Rocco Becht passed for three touchdowns and rushed for one and Penn State scored the first 35 points en route to a 42-14 victory over Minnesota in Big Ten play on a rainy Saturday night at University Park, Pa.
Ben Brahmer caught two touchdown passes while Carson Hansen rushed for 126 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries for Penn State (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten). Hansen has scored a touchdown in six straight games.
Cam Wallace rushed for 82 yards on 15 carries and had a scoring reception for the Nittany Lions, who won their third consecutive game. Becht was 9-of-15 passing for 84 yards.
Drake Lindsey completed 16 of 30 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns for the Golden Gophers (5-5, 3-4), who lost their third straight game. Javon Tracy caught both touchdown passes for Minnesota.
Penn State held the Golden Gophers to 226 yards. The Nittany Lions totaled 351.
Becht scored on a 1-yard run with 8:44 left in the opening quarter. He made it 14-0 when he connected on a 19-yard scoring pass to Brahmer with 5:15 remaining.
Hansen sidestepped two defenders and broke free for a 46-yard scoring run to make it a 21-point margin with 10:10 left in the first half.
Becht hit Wallace for a 1-yard score to make it 28-0 with 33 seconds left in the half.
The Nittany Lions continued their assault by moving 75 yards on 10 plays to start the third quarter. Becht capped it with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brahmer.
Minnesota finally got on the board with Lindsey's 10-yard scoring pass to Tracy with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter. The two connected again with a 15-yard touchdown play as the Golden Gophers moved within 35-14 with 1:40 left in the period.
Penn State backup Alex Manske tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to James Peoples to make it a 28-point margin with 2:51 left in the contest.
--Field Level Media