Joel Klatt dissects why Minnesota-Penn State could ultimately decide B1G West race
A top-15 showdown, the No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions will make the trip to TCF Bank Stadium to face the No. 13 Minnesota Golden Gophers on November 9.
Along with the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, the Nittany Lions, and Golden Gophers are two of the three unbeaten teams left in the B1G.
Appearing on the Big Ten Network on Wednesday, CFB on FOX analyst Joel Klatt broke down the implications of the upcoming matchup. According to Klatt, this game could actually go a long way toward deciding who wins the B1G West:
“If they (Minnesota) were to win next week, that would be a no-brainer that they would be in the (Playoff) hunt,” Klatt began.
“And they would certainly have the inside track to get to Indianapolis and potentially a matchup with Ohio State in the B1G Championship Game. Because they already have a two-game lead, so really the division for them comes down to that game against Penn State when you really boil it down.”
BTN provided the clip on Twitter:
"They're playing for their postseason lives when they get on that field."
The matchup is over a week away, but we couldn't resist asking @joelklatt about the implications of the meeting between undefeated @GopherFootball and @PennStateFball: pic.twitter.com/0XBqWV2Gil
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 30, 2019
Holding a two-game lead over No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 19 Iowa in the B1G West, Minnesota will go to Iowa City on November 16 and host the Badgers on November 30 in the regular-season finale.
Penn State at Minnesota on November 9 will kick at 12:00 PM ET on ABC. The only game with more appeal, No. 1 LSU at No. 2 Alabama will follow at 3:30 PM ET as part of the SEC on CBS.