Things are going well early on for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, as they lead the No. 4-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions 7-0 after both teams have traded off offensive drives.

The Nittany Lions were forced to punt on a three-and-out against the Gophers' defense on the opening drive of the game.

Then, Minnesota's offense went nine plays for 70 yards on offense, capping it off with a Marcus Major 20-yard touchdown run to finish it off.

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Of the 70 yards gained by the Golden Gophers, 45 came on the ground, something Minnesota will need to be consistent with if they want a chance to pull off their first upset of an Associated Press Top-5 team since 2019 - which was also Penn State at home.

Related: Minnesota vs. No. 4 Penn State: Predictions, keys to watch in battle for Governor's Victory Bell

Minnesota is coming off a bye week after a disappointing road loss to Rutgers the week prior, entering Saturday's contest with a 6-4 record.

Penn State has a lot on the line Saturday as it continues to fight to stay in the College Football Playoff picture with two games remaining.

The Nittany Lions, who already had multiple players listed out ahead of the game, lost starting right tackle Anthony Donkoh on the first play of the game to an injury. His status for the rest of the game remains unclear.

Minnesota was able to get another stop on Penn State's second drive of the day.