The most important winner of the day is Penn State, which pounded the Golden Gophers 42-14 at Beaver Stadium to reach bowl eligibility at 6-4 and overcome the toughest hurdle to an 8-4 finish with Rutgers and Maryland, the two worst teams in the Big Ten, on deck.
With travel issues related to Friday afternoon’s nationwide ground stop and a bevy of injuries on the interior of the defensive line, Penn State had every advantage, and unlike earlier instances this season, Matt Campbell didn’t waste it.
A little third-quarter flurry from Minnesota put a bit of a damper on the second half of a dreary night in central PA, but 28-point victories aren’t easy to come by in the Big Ten. That’s what the Nittany Lions put together with a dominant 28-0 first half, and unlike last week when Washington scored 19 unanswered after the intermission, they never let the Golden Gophers back into it. There’s a lot more good than bad to take from that.
Winners:
5. Alex Manske
Alex Manske hadn’t seen the field since Week 3, and even amid some of Rocco Becht’s worst struggles early in Big Ten play, Matt Campbell so adamantly defended his starting QB that it was hard not to wonder if he had lost faith in what was behind him.
For all his flaws, Becht is probably the better quarterback right now, but in his lone drive at the helm in the fourth quarter, largely with the starters, Manske went 2-for-2 for 38 yards and a touchdown with one run for four yards. It wasn’t much, but he looked comfortable running the offense, and it was the only data point we’ve gotten on the program’s likely starter in 2027 playing against Big Ten competition.
4. Cam Smith
Smith finally cracked the linebacker rotation for Penn State after missing the early portion of the season with an injury and being boxed out by Tony Rojas at WILL. However, he got 24 snaps on Saturday night, largely carving into Cael Brezina’s role, and finished with eight tackles. That’s an impressive day for a young player who could be a starter next season.
Jeremiah Cooper and Ibn McDaniels were also important contributors for the defense, but among the lesser-sung heroes, Smith was the least likely.
3. Alexander McPherson
Credit to D’Anton Lynn for his creative pressure packages early in the first half, which led to three sacks. Lynn often got Tony Rojas, who, despite being an off-ball linebacker, is his best blitzer, matched up with guards who couldn’t do anything about his speed. But even without much matchup help from the scheme, McPherson played his best game, recording a sack, his first this season, and two tackles for loss.
He’s still largely an oversized, pocket-pushing edge, but the 6-foot-6, 254-pound Colorado transfer showed juice off the edge that he hasn’t often tapped into this year, especially with his inside move on the right tackle to sack Drake Lindsey.
Lindsey is largely a statue, so unlike last week against the athletic Demond Williams, Penn State’s defensive line could pin their ears back and rush with reckless abandon, unencumbered by the threat of a scramble. Even so, I wasn’t sure they could generate any pressure in that situation, and they did.
2. Ben Brahmer
A rare athlete at 6-foot-7, Ben Brahmer is the platonic ideal of a red zone threat. But that was more theoretical than actual for most of the season, with just three touchdown catches and none since Big Ten play started. Against Minnesota, Brahmer hauled in two passes, both in the end zone, and would have had another spectacular touchdown grab if not for a bobble caught on review.
As an undersized QB with inconsistent ball placement who prefers to pick his matchups pre-snap rather than read out a progression from the pocket, Becht has always struggled in the red zone. Maybe not a panacea, but Brahmer should be a salve for those issues. In the past at Iowa State, he has been, and in Week 11, he finally was at Penn State.
1. Carson Hansen
Hansen was the target of the fanbase’s ire and accusations of favoritism toward a head coach who builds his entire program as a meritocracy. Now, since offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser shifted the run game to a heavy gap-scheme system during the bye week, Hansen has been the best player on the field in most cases.
He’s not just showcasing patience and physicality between the tackles; he’s breaking tackles and ripping off explosives. Hopefully, the injury that kept him out for the second half won’t keep him out against Rutgers and Maryland.
Losers:
1. James Peoples
It’s hard to single out one player as a loser in such a comprehensively impressive performance, but with Hansen out in the second half, Peoples got his first carries since before the bye week, when Cam Wallace emerged as the complement to Hansen in the backfield, and he turned four opportunities into 12 yards.
Peoples is a dynamic athlete, but he lacks vision and patience. That’s why he couldn’t hold onto his role at Ohio State, and as the program should have learned with Julian Fleming in 2024, adding Ohio State castoffs is a fool’s errand.
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