Can the Gophers recreate 2019 magic against Penn State?

Minnesota will host the Nittany Lions for the first time in five years.

Nov 9, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Jordan Howden (23) celebrates with defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. (11) after intercepting a pass to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Gophers welcome Penn State to Dinkytown for the first time since their celebrated 2019 upset win. The college football world looks a lot different, but P.J. Fleck and Minnesota will look to find the same magic they found in that season.

"When you talk about somebody trusting what you're doing and how you're doing it, you need time, consistency and proof," Fleck said on Monday. "The win in 2019, they were ranked 4th in the country but that has nothing to do with the 2024 season. It really doesn't."

Nearly five years ago, Minnesota and Penn State both entered that game 8-0, and the Gophers pulled off the 31-26 upset. It was highlighted by a near-perfect day from quarterback Tanner Morgan, who was 18-of-20 for 339 yards and three touchdowns.

"The things we take from it — is a lot of them weren't even here. Some of them didn't even know that because they were somewhere else four years ago and so much has happened in their lives," Fleck said. "But, what you can do is you can pull from really, really, really big games of what playmakers have done, and I think that's always critical is we need our best playmakers to play their best."

Fleck is correct so much has changed since that game, but Minnesota does have some holdovers. Linebacker Derik LeCaptain, offensive lineman Tyler Cooper, tight end Nick Kallerup and defensive lineman Logan Richter were all on the roster, but none of them played in the contest. Current defensive line coach and assistant head coach Winston DeLattiboudere played 39 snaps in that game for Minnesota.

"We took from it what we needed to take from it and moved on since then. That's about five years ago and done a lot in the program since then," Fleck said. "But it's going to be a one-game season. It's gonna be 60 minutes and we gotta be at our best, period."

Five years later the circumstances are much different. Oddly enough, Penn State is ranked No. 4 in the country again, but they're now looking to secure a spot in the new 12-team playoff, while Minnesota is 6-4 and looking to play spoiler.