Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions vs. Minnesota

Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions vs. Minnesota

By Dylan Burd | Nov 12, 2019

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 09: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions passes the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the fourth quarter at TCFBank Stadium on November 9, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 31-26 to remain undefeated.(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 09: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions attempts to pass the ball in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at TCFBank Stadium on November 9, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 31-26 to remain undefeated.(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

. . . THE OFFENSIVE LINE . A

The offensive line did really good in this game in all three categories that I normally evaluate: penalties, running game, and opponent sacks.

The Penn State offensive line had no penalties in this game. They’ve done a great job of limiting penalties all season, and that continued on Saturday.

In addition, the Nittany Lions ran for 178 total yards and two touchdowns on just 29 carries. That’s 6.1 yards per carry, a phenomenal number. If I had known that stat prior to the game, I would have thought Penn State won the game handily.

In terms of opponent sacks, Minnesota had just two of them, a solid number for the offensive line. The Golden Gophers also had no QB hurries on Sean Clifford, another good stat for the offensive line.

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