A second-quarter surge powers Penn State past Minnesota, 45-17. Next up: No. 2 Ohio State.

As of Friday evening, Penn State hadn’t announced the status of Sean Clifford. Still nursing an undisclosed injury from last week’s loss to Michigan, it was anyone’s guess if the sixth-year quarterback was going to start against Minnesota in the Nittany Lions’ “White Out” homecoming game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

It appeared the caginess was head coach James Franklin’s way of keeping the Golden Gophers guessing. It was Clifford who went under center, with a four-touchdown performance that powered Penn State past Minnesota, 45-17.

In the win, the Nittany Lions (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) reclaimed the Governor’s Victory Bell trophy, which Minnesota had held onto since 2019, but, perhaps even more important, shook the awful taste that was last week’s 41-17 loss to No. 4 Michigan. It was the most points Penn State ever scored in a White Out game.

Penn State desperately wanted to make a statement and the Golden Gophers were the sacrificial opponents.

Defensively, Minnesota (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis was held to just 175 yards passing and nine completions on 22 attempts. He was also picked off by Ji’Ayir Brown in the third quarter, who returned it 35-yards to set up a Penn State TD.

Offensively, we saw a Penn State passing attack that the Golden Gophers had no answers for, specifically in a second half that saw the Nittany Lions amass 175 yards of total offense on just four drives — with only one drive in which Minnesota forced a punt.

On defense, Penn State forced seven Minnesota punts.

It wasn’t one particular play but an entire quarter, the third to be exact, that changed the momentum in Penn State’s favor.

That’s when the Nittany Lions scored 21 points behind two Clifford TD passes, the first a 35-yard floating catch to wide receiver Patrick Washington and a 20-yard connection to wideout Mitchell Tinsley. In between , freshman running back Nick Singleton scored on a 16-yard scamper.

The three drives put Penn State ahead, 38-10, to start the fourth quarter and chewed up over eight minutes.

It would be wrong to not call the performance of Clifford the highlight of this game, considering we still don’t know what undisclosed injury made him a question mark. But in a game in which he was five yards shy of 300 in the air, even after starting the game with two three-and-outs and a first-quarter interception, Clifford truly led his team to victory. Also, credit Singleton who finished with 79 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.

A monster test awaits next Saturday against No. 2 Ohio State back at Beaver Stadium (noon, Fox). Penn State will be looking for its first win since 2017 against the Buckeyes in addition for a chance to remain in the running for a spot in the College Football Playoff.