Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I have very little time these days, so here goes a super brief preview:

1.  First time in a bazillion years that two undefeated B1G teams have met this late in the season when neither of the teams is either OSU or Michigan.

2.  Minnesota should have a significant home field advantage.  Not only is the excitement for their team at an all time high, it will be much colder than what Penn State is used to.  The Fox equivalent of ESPN Gameday will be there.  The crowd will be loud. 

3.  Recent Penn State games against Maryland, Iowa, and Michigan were at night, and Michigan State was at 3:30.  The early kick time could be an issue.

4.  Minnesota has the best wide receivers Penn State has faced all season (Rondale Moore was injured during the Purdue game).  Penn State has struggled with tall, physical receivers all year.

5.  Minnesota has the best offensive line Penn State has seen all season.  Honestly I can't believe how huge these guys are.  This has to be the biggest offensive line in the country, and that includes NFL teams.  They have some Andre the Giant guys playing for them.  6'9" and 400 pounds? Really?

6.  If Penn State has a weakness, it is their pass rush.  Minnesota has only allowed one sack in the past 3 or 4 games.

7.  Penn State is still dealing with significant injuries in the secondary.  There will be plenty of true freshman on the field trying to stop Minnesota's excellent wide receivers.

8.  Because the wide receivers and the offensive line match up so well, it is highly likely that Minnesota will have success in the passing game.

9.  Minnesota is an excellent rushing team.  Their offensive line is very good at opening holes and allowing their running backs to get positive yardage. 

10.  Penn State's offense has been good, but it has relied on the big play.  They often go 3 and out, which puts a lot of strain on the defense.  When tired, the defense is vulnerable to a power rushing attack and struggles to get to the quarterback. 

11.  Football is a game of match ups, and Minnesota's offense matches up very nicely against Penn State's defense.  Minnesota is very capable of scoring 30+ points against PSU.  I don't think any other human team in the B1G could do that.  (OSU does not meet the definition of human)

12.  Minnesota's defense is much, much stronger now than it was at the beginning of the year, as they have only allowed 5 touchdowns in the last 4 games.  However, I do think Penn State is more than capable of moving the ball against them. 

13.  Penn State's offense is the key.  They will have to move the ball consistently in order to give the PSU defense a rest, and they will likely have to score at least 30 points to win.  More importantly, Clifford will need to have an excellent game.  I suppose there is a chance that Penn State will find a rushing attack, but they have been average when running the ball all season. 

14.  Clifford has been rattled in every game when he is faced with consistent pressure.  I'm not sure if the Minnesota DL has the talent to get to him consistently, but if they do Minnesota will likely win big.  Clifford has been excellent against teams that blitz, so that will likely be less of a factor.

15.  I recognize that Minnesota has somehow managed to randomly play all of the bottom B1G teams, and their overall schedule strength has not been good.  However, a team playing with confidence is very hard to stop.  They also trounced Illinois.  Illinois is a much better team than we thought they were.  They have also had higher margins of victory than PSU did against their common opponents.

16.  I don't want to make a prediction yet, but if I'm a betting man I would take the over on this one.  A shootout is likely. 

Ah, no they didn't.  They will have four common opponents by the end of the year, but they only have two so far because Minnesota hasn't played Iowa yet and Penn State hasn't played Rutgers yet.  Here are the two common opponents:

• Purdue:  PSU won by 28, MN won by 7
• Maryland:  PSU won by 59, MN won by 42

A somewhat deeper look:
Purdue:
The Nittany Lions obliterated Purdue.  The game was never in doubt.  Penn State led 28-0 early in the second quarter and coasted to an easy 35-7 win.  Purdue's one TD win was maybe not quite as close as the final score made it look but it was competitive until late in the third quarter when the Gophers attained a three score lead at 38-17 and after that Purdue kept fighting and scored two fourth quarter TD's to get to the final, 38-31 score.  After Purdue's final TD made it a seven point game, the Gophers got the ball back with 3:59 to go and needed to pick up several first downs to ice the game.  The successfully did that, going 41 yards in eight plays but a timely PI penalty on a 3rd and 6 with 3:10 to play was key.  Without that call Purdue would have gotten the ball needing just one TD to tie it up. 

Maryland:
The Nittany Lions obliterated Maryland.  The game was a laugher and never in doubt.  Penn State led 38-0 at halftime and scored three more TD's in the second half for a 59-0 route.  Minnesota's win over Maryland was also decisive but not quite so much as Penn State's.  The Gophers led 28-3 at halftime and 45-3 before Maryland found the endzone.  Then Minnesota scored again for the final margin of 52-10. 

You are correct, I don’t know what I was thinking!  
I am assuming you think PSU will won easily?

12.  Minnesota's defense is much, much stronger now than it was at the beginning of the year, as they have only allowed 5 touchdowns in the last 4 games.  However, I do think Penn State is more than capable of moving the ball against them. 

This is only partially correct.  In the Illinois game....their two touchdowns were scored on defense by way of a pick six and a fumble returned for a touchdown.  And Maryland's only touchdown came against the Gophers backups.

I heard a stat a couple days ago that kind of blew my mind.  The Gophers first string defense in the past four games has scored more touchdowns than they've given up.  Even though the competition hasn't exactly been brutal....that's still pretty amazing against Big Ten conference teams.

I think that the Leos will win. Hope it is a good game.

I hope Minny wins but don't think they will.

I hope Minny wins but don't think they will.

This is where I'm at as well. The Gophers have pushed the rock up the mountain so many times over the years, and I'd love to see it roll over the summit one of these times.