No. 13 Minnesota stays unbeaten vs No. 5 Penn State, 31-26
By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The progress made by Minnesota in coach P.J. Fleck’s third season had been met by natural skepticism outside the long-languishing program, with even the most ardent fans in full prove-it mode for this game of unbeaten teams against Penn State.
From start to finish, the Gophers matched the moment. They took down the Nittany Lions with a narrative-altering performance.
Jordan Howden picked off Sean Clifford’s pass in the end zone with 1:01 left, the third interception thrown by Penn State’s quarterback, and 13th-ranked Minnesota held on for a 31-26 victory on Saturday afternoon for its first win over a top-five team in 20 years.
“I’m just so proud to be a Gopher, and I speak for our whole team when I say that,” said Fleck, who declared the game ball he handed afterward to the school president for the entire state.
Tanner Morgan passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a dismantling of fifth-ranked Penn State’s staunch defense, as Minnesota (9-0, 6-0, No. 17 CFP) stayed on track for its first trip to the Big Ten championship game. For a program has not won the conference since a shared title in 1967, this is a whole new world.
“As an athlete and just in life,” Morgan said, “you should want pressure because that means your life is significant.”
The first sellout crowd for the Gophers at home in four years swarmed the field after the clock ran out, reveling in the first win at home over a top-five team since a shutout of No. 1 Michigan in 1977. The Gophers scrambled the College Football Playoff picture a bit, too, after Penn State (8-1, 5-1, No. 4 CFP) emerged with a top-four spot in the first edition of the rankings.
“We knew they were a good football team,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said. “It’s hard to be undefeated.”
Rashod Bateman got the Gophers going with a 66-yard score on their first possession that covered 95 yards. He finished with seven catches for 203 yards, the second-most in program history. Tyler Johnson had seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown, too, as Morgan found opening after opening in the Penn State zone to produce enough early gains the Gophers could bank for the inevitable late rally by the Nittany Lions. Morgan went 18 for 20, his second game of the season with a 90% or better completion rate.
“He was reading us very well. He kind of knew what we were in and what they could to do expose us there,” linebacker Jan Johnson said. “They hit their plays. He made their throws.”
Journey Brown’s second rushing touchdown of the game with 3:49 to go cut the lead to five points, and the Gophers promptly went three and out. K.J. Hamler muffed the punt when a teammate backed into him, and though the Nittany Lions recovered, they were pushed back to their 28-yard line.
Clifford, who went 23 for 43 for 340 yards and one score, connected with Jahan Dotson for 49 yards to get Penn State to the 11. Two plays later, however, came the drive killer. Daniel George was called for offensive pass interference during an over-the-middle catch by Brown that reached the 2. Clifford, who was off target for most of the day, overthrew George on the next play before the game-sealing pick by Howden. Clifford, who came into the game leading the Big Ten in total offense, had only three interceptions over the first eight games.
“Everyone’s obviously upset. We didn’t want to lose that game,” left guard Steven Gonzalez said. “They played well. We played our hearts out.”
Antoine Winfield Jr. had the first two picks in the first half, matching the FBS lead and setting the all-time Minnesota record with seven on the season. Both were inside the 10-yard line.
“It shows the culture. It shows the character. It shows their charisma. It shows their ability to overcome, and it shows what they’ve learned,” Fleck said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: Seeking their first berth in the College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions watched a defense that had allowed the second-fewest points in the FBS entering the game take a step back against a group of Gophers receivers that Franklin warned would be the best they’d faced all year. Their championship chase can get back on track with a win at Ohio State in two weeks.
Minnesota: Ending a 13-game losing streak to ranked opponents and beating a top-five team for the first time since a win at No. 2 Penn State in 1999, the Gophers produced a potentially program-changing victory that has been missing for so many decades. They have a two-game lead in the West Division with three to go, with their first Rose Bowl bid since 1961 well within reach.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Penn State could fall behind Minnesota, which will certainly climb into the top 10 on Sunday and notch its highest ranking since 1962. The loss will also hurt the Nittany Lions in the CFP pecking order, with the Gophers getting a boost but still with a long way to go to be in the mix.
UP NEXT
Penn State: Hosts Indiana next Saturday. The Nittany Lions have a 21-1 record against the Hoosiers, with the only loss on the road 2013.
Minnesota: Plays at Iowa next Saturday. The Gophers have lost four straight games against the Hawkeyes.
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Martin leads Robert Morris past Long Island U 28-17
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — George Martin threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and Robert Morris rallied to beat Long Island University 28-17 on Saturday.
Robert Morris (5-4, 4-0 Northeast Conference) took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in eight plays with Alijah Jackson capping the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Long Island (0-8, 0-7) answered with Briant DeFelice’s 34-yard field goal, but Martin directed a 10-play, 73-yard drive and finished it off with a 31-yard TD strike to Matthew Gonzalez to put the Colonials up 14-3 after one quarter.
The second quarter was all Sharks. Jacob Cheshire ran it in from 1 yard out midway through the period and Malcolm Denbow later added an 8-yard TD run to put Long Island up 17-14 at halftime.
Robert Morris reclaimed the lead for good when Martin scored on a 12-yard run with 6:32 left in the third quarter. The score was set up by a 58-yard run from Jackson.
Martin added a 24-yard scoring strike to Garrett Houser in the fourth quarter.
The Sharks punted three times and had three drives end with interceptions in the second half.
Jackson finished with 128 yards on 15 carries. Martin completed 12 of 19 passes for 150 yards with one interception.
Long Island managed just 169 yards of offense. Jacob Cheshire was 10-of-19 passing for 81 yards and the three picks.

Pitt overcomes 3 turnovers, beats Georgia Tech 20-10
By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Kenny Pickett threw for 204 yards with a touchdown, Vincent Davis had a 61-yard touchdown run and Pittsburgh overcame three first-half turnovers to beat Georgia Tech 20-10 on Saturday.
Pitt (6-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) held Georgia Tech (2-6, 1-4) to 194 yards.
The Pitt defense stopped the Yellow Jackets inches short of a potential tying touchdown late in the third quarter. Quarterback Lucas Johnson fumbled at the goal line when hit by Kylan Johnson. Cam Bright returned the fumble recovery 79 yards.
The return set up Alex Kessman’s 48-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 20-10 lead.
Davis took a wildcat snap, ran through the middle of the line and made one cut to his left before finding open field for a 61-yard touchdown run to give Pitt a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Pickett’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Shocky Jacques-Louis in the second quarter stretched the halftime lead to 17-7.
The Panthers committed three first-half turnovers. Pickett threw two interceptions in the half, including one off the hands of tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart that was caught by Yellow Jackets safety Tariq Carpenter.
In the first quarter, safety Juanyeh Thomas cut in front of Maurice Ffrench for Georgia Tech’s first interception.
Georgia Tech couldn’t convert either interception into points but quickly capitalized when Ffrench’s fumble, forced by linebacker David Curry, was recovered by Jordan Domineck. On the next play, James Graham threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Ahmarean Brown.
After Graham completed only 2 of 9 passes for 54 yards in the first half, coach Geoff Collins started Johnson at quarterback in the second half. Johnson was escorted to the locker room following the big hit on his fumble at the goal line.
Graham played the remainder of the game.
Georgia Tech’s Jerry Howard blocked Kirk Christodoulou’s punt on Pitt’s first possession of the second half. The Yellow Jackets recovered at the Pitt 12, setting up a 30-yard field goal by Brenton King that cut the Panthers’ lead to seven points.
Ffrench had 11 catches for 71 yards.
Pitt sophomore running back Todd Sibley, the team’s second-leading rusher, was held out with an undisclosed injury.
Panthers linebacker Phil Campbell III was ejected in the second quarter after a targeting call for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Graham.
THE TAKEAWAY
Pitt: The Panthers rebounded from last week’s loss to Miami and remain in position to contend for a second straight Coastal Division title and trip to the ACC championship game. There were blemishes in the win as Pitt struggled with mistakes. In addition to the turnovers, Pitt struggled on special teams. The Panthers had a punt blocked and Ffrench made a questionable decision to field a kickoff near the sideline at the 7.
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets showed why they rank last in the ACC in scoring. The two quarterbacks combined to complete only 8 of 21 passes for 108 yards. Graham, a redshirt freshman, made an ill-advised deep pass in the fourth quarter that was intercepted by Paris Ford. After running for 141 yards in a win at Miami two weeks ago, Jordan Mason had 15 carries for 56 yards.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh: The Panthers are off next weekend before playing North Carolina in a Thursday night game on Nov. 14. North Carolina has six straight wins in the series, including a 38-35 win in 2018.
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets play at Virginia next Saturday. Georgia Tech beat the Cavaliers 30-27 in overtime last season and has won seven of the last 10 to lead the series 21-19-1.
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Robert Morris edged Bryant 24-20, comes from 13 points down
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Garrett Houser pulled in a 75-yard pass from George Martin for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter as Robert Morris came from behind to defeat Bryant 24-20 Saturday to remain undefeated in the Northeast Conference.
The Colonials (4-4, 3-0) fell behind 13-0 by halftime, their largest deficit since trailing Sacred Heart by 14 in 2010 — also a comeback win.
The Colonials outscored the Bulldogs (2-7, 1-3) 24-7 in the final two periods despite being outgained in rushing and passing yards.
Back-to-back Bryant turnovers turned into 10 points. Brady Ours intercepted Bryant’s Kory Curtis, leading to a Nick Bisceglia 29-yard field goal as the Colonials cut the gap to 13-10. The Bulldogs’ Gavin Rowley was pushed back for a 16-yard loss on the next possession and fumbled. Jacob Thomas snatched it up at the 3 and scored for a 17-13 Colonials lead.
Bryant took a 20-17 lead early in the fourth on Harrison Easton’s 5-yard TD run, but Robert Morris responded with a three-play, 74-yard drive and the winning TD pass
Jesse Nemerowicz, with six tackles, grabbed the career record for Bryant with 289. The previous record was 285.