Penn State tops Minnesota

Penn State 33 – Minnesota 21

The Nittany Lions ended a two-game losing streak and picked up their first conference win at Minnesota's new TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Fresh off a bye week, Penn State got back in the win column as Joe Paterno won the 398th game of his coaching career.

GAME FLOW

Penn State scored on their second possession as Rob Bolden connected with Brett Brackett for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Minnesota followed on their next possession when Adam Weber found Da'Jon McKnight open in the back on the end zone for a 29 yard strike. After each team punted, Penn State took over and Bolden led to Lions on an 89 yard drive that was ended on a Royster 2 yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Just one play after a D'Anton Lynn interception of Weber in the end zone, back-up quarterback Matthew McGloin threw a 42 yard touchdown pass to Derek Moye and the Lions went ahead 21-7. Minnesota opened the second half with another touchdown pass from Weber to McKnight to cut into Penn State's lead, 21-14. McGloin and Moye connected again early in the fourth quarter to give Penn State a 31-14 lead, which put the game away.

OFFENSE

On the ground: Royster, who needed 93 yards to overtake Curt Warner as Penn State's all-time leading rusher, was held in check for most of the day as Minnesota did not allow the Penn State rushing record to change hands in their stadium. He finished with 62 yards on nine carries, with 32 coming on one run. DeLeon Eskridge led all rushers as the Minnesota halfback rushed for 111 yards on 27 carries.

Through the air: Bolden was 11 for 13 for 130 yards and a touchdown pass before an undisclosed injury forced him to miss the rest of the second quarter and the entire second half. In his stead, McGloin threw his first two career touchdown passes, both to Moye. Minnesota's Weber wound up surpassing the 10,000-yard mark for his career, becoming the fifth Big Ten quarterback to accomplish such a feat. He finished with three touchdown passes, all to McKnight. His interception in the second quarter was a back breaker for Minnesota, however.

DEFENSE

Penn State's defense allowed over 400 yards, but Lynn's big second quarter pick took momentum away from Minnesota and led to a touchdown pass the very next snap, which got the Lions back on a roll. Penn State had the game's only sack, in the end zone to earn Penn State a safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PSU's Colin Wagner made a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter to give Penn State a 10 point lead, which took some pressure off of the defense. He missed a 37 yarder late in the fourth, but it did not damage Penn State's overall effort. He was 4-for-4 on extra points.

GAME BALL

Derek Moye caught 3 passes for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns, both crucial to the Penn State win.

NEXT UP

The Nittany Lions continue their Big Ten schedule as they return home to face the Michigan Wolverines on an ESPN prime time match-up at 8pm.