For Penn State football, keeping a low profile represents the best path Saturday at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions want to win, comfortably and quietly, let Ohio State and Indiana own college football’s oxygen this weekend and get to their regular-season finale against Maryland.

Penn State is in prime position to host a first-round College Football Playoff game, no matter how much College Football Influencers argue against it. The playoff committee has made that clear: Penn State has been No. 4 the past two weeks and should remain there, as long as Ohio State wins Saturday over the Hoosiers. A Buckeyes’ loss reignites debate. Penn State can hedge that debate with a no-doubt win at Minnesota that quietly appeases even the scoreboard-watchers.

What to expect from the Penn State-Minnesota game? Here’s the breakdown, including where to watch, what to watch, and our predictions.

No. 4 Penn State (9-1) vs. Minnesota (6-4)

How Andy Kotelnicki brought his Minnesota roots to Penn State’s offense

How to watch, stream the Penn State-Minnesota game

Penn State is playing on CBS for the second straight week and the third time this season. Fans can stream the game on the CBS Sports app as well. Brad Nessler and ary Danielson have the broadcast, and Jenny Dell will conduct sideline interviews. Penn State fans who can’t watch should turn to the Penn State Sports Network for the radio call with Steve Jones and Jack Ham. The games also is available on SiriusXM channels 83/158/196.

What is the betting line for Penn State-Minnesota?

The Nittany Lions are 11-point road favorites, according to DraftKings. The over/under is 45 points. Penn State is 9-0 as a favorite this season and 5-4 against the spread.

What Are the Primary Penn State-Minnesota Story Lines?

On the Penn State Coaches Show this week, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said something interesting: “Watching them on tape, [Minnesota] is very good on defense, maybe the best defense we’ve played this year.” That’s noteworthy, considering Ohio State’s defense, which held Penn State without a touchdown for the first time in 10 years, is ranked first by ESPN’s SP+, and Minnesota’s is 15th. The Gophers excel in takeaways (20, including 16 interceptions) and do so by playing largely a zone defense.

Freshman safety Koi Perich is Minnesota’s highest-graded defender (84.9, according to Pro Football Focus) and leads the Big Ten with five interceptions. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar noted that Minnesota’s secondary does ball-hawk but also generates turnovers through defensive line pressure. But Allar has proven capable of escaping pressure, beating zones with his checkdown receivers and avoiding interceptions. For Allar, identifying zone weaknesses (should Minnesota stick with it) with Tyler Warren and his underneath receivers will be essential. He also’s going to look to stretch the field, particularly when Penn State gets into its tempo offense.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s offensive strategy favors Penn State’s front-four aggressiveness and back-four experience. The Golden Gophers don’t have the receiving trio of Rashod Bateman, Tyler Johnson and Chris Autman-Bell they relied on to beat the Nittany Lions in 2019. Minnesota ranks 10th in the Big Ten in passing, though quarterback Max Brosner does have some chemistry with receiver Daniel Jackson (63 receptions, three for touchdowns). But Minnesota isn’t an explosive offense. The Gophers rank 96th nationally in explosive-play rate (12.32 percent). Penn State is sixth (17.91 percent).

Penn State Players to Watch

Nicholas Singleton: The running back is overdue for a big game. He hasn’t rushed for 50 yards in the past five games and hasn’t topped 100 since Bowling Green. Singleton looked healthy in limited snaps last week at Purdue and is ready to unleash.

AJ Harris: Penn State’s dip into the SEC for cornerbacks Harris and Jalen Kimber has proven smart. Watch for Harris on Minnesota’s Jackson.

Tre Wallace: Penn State needs a receiver to relieve some of the offensive pressure from Tyler Warren. If Minnesota overloads the tight end, Wallace should reap the benefits. He has to take advantage.

Minnesota Players to Watch

Max Brosmer: Minnesota’s quarterback has been underrated this year. He ranks seventh in the Big Ten in passer rating and has a completion rate of 67.1 percent. He’s not a big-play quarterback; Minnesota ranks 12th in the Big Ten in pass plays of 20+ yards. But he’s efficient and reasonably mistake-proof. Penn State can’t give him reason to believe.

Cody Lindenberg: Can’t highlight too many Minnesota defenders. The linebacker covers a lot of ground as Minnesota’s leading tackler and really attacks the run.

Darius Taylor: Minnesota will try to run with Taylor, though its offense ranks 17th in the Big Ten in rushing offense. Taylor has had a couple big games (144 yards vs. USC, 131 vs. Illinois), but Rutgers held him to 28 yards on 10 carries last week.

The Predictions

Mark Wogenrich: This game has some potential red flags. If Penn State can’t get the run game going and starts throwing hastily, Minnesota’s defense will capitalize. Now, the Gophers don’t have a counter for Tyler Warren, so the Nittany Lions could ride him as they did last week at Purdue. This is a capable but not great Minnesota offense that Penn State should shutter. Still not feeling an overwhelming offensive performance, though. Penn State 24, Minnesota 13

Daniel Mader: The Golden Gophers’ secondary alone (16 interceptions) is enough to give Penn State another late-season challenge. However, based on the way the Nittany Lions took care of business against Washington and Purdue, I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt their current momentum. I think Penn State pulls away in the third quarter, owning the ground game on both sides of the ball for win No. 10. Penn State 31, Minnesota 14

More Penn State Football

How Minnesota is preparing for No. 4 Penn State

Is Penn State’s defense getting overlooked this season?

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Nearly a year after Minnesota’s red flag law took effect, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says it’s looking to expand information and training on how it works.

The law enacted in January allows a judge to temporarily confiscate a person’s firearms and stop them from purchasing more if they are at risk of harming themselves or someone else. It’s also known as an extreme risk protection order (ERPO).

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she’s already seen the law save lives. One order went out for a woman in Hennepin County who had told family members she intended to harm herself. When she went to a store to buy a firearm, she was turned away.

“The store checked, saw it there and did not allow her to purchase a gun,” Moriarty said. “This family’s action in getting the ERPO bought their loved one time, which hopefully saved her life.”

Hennepin County has issued 26 of these orders so far, Moriarty said. That’s about a quarter of the statewide total.

Moriarty said her office has been training law enforcement on how and when to petition a judge for an ERPO, and on how to carry out the confiscation. Now, they’re looking to add community trainings.

“I think if you asked the public, ‘did you know, Minnesota has a red flag law?’ they probably don’t know that,” Moriarty said. “It’s such a good tool, and we want everybody to know that it exists.”

Anyone — not just law enforcement — can petition a judge for an ERPO for at-risk romantic partners or members of their household. Petition forms are available on the Minnesota courts website; the petitions go to a judge, who decides whether to grant the order.

Assistant County Attorney Rana Alexander has organized the county’s trainings around ERPOs. She said judges in Hennepin County generally issue ERPOs within hours of receiving a petition. When granted, the order goes out to police to confiscate firearms.

Within 14 days, a hearing is held for parties to discuss the order and determine whether or not to let it stand for up to a year.

Alexander noted that protection orders are separate from criminal cases.

“Someone didn’t necessarily do something wrong or something illegal for an ERPO to be sought or granted,” Alexander said. “In most cases, the petitioner is seeking an ERPO out of great concern and care for the respondent.”

Other jurisdictions are also looking to expand awareness and use of the red flag law. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said earlier this month that he is encouraging law enforcement to make full use of the law.

A 24-hour statewide sexual violence and domestic violence hotline is available in Minnesota. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995 to connect to resources closest to where you live.