Flight issues keep Minnesota home until Saturday morning ahead of Penn State game

Flight issues keep Minnesota home until Saturday morning ahead of Penn State...

The Details

Minnesota’s last trip to Happy Valley was also a night game in 2022 as Wyoming Area grad Dominic DeLuca (34) blocked a punt in a Nittany Lions’ rout of the Golden Gophers.

Barry Reeger | AP file photo

Minnesota boarded its team plane on Friday afternoon, set to fly to State College.

The Golden Gophers never got airborne.

The nationwide grounding of flights because of issues with communication systems at regional air traffic control centers has affected Penn State’s next opponent.

Though flights were cleared to resume Friday night, Minnesota had deboarded their plane to return to campus with an eye toward flying out Saturday morning instead, according to multiple reports out of Minneapolis.

A report by On3 late Friday night said the Gophers were expected to fly out on Saturday morning.

Kickoff isn’t scheduled for 7 p.m. at Beaver Stadium, allowing for some flexibility in traveling. It remains to be seen if the Gophers would ask for the game to start later because of the delays.”Penn State is in communication with the Big Ten Conference and the University of Minnesota,” Penn State Athletics said in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and will share updates when available.”

The shutdown is expected to still create plenty of chaos, given how many flights had to be canceled on Friday. Sports teams are expected to be among the groups receiving higher priority, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who addressed reporters in Washington, D.C.

“If you’re talking about football teams moving,” Duffy said, “many of those are charters, and there’s a lot of individuals on those charter planes, so I would encourage those football teams to reach out to the FAA to schedule those flight times, so they can move and make sure we have games going off tomorrow.”

INFIRMARY REPORT

Wide receiver Koby Howard would seem to have experienced a setback in his recovery from an undisclosed injury suffered back in September.

After a few weeks of being listed as questionable on the week’s first injury report and being ruled out later, Howard was labeled as out back on Wednesday night.

Campbell warned on Tuesday that Howard’s status had changed in the past week.

“Nobody as you can see is pressing more to get back on the football field,” Campbell said. “I think we kind of came to a decision a little bit (last) Thursday, Friday of we’re kind of in a pause state right now on where Koby is at. Again, we were trying to beat a timeline coming back. I think the reality is I’ve continued to say I refuse to put Koby on the field until he’s 100% ready to go back on the football field.

“Whether that pause means the end of the season, whether it’s postseason play, I can promise you I will let you guys know. But right now I think we’re in a pause state to make sure we get him fully 100% back to health.”

Saturday will be the seventh straight game Howard has missed since a breakout three performances to open the season.

Campbell said he has generally been happy with the attitudes of his injured players, including a pair on defense in edge rusher Max Granville and Alex Tatsch, both of whom suffered season-ending injuries for the second straight year.

“We have guys that, man, they were coming of age of their careers,” Campbell said. “You face a setback again in your career, and Koby’s first, that these are the future leaders of our football program, great players, you have to keep growing. … There has to be a sense of urgency to grow. It’s what I love about those guys. Watching what Max has done. Watching what Alex Tatsch has done. Watching how Koby has been involved, an elite teammate. The week before you saw Chase Sowell doing the same thing.

“I’ve been appreciative of our guys buying into what does it mean to be a great teammate, a future leader. Everybody is going to see how you led when it wasn’t going well for you. It gives you the tools and that firepower when you do come back and you got the ability to use your voice in a powerful way. Koby is doing a great job. So are the rest of those guys.”

Minnesota (5-4) at Penn State (5-4),7 p.m. today

Line: Penn State by 8.5.

Against the spread: Penn State 5-4, Minnesota 6-3.

• How to watch: Fox Sports 1
• KEY STATS
• Penn State Offense
• Overall: 395.6 yards per game (55th in FBS)
• Passing: 244.7 yards per game (43rd)
• Rushing: 150.9 yards per game (74th)
• Scoring: 28.9 points per game (65th)
• Penn State Defense
• Overall: 297.3 yards per game (19th in FBS)
• Passing: 144.8 yards per game (3rd)
• Rushing: 152.6 yards per game (84th)
• Scoring: 19.3 points per game (27th)
• Minnesota Offense
• Overall: 307.6 yards per game (129th in FBS)
• Passing: 209.0 yards per game (93rd)
• Rushing: 98.6 yards per game (133rd)
• Scoring: 24.7 points per game (93rd)
• Minnesota Defense
• Overall: 322.9 yards per game (31st in FBS)
• Passing: 192.7 yards per game (40th)
• Rushing: 130.2 yards per game (52nd)
• Scoring: 22.0 points per game (47th)
• MORE NUMBERS

Minnesota is 129th in third down percentage, converting 31.5% of the time. Penn State ranks 4th on defense, holding its opponents to 27.7%.

Both teams have strong turnover margins. Penn State is 14th in the FBS at plus-7, and Minnesota ranks 19th at plus-6.

Penn State is 132nd in FBS in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on 95.8% of trips. Minnesota’s red zone offense ranks 13th, scoring on 93.5% of red zone opportunities.

Penn State

Passing: Rocco Becht, 2,079 yards, 15 TDs, 5 INTs, 62.8 completion percentage Rushing: Carson Hansen, 493 yards on 103 carries, 6 TDs Receiving: Chase Sowell, 635 yards on 38 catches, 4 TDs Minnesota Passing: Drake Lindsey, 1,797 yards, 11 TDs, 7 INTs, 60.8 completion percentage Rushing: TJ Thomas Jr., 402 yards on 70 carries, 1 TD Receiving: Javon Tracy, 485 yards on 49 catches, 1 TD LAST GAME Penn State defeated Washington 28-25 on Nov.

7. Becht led Penn State with 240 yards on 16-of-27 passing (59.3%) for two touchdowns and no interceptions. Hansen carried the ball 14 times for 119 yards and scored one touchdown, adding one reception for five yards. Sowell had four receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown.

Minnesota fell 34-20 to UCLA on Nov. 7. Lindsey passed for 205 yards on 19-of-37 attempts (51.4%) with one touchdown and one interception. Darius Taylor carried the ball 14 times for 46 yards and scored one touchdown, adding four receptions for 18 yards. Jalen Smith had five receptions for 85 yards.

NEXT GAME

Penn State hosts Rutgers on Nov. 21. Minnesota hosts Northwestern on Nov. 21.

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