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Penn State Vs. Minnesota: How to Watch, Story Lines, Predictions

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Penn State Vs. Minnesota: How to Watch, Story Lines, Predictions


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

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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).

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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.

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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?

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Vikings Have a Dubious Connection to the Dexter Lawrence Trade

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Vikings Have a Dubious Connection to the Dexter Lawrence Trade


Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.

Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.

Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.

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Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.

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Sept 11, 2006; Landover, MD, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver (82) Troy Williamson is unable to make the catch against the Washington Redskins in the first quarter at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images Copyright © James Lang | James Lang-Imagn Images

Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.

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Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.

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The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.

By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.

James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.

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Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com

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Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com


Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.

“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good. 

“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”

Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.

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“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes. 

“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”

Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).

“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”

Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.

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“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”



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ICE agent assault charge marks a ‘milestone’ for Minnesota prosecutors

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ICE agent assault charge marks a ‘milestone’ for Minnesota prosecutors



Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.

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Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.

On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.

Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

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The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.

Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.

“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.

Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.

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The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.

Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.

Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police. 

State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.

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The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.

On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.



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