franklin said about Clifford. “You have to get up and run the offense. You have to do it with a sense of urgency. For whatever reason, we weren’t doing it.”
Penn State drove to the Minnesota seven-yard line late in the first half, and then Clifford spiked the ball to stop the clock. He threw into a crowd in the end zone. Then, inexplicably, he kept the ball on third-and-seven and was stopped short. The Lions had to settle for another field goal.
After a three-and-out to open the second half, the Lions reached the red zone on their last four series. They scored two touchdowns and failed to get any points twice.
Early in the fourth quarter, with Clifford clicking, they reached the Minnesota
nine. But the next four play calls by offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne were head-scratching. Devyn Ford ran twice and Clifford once for a total of four yards before Clifford threw a fade pass to KJ Hamler, which was knocked away.
Then at the end, Clifford found Jahan Dotson for a 49-yard gain to the 11. On second down, he threw over the middle to Journey Brown, who took it to the two. But instead of third-and-one, Penn State had second-and-24 after a pass interference penalty on wide receiver Daniel George.
Two plays later, Clifford’s pass to the end zone was intercepted. Game. Set. Match. Unbeaten season over.
“We weren’t able to finish it in the red zone,” Franklin said, “and we’ve been great in the red zone.”
So, where do the Lions go from here? Nothing has changed as far as the Big Ten East race goes. They still face the daunting task of playing Ohio State in Columbus on Nov. 23, but they first have 7-2 Indiana coming to Beaver Stadium this week for a noon kickoff.
If they win both those games and then beat lowly Rutgers, they will play in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.
“This is a tough loss,” Johnson said. “It’s a hard loss to feel, but we have to keep going. We have a lot of football left. We have nothing to lose now. We don’t have to play tense and worry about this or that.
“Work hard and win and we’ll like what happens. We have to correct what we did wrong and then freakin’ just work on beating Indiana. Then we could move onto the next thing.”