45 thoughts on Penn State's White Out win over Minnesota

1. Credit is first due to Penn State fans. There was a lot of anger after the loss to Minnesota and quite a bit of uneasiness about what the future may hold as well. That being said, Penn State fans showed up on Saturday and didn't miss a beat. The crowd was a huge part of the game from the jump.

2. Chop Robinson and Landon Tengwall both did not play against the Gophers on Saturday and both were in street clothes for the game. Their availability will be worth watching this weekend as the Nittany Lions will need both to be ready to go for their matchup against Ohio State this upcoming weekend.

3. The light show that was introduced before Saturday's game with fans' phones was definitely cool to see. It seemed like a good majority of fans were able to get their phones working to be a part of it. Will be interesting to see if Penn State continues to use that going forward.

4. Notably and unshockingly, it seems like the White Out once again was a hit with all the recruits. Each and every recruit I've talked to since Saturday night has had only good things to say about the game, the atmosphere, and everything in between.

5. Finally before heading into our thoughts on the game itself, Penn State is officially bowl-eligible.

6. Alright, let's jump into the offense for Penn State. The slow start was not all too shocking, especially based on what we saw the three games prior. That being said when Sean Clifford threw his interception on the Nittany Lions' third drive of the game, it felt like it could be a long, ugly day for the offense. Clifford had a strong game, overall but that interception he threw was quite an ugly one, completely overthrowing Parker Washington. Had he led Washington in the direction that he was going, it would've been an easy touchdown for Penn State. Clifford bounced back but the Nittany Lions' can't afford that type of mistake next weekend.

7. As said above, after that interception Clifford bounced back rather well. Yes, he still made several poor decisions or throws throughout the rest of the game but overall, it was one of his best, if not his best performance of the season. He completed 11 of his last 12 passing attempts in the game and even more so after missing three straight, starting with his interception in the first quarter, Clifford completed 18 of his final 22 attempts. His final line was 23-for-31 for 295 yards and four touchdowns along with one interception.

8. Arguably the most important development for Penn State against Minnesota was the down the field (15+ yards) passing attack. Clifford completed 8-of-11 passing attempts for 206 yards.

9. The Sean Clifford experience can always be quite up and down. Not too long after throwing his interception, Clifford threw an absolutely perfect pass to Mitchell Tinsley down the sideline who made a very impressive catch himself. (SEE BELOW)

10. Penn State getting the tight ends involved again in the offense was huge. We talked about that being a key to the game because of Minnesota LB Mariano Sori-Marin's struggles in coverage. Mike Yurcich and Sean Clifford targeted Sori-Marin frequently early on and for a portion of the game. Theo Johnson had his best game of the season with five receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown while Tyler Warren had one reception for 38 yards and a score to go with Brenton Strange's one reception for five yards.

11. Parker Washington had his best day of the year so far as well with seven receptions for 70 yards and a circus catch for a touchdown. Washington now has 30 receptions for 388 yards and one touchdown this season.

12. We talked about Mitchell Tinsley's catch along the sideline but I'm not sure I ever saw a wide receiver as open as he was in the third quarter. Incredible breakdown by the Gophers' defense to not have a single man on Tinsley's side of the field. Completely baffled by PJ Fleck and the Gophers' defense to not call a timeout in that situation.

13. Notably, Harrison Wallace III was announced as a starter for the Nittany Lions at wide receiver instead of KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Wallace recorded one reception for 17 yards on three targets. Lambert-Smith did not record any snaps in the game. After being hurt against Northwestern, Lambert-Smith did play against Michigan but now his availability including at practice this week is once again worth monitoring.

14. Freshman speedster Omari Evans didn't record any receptions or targets on Saturday but did take a handoff on an end-around. I liked the creativity on the play by Mike Yurcich in a way to get Evans who has game-breaking speed involved more in the offense. It was his only touch for the game but it was a sold one going for seven yards.

15. Going to the running backs, Nick Singleton broke out of a bit of a funk with a good day on the ground, 13 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns. It's been a bit slow the last few weeks for Singleton including his fumbling issues against Northwestern. If the true freshman has regained his confidence, Penn State's run game could be in a good spot going forward.

16. Kaytron Allen had a good day himself, with 15 carries for 77 yards. The two freshman running backs have totaled 160 carries for 957 yards and 11 touchdowns now through seven games.

17. Keyvone Lee was not seen in warm-ups but ended up dressing for the Nittany Lions. That being said, he did not end up taking any carries in the game. Tank Smith received four carries for 13 attempts late in the game while as a team the Nittany Lions rushed for 175 yards on 34 carries.

18. Going to the offensive line, Hunter Nourzad stepped in once again in the place of Landon Tengwall and did a fantastic job, allowing zero pressures.

19. In fact, the Nittany Lions offensive line as a whole only allowed four pressures for the entire game. Surprisingly, the Nittany Lions' lowest-rated pass blocker according to PFF was Olu Fashanu.

20. In run blocking, Bryce Effner was the Nittany Lions' best run blocker, followed by Juice Scruggs and Sal Wormley.

21. While the Nittany Lions did a better job at run blocking against the Gophers than they did against the Wolverines, it still wasn't a great day for Phil Trautwein's position group in opening up lanes. They'll need to take their game to the next level against Ohio State if they hope to win.

22. Overall, it was a great day for the Penn State offense after the slow start. They totaled 479 total yards in the game including 186 yards in the second quarter and 174 yards in the third quarter. The Nittany Lions likely could've put up 500+ yards in the game but Minnesota dominated the time of possession in the fourth quarter with over 10 minutes of possession.

23. The Nittany Lions offense was 5-of-11 on third down. They were also 4-for-4 in power-rushing situations.

24. The slow start for Penn State over their first three drives was not the start they wanted that's for sure, it was an ugly start. Two three-and-outs garnering 12 yards and then the Sean Clifford interception. That being said, something clicked for Sean Clifford and the offense after that interception, and were tremendous from there. The Nittany Lions scored on seven of their 10 remaining drives in the game including six touchdowns. They often did it efficiently as well, the drives consisting of 9, 7, 7, 4, 7, 11, and 3 plays respectively.

25. The lasting question from Saturday's offensive performance is, was it a flash in the pan or was it a sign of things to come for the Nittany Lions? The offense that the Nittany Lions showed from the end of the first quarter on was very similar to what we saw in the first three games of the season. If this in fact a sign of things to come, the Nittany Lions will give Ohio State fits next week and have a great chance to finish this season on a very strong note, especially with a manageable schedule following their showdown with the Buckeyes.

26. The big question coming into the game for Penn State's defense was if they would be able to stop the Gophers' rushing attack. The Nittany Lions did a great job of doing just that, keeping the gophers to just 3.6 yards per carry. Star running back Mohamed Ibrahim totaled just 102 yards on 30 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry. His longest run of the day was a mere 13 days. The Nittany Lions' performance against the run was a night and day difference from what we saw against Michigan.

27. The Nittany Lions' defense took advantage of Minnesota having a young quarterback in Athan Kaliakmanis under center on Saturday. While the freshman was impressive in the moments not looking too big from him and avoiding pressure, the Nittany Lions still kept him to just 9 completions on 22 attempts for 175 yards and one touchdown. Ji'Ayir Brown also intercepted a Kaliakanis pass intended for wide receiver Michael Brown-Stephens who fell down en route. The Nittany Lions did a good job of pressuring Kaliakmanis as well, totaling 15 pressures while totaling one sack.

28. Adisa Isaac had the best performance of any defensive lineman with Chop Robinson out. Isaac had five tackles including half a tackle for a loss. Other defensive linemen who looked solid included Zane Durant, Amin Vanover, and Nick Tarburton. Freshman Dani Dennis-Sutton was also good against the run for the Nittany Lions on Saturday night.

29. Moving to linebacker, Abdul Carter got his first career start for the Nittany Lions and played the most snaps of any linebacker. In his first start, he was great for the Nittany Lions, playing at a high level against the run especially. He totaled eight tackles including half a sack and half a tackle for a loss in the game.

30. While Carter was great, Curtis Jacobs was even better. Jacobs like most Nittany Lions had a tough day against the Michigan Wolverines but he put together the best performance of his career against Minnesota. Jacobs recorded 14 tackles including seven solo tackles and two tackles for a loss.

31. All in all, the entire linebacker room put together a strong performance. Jonathan Sutherland, Charlie Katshir, and Tyler Elsdon all had quality performances themselves.

32. That being said, Penn State going with Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs as their starters from here on out on the outside is by far the right decision from the Penn State coaching staff.

33. As you can tell by Aidan Kalikamantis's stat line, the Penn State secondary had another great day at the office. They broke up four passes while also recording one interception.

34. Kalen King and Joey Porter Jr were targeted a combined four times and allowed no receptions. The two cornerbacks have allowed a total of 23 receptions on 52 targets this season. Neither player has allowed a touchdown yet this season. They'll have their biggest test this upcoming weekend with Ohio State's dangerous group of wide receivers.

35. One of the few negatives one could have about Penn State's defense on Saturday was that the Nittany Lions still missed quite a few tackles with a team total of nine including three from Ji'Ayir Brown and two from PJ Mustipher.

36. Barney Amor's number wasn't called many times but he was solid when called upon. He averaged 42.3 yards per punt including a long of 48 yards while downing one punt inside Minnesota's 20-yard line.

37. Jake Pinegar has been quite consistent over the last three weeks for the Nittany Lions, he's three-for-three in field goal attempts and 10-for-10 in extra point attempts. He's now 6-for-8 on the season in field goal attempts and 28-for-30 in extra point attempts.

38. Overall, Penn State's defense didn't seem to be bothered by their performance against Michigan. They picked up right where they left off against Northwestern.

39. Penn State is now 10-6 against Minnesota all-time and has won six of the last eight matchups.

40. Getting the win over Minnesota and the way they performed felt like potentially getting over a rather notable hurdle for the program. This was the first time we saw a James Franklin team in a long time bouncing back from a loss in a very convincing fashion. Even if they fall to Ohio State this upcoming weekend, a 10-2 season and a New Years' Six Bowl is very much on the table for the Nittany Lions.

41. The Nittany Lions are one of 24 teams this season to be averaging 30+ points per game offensively and allowing less than 20 points per game.

42. The Nittany Lions offense has now scored 40+ points in three games, the first time they've done so since the 2019 season.

43. Sean Clifford is now just 616 yards away from breaking Trace McSorley's all-time passing yards (9,899) record and three touchdowns away from breaking McSorley's all-time passing touchdowns (77) record.

44. Penn State needed a big get-right game on Saturday night and they got just that. Now, they need to build on it. They've historically given Ohio State great games over the year but outside of 2016 have failed to pull out wins. This year's Buckeye team may be the best since their College Football Playoff winning team for nearly a decade, with that Penn State can't bring anything less than their A-game on Saturday afternoon.

45. Not Minnesota related but I will be intrigued to see how the crowd is next Saturday against Ohio State. The Penn State faithful will surely be ready to go and will be loud but how different will it be compared to the atmosphere and intensity of the White Out on Saturday?

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