Sept. 28, 2016
By Arielle Sargent, GoPSUSports.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State and Minnesota will play for the Governor's Victory Bell Saturday in Beaver Stadium.
Dating back to the first year of Big Ten football at Penn State, the Governor's Victory Bell has been awarded to the winner of each Penn State-Minnesota game since the Nittany Lions and the Golden Gophers played in Penn State inaugural game as members of the Big Ten Conference.
With Penn State's first Big Ten outing slated against the Golden Gophers in 1993, Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey and Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson commissioned the trophy game to mark the Penn State's first Big Ten game.
Having played for the Victory Bell a total of 13 times in program history, Penn State has collected the trophy eight times. Penn State won the first ever Victory Bell outing in 1993, topping the Golden Gophers, 38-20, in the first of four consecutive Victory Bell outings spanning until 1998.
The first Victory Bell was first presented by Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Mark Singel, who was serving as acting governor at the time, the trophy was awarded.
From 1999 to 2004 the tables turned as Minnesota won all four Victory Bell games to even the series to 4-4. Unlike the previous streak, all four games within the 1999-2004 span were decided by fewer than 10 points at an average of just higher than six points per game.
Penn State flipped the series once again though, proving dominate in the next four games from 2005-10, with the Nittany Lions downing Minnesota, 44-14, in 2005 and, 20-0, in 2009.
Dotted somewhere in between all three of the four-game stretches though, the Nittany Lions and the Golden Gophers have played at least one close Victory Bell contest, decided by just a single point on three occasions.
Across every all-time series, only Temple has played more one-point games against the Nittany Lions, with Pittsburgh coming in with three games against Penn State in program history decided by a single tally.
Penn State won its most recent nail-biter against the Golden Gophers, topping Minnesota, 28-27 in overtime, on the road October 7. The Golden Gophers scored in the final two minutes to send the 2006 game into overtime before scoring again in the overtime period. Minnesota's extra point attempt hit the upright, giving the Nittany Lions the opportunity to secure the win with a 2-yard touchdown run from Tony Hunt followed by Kevin Kelly's game-winning PAT.
Penn State's one-point victory at Minnesota in 2006 marked the first for the Nittany Lions since a 16-15 win against Minnesota in 1997.
Looking back at 1997, Penn State had already won the first two Victory Bell games in 1993 and 1994 entering the matchup ranked No. 1 in the country. The Nittany Lions rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, as Penn State's defensive end Chris Snyder recovered a Minnesota fumble at the 10-yard line to set up a Curtis Enis touchdown in the fourth quarter. Penn State was unsuccessful on its two-point attempt, but hung on to secure the win.
The Nittany Lions also played to a one-point decision at home in Beaver Stadium in 1999, where Penn State saw an 11-game winning streak come to an end following a Minnesota 32-yard field goal on the last play of the game.
The Governor's Victory Bell is among 11 other trophies that mark conference rivalries. The Nittany Lions also play for the Land Grant Trophy in games against Michigan State, honoring the universities as the nation's two pioneer land-grant schools.
Minnesota has possession of the Governor's Victory Bell after a 24-10 win in Minneapolis in 2013.