P O S T G A M E
R E P O R T
W E E K
9
MINNESOTA 24, PENN STATE 10
SQUEEZE PLAY
Tight end Adam Breneman hauls in
one of his two receptions in PSU's
loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
THE
GAME
AT A GLANCE
GOOD NEWS Zach
Zwinak got back on
track in the running
game, but that might
have been the only
positive point from
Penn State's offensive
performance. On defense, the Lions kept
Minnesota off the
scoreboard after halftime, but the 24 firsthalf points were too
much to overcome.
Steve Manuel
That's a wrap
Gophers bottle up PSU to win fourth straight Big Ten game
MATT HERB
|
m at t @ b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m
MINNEAPOLIS – John Butler was sprinting off
the field following Penn State's 24-10 loss to Minnesota on Saturday when he noticed a photographer pointing a mammoth lens at him from the
edge of the tunnel.
"Should I smile or frown?" the Nittany Lions'
first-year defensive coordinator asked halfheartn o V e m b e R
9 ,
edly as he rushed by on his way to the locker
room.
It was a fair question, and one whose answer
likely depends on which half of football was more
indicative of the defense's true potential. Was it
the first half, in which the Nittany Lions faltered
on one third-and-long after another and didn't
2 0 1 3
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b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m
BAD NEWS PSU had
ample opportunity to
launch a second-half
comeback, but it continued to drop the
ball, literally, and
failed to score a point
in the final two quarters.
THE TAKEAWAY It wasn't
just coachspeak when
Bill O'Brien lauded
Minnesota this week
as "one of the better
teams" on the schedule. At 8-3, the Gophers should be taken
seriously, but in reality, today's loss was
another illustration of
how shorthanded
Penn State truly is.
