Penn State Football: causes for concern against the Minnesota Golden Gophers

Penn State Football looks to rebound from their loss in Ann Arbor last week as they return home to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in front of a White Out crowd at Beaver Stadium.

This is an opportunity for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions to prove they have what it takes to bounce back from an embarrassing loss and beat a good Minnesota team.

Though they’re narrow favorites, the more talented team, and playing in front of the best atmosphere in the country, there’s still plenty of cause for concern surrounding this team heading into this game.

Let’s take a look at what they are as we discuss the three primary causes for concern for Penn State Football heading into this Minnesota matchup.

Cause for concern #1 – defending Mohamed Ibrahim

Prior to the Michigan game, Penn State Football had one of the better run defenses in the country–or so we thought. Turns out this defense is still a work in progress, particularly when it comes to defending the run.

That’s not exactly great news, as they’ll once again face off against one of the best running backs in the Big Ten: Mohamed Ibrahim.

Minnesota carries a 4-2 record into this one, but they’re 4-1 when Ibrahim plays. That one loss came last week against a top 25 Illinois team where quarterback Tanner Morgan was forced to leave the game early with an injury.

Ibrahim is the best and most valuable member of this Golden Gopher squad, and just like last week with Blake Corum and Michigan, you’re going to have to slow down Minnesota’s star running back to beat them.

Mohamed Ibrahim is averaging 6.7 yards per carry on the year and has already found the endzone nine times. He is a strong, physical, well-rounded runner that is tough to bring down. If the Nittany Lions tackle as poorly as they did this past week, it’s going to be another long night.