Last week’s 49-10 loss to Michigan really shook up the Nittany Lions 2016 season. The shock wave traveled from Ann Arbor through Ohio and across the state of Pennsylvania to State College.Penn State’s loss of course generated a ton of buzz over head coach James Franklin and his 16-14 overall record since coming on as the Nittany Lions leader three seasons ago.The Michigan loss to me, didn’t change my mind on Franklin. I think he needs time, in my opinion until the 2017 or 2018 season to get Penn State back to a physical and consistent football team. If anything, the Michigan loss did what it needed to do to the Penn State fan base and that was serve them with a reality check.Just think about this logically for one minute.Penn State is breaking in a new offense and a new quarterback and had to replace three players on the defensive line that were drafted into the NFL. Then on top of that it was missing its three starting linebackers, which are all pretty good players. Then of course, add to the fold the fact that the offensive line unit is average at best.I don’t think 1980s Joe Paterno could’ve taken that team into “The Big House” and coached them to any different type of result. Of course you will have your old school fans say something to the tune of, “Franklin can’t get these kids to play hard or play tough,” which I hear all the time from people who read this column.I agree to an extent. Penn State should’ve played tougher last Saturday, but I’m still a believer in that talent trumps all when it comes to any sport. With the speed that today’s game offers, you don’t see the true underdog stories anymore. The faster and more talented team will win almost every time.Now that’s not to say that physicality, toughness, and work ethic reigns supreme in the trenches. Everybody knows that about football, but my point is that Michigan was far and away the more talented team last Saturday. I don’t think it had so much to do with coaching as it did with Michigan being a top five team in the country.The reality of the matter is Penn State is not a top 25 program right now and it might not be for the next few seasons. The sooner the Nittany Lions fan base comes to grip with that fact, the easier it will be for them to enjoy college football on Saturday afternoons.The Penn State football program has a chance over the next two weeks to gain momentum as Minnesota comes to Happy Valley later today and the Nittany Lions host Maryland on October 8.The Gophers are currently 3-0 and the Terrapins have a good chance to start 4-0 as they host Purdue at 3:30 p.m. today. If Penn State can pull out victories in these two games with some of the challenges, it’s currently facing it could do wonders for its confidence and most importantly on the recruiting trail.This week’s opponent Minnesota is coming into Happy Valley with momentum, having won its first three games of the season. The Gophers defeated Oregon State, Indiana State, and Colorado State to get to 3-0 and present quite the challenge to a Penn State team that must try and bounce back from the beating it took at Michigan last week.The first issue will be the big and physical offense line of the Gophers. The Penn State front four has not been great against talented rushing teams, having given up over 300 yards to both Pitt and Michigan already this season. Minnesota is averaging 228 yards per game on the ground.The Gophers have three players that can hurt you in the run game with Rodney Smith (298 yards), Kobe McCrary (193 yards), and Mitch Leidner (135 yards). Leidner, which has been the signal caller for the Gophers for the past few seasons has 25 career rushing touchdowns, meaning the Nittany Lion linebackers must be fundamentally sound in all aspects if Leidner leaves the pocket.“They’ve got two running backs that we think are really good running backs, and they’ve got a big, strong quarterback who is the all-time rushing touchdown leader in their school’s history,” said Franklin. “He is 6-foot-4, 225-plus pounds and has played a lot of football for them. They are quick, explosive and talented at running back.“It’ll be a great challenge. We’re excited about being back in Beaver Stadium in front of our fans and friends and family, and this is a great opportunity to go out and play a good football team and have an opportunity to be 1-0 this week, which is our goal and our focus.”In order for Penn State to be “1-0” this week it must be able to run the football, which is something it has struggled with this season. The offensive line has not been able to get a consistent push up front and most of the Nittany Lions big runs have come from their backs making nothing plays into something plays.Penn State has one of the most talented tailbacks in the country in Saquon Barkley (317 yards, 6TDs), so the fact that it’s averaging just 101 yards on the ground per game is downright unacceptable. Franklin and offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead must find multiple ways to get Barkley the ball in space because the sophomore has the ability to single-handedly change the momentum of a football game.Minnesota is giving up just 119 yards per game rushing, which means the road graders up front for the Nittany Lions must play significantly better than last week.“I think we are improved on the offensive line, but we need to be better in our pass protection on obvious passing downs, and we need to be more physical,” said Franklin. “We’re getting a hat on a hat, but we’re not creating movement, so we need to do that. We need to create more space because we’ve all seen that Saquon can be effective when he’s given a little bit of room.“Then, I think the other thing where Saquon I think could be a little bit better is not trying to make every run an 80-yard touchdown. You have to be willing to lower your shoulder and run people over or get in a gap and push the pile for four or five yards. I think he’s been trying to make the extra cut every single run, and there’s a time and a place for that.”Las Vegas has Penn State as a two-point favorite.I think the Gophers will be able to control the line of scrimmage and use their rushing attack to control the game. Leidner is a good runner and he does a good job of throwing the deep ball when given the opportunity. That in itself just spells trouble for a Penn State defense that will still be missing its three starting linebackers.My pick is Minnesota 34, Penn State 31.