Minnesota opened and closed Saturday’s game against Penn State with interceptions.
The Golden Gophers had been in control for most of the game and had a 24-13 halftime lead. But the Nittany Lions were making a comeback and scored a touchdown with just shy of four minutes left to shrink their deficit to 31-26. Minnesota fumbled on the next drive, and as Penn State marched up the field, it looked like it would have a chance to score late, win and save the season.
Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, sophomore defensive back Jordan Howden was waiting in the end zone on 3rd-and-24 and picked off Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford with 1:01 left in the fourth. It was the Nittany Lions’ first red-zone turnover this season, the ABC broadcast noted.
And that was the end of that. Minnesota moved to 9-0 while handing Penn State its first loss of the season and severely damaging its College Football Playoff hopes.
Clifford threw three interceptions Saturday. Sophomore defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. picked Clifford off twice in the first half, once on the Nittany Lions’ opening drive and again with about nine minutes left in the second quarter.
Going into this Big Ten matchup, Minnesota seemed particularly underrated at No. 17 in the opening College Football Playoff rankings, and by taking down a top-4 team, the Golden Gophers proved they need to be taken a bit more seriously. The win should pump them up inside the top 10 in the playoff rankings next week ahead of their game against Big Ten West foe Iowa.
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