Projected Penn State printable depth chart: Minnesota week
Penn State football no longer provides an official depth chart. So, Blue-White Illustrated has taken up the task of projecting one each week.
Coming off last weekend’s blowout loss at No. 5 Michigan, are any changes in store? Given injuries and other news of the week, some small tweaks could be at hand for Penn State’s game with Minnesota. A prime-time showdown under the lights at Beaver Stadium, the White Out will likely demand Penn State’s best.
What that means for the Penn State depth chart, of course, is to be determined. The Nittany Lions saw their depth shorten last weekend against the Wolverines. Facing a Minnesota program that has been stout defensively, and tough to handle on offense, a reduced rotation again appears likely.
The Gophers, under head coach P.J. Fleck, are coming off back-to-back losses with a bye weekend sandwiched in between. Those losses, first to Purdue and then last weekend at Illinois, came by scores of 20-10 and 26-14, respectively.
Penn State head coach James Franklin boiled down the essence of this week’s matchup.
“At the end of the day, offensively, it’s obviously about staying on the field on third down. Defensively, it’s about getting off the field on third down, and that’s going to be critical this week as well because Minnesota wants to win the time of possession. They want to stay on and convert long drives on offense,” Franklin said on his weekly radio show. “They’re playing really good complementary football right now. So those same things that we need to correct from last week are going to be a huge factor in this week’s game. And obviously, Minnesota, this is a copycat business. They’ve watched the tape and we’re gonna see some of those same things show up again. And obviously, that’s where the corrections are critical.”
Below, take a look at our Penn State projected printable depth chart for a better idea of what that might look like: