Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   M I N N E S O T A | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 101.2 YPG, 3.0 YPC // MINNESOTA RUN DEFENSE118.7 YPG, 3.1 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State entered the season with one of the top two running backs in the Big Ten in sophomore Saquon Barkley, but so far the running game has been a disappointment. Heading into their game with Min- nesota on Saturday, the Nittany Lions are ranked last in the conference in rushing. Barkley is the Lions' leading rusher, having gained 317 yards on 66 carries. Freshman Miles Sanders is second with 41 yards on five carries but has had ball-security issues. The Golden Gophers enter the game with the fifth-best rushing defense in the Big Ten. Their leading tackler is senior MLB Jack Lynn with 22 stops. Senior SS Damarius Travis is their sec- ond-leading tackler with 16 stops, including two tackles for loss. Junior OLB Jonathan Celestin, sophomore CB Antonio Shenault and redshirt junior FS Duke McGhee have been credited with 15 tackles apiece. Redshirt jun- ior OLB Cody Poock has 14 tackles and is second on the team with 3.5 tackles for loss. Junior DT Steve Richard- son leads the Gophers with five negative-yardage stops. Through its first three games this season, Minnesota has totaled 29 tackles for loss. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State freshman RG Connor McGovern, who is listed on the first team on this week's depth chart, will take on junior defensive tackles Andrew Stelter and Richardson, while RG Ryan Bates will face Lynn. // EDGE Minnesota PENN STATE PASSING GAME 237.2 YPG, 12.8 YPC // MINNESOTA PASS DEFENSE 228.7 YPG, 11.1 YPC THE LOWDOWN This is the most advantageous matchup of the game for Penn State. The Nittany Lions are fielding the seventh-best passing offense in the Big Ten, with redshirt sophomore QB Trace McSorley having compiled a 65.2 percent completion rate. He's thrown for 949 yards, with five touchdown passes and three interceptions. Through the Lions' first four games, McSorley has completed passes to 10 receivers. Penn State's leading pass- catcher is junior WR Chris Godwin with 19 receptions for 228 yards. Junior TE Mike Gesicki has 14 catches for 181 yards, while redshirt junior WR DaeSean Hamilton has 13 receptions for 152 yards. Barkley has 10 catches for 146 yards with one TD. Redshirt sophomore WR DeAndre Thompkins has caught 10 passes, gaining 165 yards for a team-leading average of 16.5 yards per catch. Minnesota ranks 13th in the Big Ten in pass defense. The Gophers' first three opponents completed 57.4 percent of their attempts for 686 yards, with eight TD passes and only one in- terception. Freshman DE Tai'yon Devers leads Minnesota with three sacks, but he's slated to miss the game with an ankle injury. Richardson has two sacks, while Travis has the Gophers' only interception. // KEY MATCHUP God- win will face Minnesota senior CB Jalen Myrick, while Gesicki will be going up against Travis in the secondary. Up front, McGovern will do battle with Richardson. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. MINNESOTA PASS DEFENSE MINNESOTA RUNNING GAME 228.3YPG, 5.0 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE213.8 YPG, 4.9 YPC THE LOWDOWN The Gophers enter their game against Penn State with the fiBh-ranked ground game in the Big Ten. In redshirt sophomore Rodney Smith and sophomore Shannon Brooks, they have one of the best running back combos in the Big Ten. Smith is Minnesota's leading rusher with 298 yards on 59 carries (5.1 yards per carry), while Brooks, who missed the first two games of the season with an injury, rushed for 90 yards on 13 carries last Saturday against Colorado State. Junior RB Kobe McCrary, a juco transfer, is the Gophers' second-leading rusher with 193 yards on 23 carries and a team-best average of 8.4 yards per carry. Minnesota's rushing attack is fueled by an offen- sive line that averages 6-foot-5, 322 pounds per man. That unit is led by senior RT Jonah Pirsig (6-9, 325) and two former juco All-Americans: junior LT Garrison Wright (6-4, 320) and junior RG Vincent Calhoun (6-4, 330). Be- deviled by inexperience up front and injuries in the linebacker corps, Penn State is last in the Big Ten against the run. Its top two tacklers are defensive backs: senior SS Malik Golden with 29 stops and junior FS Marcus Allen with 28. Redshirt sophomore DE Torrence Brown, sophomore OLB Manny Bowen and sophomore CB John Reid have all been credited with 16 tackles. // KEY MATCHUP Calhoun will face Penn State DT Kevin Givens, while Wright is set to do battle with redshirt junior DE Garrett Sickels. // EDGE Minnesota MINNESOTA RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE MINNESOTA PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N M I N N E S O T A H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. MINNESOTA RUN DEFENSE S E P T E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 MINNESOTA PASSING GAME 201.7 YPG, 12.1 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE173.8 YPG, 9.8 YPC THE LOWDOWNSenior QB Mitch Leidner is off to an excellent start, having completed 49 of 76 passes (64.5 per- cent) for 599 yards, with four touchdown passes and just one interception. Leidner is averaging 199.7 yards per game. In the Gophers' first three games, he completed passes to 12 receivers. Senior WR Drew Wolitarsky is the Gophers' leading receiver with 17 catches for 252 yards, while freshman WR Tyler Johnson is next with eight

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