Minnesota 20, Penn State 14

September 27, 2003 - Beaver Stadium - State College, PA

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NCAAF   FINAL               1ST  2ND  3RD  4TH     TOTAL
                            ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
        MINNESOTA (20)       14    3    0    3      20
        PENN STATE            0   14    0    0      14   FINAL


        SCORING SUMMARY

     
        1ST QTR: MINN - TD, MARION BARBER 11 YD RUN (RHYS LLOYD KICK), 9:26
                 MINN - TD, LAURENCE MARONEY 3 YD RUN (RHYS LLOYD KICK), 2:26
        2ND QTR: PSU  - TD, AUSTIN SCOTT 1 YRD RUN (ROBBIE GOULD KICK), 10:43
                 MINN - FG, RHYS LLOYD 44 YD, 6:42
                 PSU  - TD, MICHAEL ROBINSON 10 YD RUN (ROBBIE GOULD KICK), 2:04
        4TH QTR: MINN - FG, RHYS LLOYD 30 YD, 2:21
                                                                                


Extended Box


NCAAF                 1  2  3  4   F 
                      -  -  -  -  -- 
Minnesota            14  3  0  3  20 
Penn State            0 14  0  0  14  FINAL 


 Minnesota-Barber 11 run (Lloyd kick)
 Minnesota-Maroney 3 run (Lloyd kick)
 Penn State-Scott 1 run (Gould kick)
 Minnesota-FG Lloyd 44
 Penn State-Robinson 10 run (Gould kick)
 Minnesota-FG Lloyd 30


                      Minnesota   Penn State 
First downs                  22          26 
Rushed-yards             52-250      43-226 
Passing yards                71         193 
Sacked-yards lost          3-20         1-7 
Return yards                  9          38 
Passes                   7-15-0     19-35-2 
Punts                    5-45.0      2-51.0 
Fumbles-lost                0-0         1-0 
Penalties-yards            4-38        6-31 
Time of possession        29:18       30:42 


Individual Statistics 
RUSHING: Minnesota-M Barber 23-134, Maroney 11-46, Abdul-khaliq 10-34,
Tapeh 5-21, Ellerson 1-19. Penn State-A Scott 20-95, M Robinson 12-42,
McHugh 6-35, Mills 3-30, Humphrey 1-22, Upton 1-2.


PASSING: Minnesota-Abdul-khaliq 6-14-0-56, M Barber 1-1-0-15.
Penn State-M Robinson 16-27-2-178, Mills 3-7-0-15.


RECEIVING: Minnesota-Utecht 3-34, Patterson 1-16, Maroney 1-11, M Barber 2-10.
Penn State-T Johnson 3-32, G Smith 3-28, Kranchick 2-27, McHugh 4-22, Terrell
1-20, Humphrey 1-19, D Johnson 1-16, A Scott 2-13, Lukac 1-12, Upton 1-4.


Att: 106,735
                                                                        


Game Story


STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Marion Barber III and 
Laurence Maroney ran for first-quarter touchdowns as 20th-ranked
Minnesota raced to a quick lead and held on for a 20-14 Big Ten
Conference victory over Penn State.

Minnesota (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated Penn State for the third
straight meeting and matched its best start since 1987.

The win was not assured until the final minute as Penn State
(2-3, 0-1) drove to the Minnesota 15, but Austin Scott was
stopped after a two-yard run on second down.  After the Nittany
Lions called their final timeout, Michael Robinson threw
consecutive incomplete passes in the end zone.

Minnesota came out quickly, recovering an onside kick to open
the game. While it did not lead to a a score, Rhys Lloyd's
51-yard punt put Penn State at its own 6.

The Golden Gophers began their second possession in Penn State
territory and Barber capped an 11-play, 43-yard drive with an
11-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 just 5:34 into the game.

Maroney had a three-yard run to give the Golden Gophers a 14-0
lead with 2:36 left in the opening quarter.

Barber carried 23 times for a season-high 134 yards for his
third straight 100-yard effort. He has 11 rushing TDs on the
season, two away from the school record shared by Jim Perkins
(1976) and Darrell Thompson (1987).  Barber's father had 12
rushing TDs in 1979.

Zack Mills started at quarterback for Penn State, but left with
a knee injury after completing just 3-of-7 passes for 15 yards.

"I am not sure they know how bad it is yet," Penn State coach
Joe Paterno said about Mills' injury.  "They will probably do an
MRI on it and find out what's wrong with him."

Scott, who had 95 yards on 20 carries, had a one-yard plunge to
pull Penn State within 14-7, 4:17 into the second quarter.

Lloyd kicked a 44-yard field goal to give the Gophers a 17-7
advantage with 6:42 left in the second quarter.

Robinson had a 10-yard scamper to cut the deficit to three
points 2:04 before halftime.

Robinson was 17-of-27 for 178 yards and two interceptions.  He
also rushed 12 times for 42 yards.

"I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the position,"
Robinson said.  "I got a lot more reps in practice this week and
it enabled me to find my rhythm."

The Nittany Lions drove to the Minnesota 6 with just over a
minute remaining in the first half.  But after Penn State went
offsides on 3rd-and-goal, Robinson was intercepted by linebacker
Terrance Campbell at the 11.  Paterno and the Penn State
coaches argued that the ball hit the ground on the interception,
which a replay appeared to confirm.

"The people on our sideline though the ball hit the ground, the
official said no," Paterno said.

Penn State moved to the Minnesota 33 on its first possession of
the second half, but Robinson threw an incompletion on
4th-and-3.

Safety Justin Fraley intercepted Robinson at the Minnesota 36
midway through the fourth quarter and Lloyd capped a long drive
with a 30-yard field with 2:21 to play.