| First meeting | September 4, 1993 Penn State, 38–20 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | October 22, 2022 Penn State, 45–17 |
| Next meeting | November 23, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN |
| Trophy | Governor's Victory Bell |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 16 |
| All-time series | Penn State leads, 10–6 (.625)[1] |
| Trophy series | Penn State leads, 10–6 (.625) |
| Largest victory | Penn State, 56–3 (1994) |
| Longest win streak | Minnesota, 4 (1999–2004) Penn State, 4 (1993–1998, 2005–2010) |
| Current win streak | Penn State, 1 (2022–present) |
The Minnesota–Penn State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the University of Minnesota and the Penn State Nittany Lions football team of Pennsylvania State University. The Governor's Victory Bell is awarded to the winner of the game.
History
The Governor's Victory Bell was first presented in 1993 to commemorate Penn State's entry into the Big Ten Conference, with their first league game coming against Minnesota. Penn State won the trophy during the first four matchups, Minnesota the next four, and Penn State the next four after that. In 2008, Penn State recorded the first shutout of the series when they beat Minnesota 20–0; the previous low score for each team was 3 for Minnesota in 1994 and 7 for Penn State in 2004.
In 2010, after the University of Nebraska joined the Big Ten as its 12th member, the conference was split into two divisions. Penn State and Minnesota were placed in different divisions[2] and thus, beginning in 2011, the rivalry would be held only four times every ten years. In 2014, the University of Maryland and Rutgers University joined the Big Ten and in 2016, the conference increased its schedule to nine games. Currently, the two schools will play each other at least twice during every six-year scheduling cycle. Penn State leads the series 10–6.
In 2019, Both teams were undefeated with Penn State ranked #4 and Minnesota ranked #17. This was the first matchup in which both teams were ranked. The game went down to the wire and ended with a dramatic interception by the Gophers in their own end zone to win 31–26. Unlike the 1999 game, there was no post-game collapse by Penn State, their only remaining loss was to cross-state rival Ohio State (Penn State's starting quarterback, Sean Clifford was out for that game and the Rutgers game, which they won 27–6).
In 2022, Penn State beat Minnesota easily in a White Out game, taking back the trophy with a score of 45–17.
Game results
| Minnesota victories | Penn State victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winning team | Losing team | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4, 1993 | University Park, PA | #17 Penn State | Minnesota | 38–20 | |||
| 2 | September 3, 1994 | Minneapolis, MN | #9 Penn State | Minnesota | 56–3 | |||
| 3 | October 18, 1997 | University Park, PA | #1 Penn State | Minnesota | 17–16 | |||
| 4 | October 10, 1998 | Minneapolis, MN | #13 Penn State | Minnesota | 28–27 | |||
| 5 | November 6, 1999 | University Park, PA | Minnesota | #2 Penn State | 24–23 | |||
| 6 | October 7, 2000 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota | Penn State | 25–16 | |||
| 7 | September 27, 2003 | University Park, PA | #20 Minnesota | Penn State | 20–14 | |||
| 8 | October 2, 2004 | Minneapolis, MN | #19 Minnesota | Penn State | 16–7 | |||
| 9 | October 1, 2005 | University Park, PA | Penn State | #19 Minnesota | 44–14 | |||
| 10 | October 7, 2006 | Minneapolis, MN | Penn State | Minnesota | 28–27OT | |||
| 11 | October 17, 2009 | University Park, PA | #14 Penn State | Minnesota | 20–0 | |||
| 12 | October 23, 2010 | Minneapolis, MN | Penn State | Minnesota | 33–21 | |||
| 13 | November 9, 2013 | Minneapolis, MN | Minnesota | Penn State | 24–10 | |||
| 14 | October 1, 2016 | University Park, PA | Penn State | Minnesota | 29–26OT | |||
| 15 | November 9, 2019 | Minneapolis, MN | #17 Minnesota | #4 Penn State | 31–26 | |||
| 16 | October 22, 2022 | University Park, PA | #16 Penn State | Minnesota | 45–17 | |||
| Series: Tied 8–8[1] | ||||||||
See also
References
- 1 2 "Winsipedia - Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions football series history". Winsipedia.
- ↑ "Big Ten Announces Football Division Alignments and 2011 and 2012 Conference Schedules - BIG TEN CONFERENCE Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2010-09-03.