Hidden Gems: Penn State-Minnesota Football 2016

We’re bringing back Hidden Gems! Some of you longtime BSD readers may remember this series where we reflect on the games that we’ve enjoyed over the years that haven’t quite lived on in Penn State lore. We’ll be giving these games their due, as we reflect on a variety of memorable (but not too memorable) games from different Nittany Lions teams over the years.

Next up…Penn State rebounds from a devastating (and controversial) defeat at Michigan by taking care of Illinois on the road.

The 2016 season does not want for notable games. The 24-21 upset of Ohio State. The 38-31 come-from-behind Big Ten Championship over Wisconsin. The 52-49 shootout in the Rose Bowl against USC.

But does any of that season happen without the overtime victory over Minnesota?

The 2016 season was the first with Trace McSorley at the helm, and a new offensive coordinator in Joe Moorhead. With rising star Saquon Barkley, could the Lions find a new gear offensively? How about the defense, which was normally stout, but had key roster turnover. Could the team, still recovering from sanctions, start to make some noise for themselves?

Well, to start the season, no.

The Lions opened with a 33-13 win over Kent State, then went on the field and laid a dud against Pitt, losing 42-39. That game ended with an interception in the Pitt endzone with the Lions trying to come back from an early 28-7 deficit.

A 34-27 nailbiter over Temple a week later did nothing to quell concerns, especially when it was followed by a 49-10 thrashing at the hands of Michigan in week 4.

Sitting at 2-2, 0-1 in Big Ten play, it was a wounded team when Minnesota came to town.

Unlike the Lions, the Golden Gophers were undefeated to start the season, with wins over Oregon State, Indiana State, and Colorado State.

The game was a back-and-forth affair in rainy, blustery conditions, with Minnesota striking first, going up 3-0 near the end of the first quarter.

The Lions tied it at 3 early in the second, but the Gophers executed their ground-and-pound game with startling efficiency. Heading into the half, Penn State trailed 13-3.

Then in the second half, we got to see Penn State’s offensive penchant under Joe Moorhead: explosive offense.

Following a run for no gain by Barkley, and an incomplete pass by McSorley, Irvin Charles broke off an 80-yard catch-and-run, making it 13-10. The Lions would add 10 more points on the next two possessions, capped by a Trace McSorley touchdown run to take a 20-13 lead.

Then on the ensuing kickoff, Joey Julius got leveled by linebacker Jaylen Waters, resulting in the latter’s ejection from the game. Julius had a penchant for big hits on kick returners, and Minnesota was having none of it.

Unfortunately, despite the penalty, the Gophers were able to go 85 yards in just 8 plays, including 6 running plays, to tie the game at 20 early in the fourth quarter.

Things looked most bleak when the offense stalled out (again, as it was wont to do in 2016) for most of the fourth quarter, and with 54 seconds left, Minnesota kicker Emmit Carpenter nailed a 37-yard field goal to take a 23-20 lead.

Not so fast, my friends.

Trace McSorley took the field, and led the team from the 25 yard line to the Minnesota 22 yard line in just 19 seconds of game play, and with 2 seconds to go in the game, Tyler Davis punched a 40-yard field goal through the uprights.

The teams headed to overtime, knotted at 23 apiece.

The defense came alive in overtime as Minnesota first took possession of the ball. A rushing gain of 1 yard followed by an Evan Schwan sack, and then an incomplete pass by Mitch Leidner left the Gophers with a 4th and 13.

Naturally, Emmit Carpenter nailed the 46-yard field goal attempt, putting the Gophers up 26-23.

Then the season turned on a single play.

Saquon Barkley, who had been utterly shut down by Minnesota (just 38 yards on 19 carries, with no touchdowns and -3 receiving yards on a single catch), took the handoff from Trace McSorley. In his signature style, Saquon accelerated quickly through the left side of the line, evading a tackle from defensive lineman Gaelin Elmore, then juking DB Adekunle Ayinde out of his shoes. However the juke let Elmore catch up to Barkley, who sped up quickly once again and used his powerful lower body to escape a diving tackle attempt, and leapt into the endzone to secure the 29-26 win.

The rest, as they say, is history. The Lions would go on to topple Ohio State, upend Iowa, defeat Wisconsin, and claim their first Big Ten Championship in the post-sanction era.

But were it not for the gritty win over Minnesota, the kicking heroics of Tyler Davis, and the explosive overtime run by Saquon Barkley, all may have been for naught.