One of the better situational spots of the weekend comes in the Big Ten in this matchup between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Penn State Nittany Lions. It was looking like this was going to be something of a lost season for Penn State after it dropped four consecutive games following a 3-0 start. However, Matt Campbell's group bounced back nicely after the bye week with wins over Purdue and Washington to right the ship and get the season back on course. There is the sense that Penn State seemed to find something on offense in the week off, and that's certainly appeared to be the case in the two games since. Rocco Becht is playing better under center and the ground game has noticeably picked up in the last few weeks.
As Penn State is evolving into a better team, the Gophers have to be at the end of their rope. Minnesota has had a very up-and-down season to this point, filled with highs and lows nearly every week. PJ Fleck's group is currently in the midst of a brutal stretch of games, having just played Iowa, Indiana and UCLA over the last three weeks — each of those contests being emotional games that were in the balance in the fourth quarter. Now, the Gophers have to hit the road for a matchup against a rejuvenated team that should be able to generate some explosive plays on offense, and force Drake Lindsey into a few critical mistakes when Minnesota has the ball. Minnesota is not built to win from behind, so I could see this game being one where the Gophers let go of the rope if they fall behind early on. Lay the points with Penn State.
Minnesota vs Penn State prediction: Penn State -9.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to -10 (-110).
