Coming off a tough road loss against a top-5 team in Michigan, Penn State now has a point to prove for the remainder of its Big Ten schedule. That begins tonight as the annual White Out returns to Beaver Stadium. Arguably the greatest atmosphere in college football, this is the time and place to start a new winning streak, and here are the keys for the Nittany Lions to do just that against Minnesota.
1. Contain Mohamed Ibrahim
This is easier said than done, considering Ibrahim has been one of the most elusive backs in college football during his tenure at Minnesota, but he very much dictates how this offense goes game in and game out. Right now, Ibrahim has run for 694 yards this season, averaging 6.7 yards per carry and just over 138 rushing yards a game. He means business and when he’s on, Minnesota is very much on. Contain him and that’s one massive facet of the Golden Gopher offense that has been neutralized.
2. Capitalize on the White Out atmosphere early
When playing in front of the greatest atmosphere in college football, one that has helped produce some of the greatest moments in program history, Penn State needs to make the most of it. 106,000+ screaming Nittany Lion fans decked out in white will be tailgating well before kickoff and there will still be several thousand outside the stadium to just experience the atmosphere. Penn State needs to capitalize off the fans, capitalize off the hype and get a few scores early to keep the crowd up the entire way through.
3. Get to Tanner Morgan (or whoever starts for Minnesota)
We saw last week against a great offensive line how difficult it was for Penn State to stop most anything. That of course talks about both the running and passing game, but without getting pressure on J.J. McCarthy, Michigan was really able to get things going and not stop at all. Tanner Morgan has given Penn State fits before and has beaten the Nittany Lions in big games before. While his receiving core might not be what it was when the Golden Gophers upset PSU in Minneapolis a few years back, his arm is deadly nonetheless and this PSU defense needs to get all of the pressure on him that they can.
4. Re-integrate the run game
Arguably the best part of Penn State’s offense this season, its run game, was effectively silent last Saturday against Michigan. Leading Nittany Lions rusher Nicholas Singleton was held to just 19 yards on the ground on six carries. This is a player that at one point this season, averaged nearly nine yards a carry for PSU, and being able to execute on the ground is what will be the decider in a win tonight. It’s really as simple as that: use what the offensive line gives you, find the holes and pound your way through.
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