How can Penn State fend off Minnesota in the White Out? Here are the game’s 2 key matchups

Penn State is coming off its first loss of the season and in need of a quick turnaround after being dominated by Michigan on the road, 41-17. Now the 5-1 Nittany Lions return home to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a White Out at Beaver Stadium.

Let’s take a look at the two key matchups that will decide how the Nittany Lions can avoid a second loss in a row.

Jon Sauber: Minnesota RB Mohamed Ibrahim vs. Penn State’s run defense

This was always going to be my choice here but it sure feels more dire than it did a week ago, doesn’t it? In the simplest terms, Penn State’s defense was just dominated by the Michigan offense and now gets to face another one of the best running backs in the Big Ten in Ibrahim. He’s rushed for 694 yards and nine touchdowns on 104 attempts in his five games this season and has looked fairly dominant doing it. The senior running back has proven he can play well against good defenses — as evidenced by his 127 yards on 15 attempts against Illinois last week. That defense ranks No. 2 in the country in ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency, nine spots ahead of Penn State’s, which sits at No. 11 after previously being No. 6.

Of course, there are mitigating factors that caused Penn State’s blowup — and subsequent fall — last week against the Wolverines but there’s a chance those can come into play again this week. The Nittany Lion defense gave up long drives to Michigan but ultimately held their opponents to two field goals early. However, the team’s offense couldn’t stay on the field and put the defense right back on it. Eventually that wore the unit out and made it difficult to continue battling one of the best running backs in the country in Blake Corum.

Now Ibrahim rolls into town and, like Corum, has one of the best defenses in the country with him. Minnesota is No. 3 in defensive SP+ while Michigan is No. 8, which does not bode well for Penn State considering how it fared last week. The chances of the Nittany Lions’ offense getting off the field don’t seem to be high, so look for Minnesota to pound the rock and grind down the Penn State defense. While the Gopher offense as a whole isn’t on the same level as Michigan’s, Ibrahim is and should be able to do enough on his own to cause serious issues.

The undersized defensive linemen on the roster are probably going to struggle again and players like defensive tackle PJ Mustipher are going to be forced to play too much to be as effective as the Nittany Lions need. Look for Ibrahim to be as much of a pain as Corum and Donovan Edwards were last week for Michigan.

Kyle J. Andrews: Minnesota’s run defense vs. Penn State’s rushing offense

Minnesota’s rush defense is a top-20 unit in the country. The Golden Gophers allow just 104.5 rushing yards per game and teams have just three rushing touchdowns against them this season. Not to mention, teams average just 11.67 points per game.

Senior linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin leads the team with 39 tackles and three tackles for loss this season. Sori-Marin’s defensive experience will be a point of emphasis for the Nittany Lions’ offensive line to get to the second level on its blocks. Redshirt sophomore Cody Lindenberg is another player that will break through the line and get physical at the point of attack. Lindenberg has 19 tackles (11 solo) and two tackles for loss and provides a foil to Sori-Marin.

There’s the front line of defensive tackles Kyler Baugh and Trill Carter. Each has the ability to eat up blockers and allow their linebackers to have free reign to attack the running backs.

As for the Nittany Lions, their offense needs to be more physical to beat Minnesota. The Michigan game was a debacle on all fronts and the blame doesn’t go solely to the offensive lines, but it definitely deserves a portion of it. Penn State had 22 carries for 111 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown against the Wolverines. It wasn’t the worst performance they’ve had, but the running backs as a whole had 13 carries for 41 yards.

Redshirt senior Hunter Nourzad may be in the place of redshirt freshman Landon Tengwall at left guard, due to an undisclosed ailment. Redshirt junior right guard Sal Wormley and redshirt senior center Juice Scruggs will step up to the challenge and Nourzad has played in each game this season.

Some of it has to do with the playcalling. The lack of run calls for Penn State’s backs became the most alarming statistic in their 41-17 loss to Michigan. Quarterback Sean Clifford had six carries for 74 yards with one long run. Drew Allar had two carries for -3 yards.

Nittany Lions offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will be at the forefront of feeding his talented freshmen running backs — Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen — and riding their talents into the sunset. Keyvone Lee will also be there in short-yardage situations, but it all depends on keeping the offense on schedule. If the Nittany Lions get stuffed in the rush on first down or can’t pick up a solid gain on a passing play, it’ll be a long day.