MINNEAPOLIS — Penn State coach Joe Paterno's pain was almost instantaneous.

Following the game, Paterno was asked the status of cornerback Bhawoh Jue, who suffered a minor head injury. The inquirer mispronounced Jue's last name, making it sound as a though he said 'you.'

"Did Jue get a concussion?" he asked.

"Did I?" Paterno responded. "No, but I got a headache at about 11 o'clock Central time."

Unlike Jue's injury, the Nittany Lions' 25-16 loss to Minnesota Saturday at the Metrodome wasn't caused by one, severe blow. Rather, it was Penn State's immediate and frequent mistakes that caused the steady, painful pounding.

Minnesota (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) and Penn State (2-5, 1-2) each incurred seven penalties in the first half, but the Golden Gophers managed three field goals to the Lions' one.

Penn State's offensive efforts were stymied by mistakes on big plays.

A wide-open Bryant Johnson dropped a pass that hit him square on the hands. Tailback Larry Johnson's 24-yard rush was called back because of a sixth man on the line of scrimmage. Would-be first downs were nullified because of holding penalties and a false start (on a fourth-and-one).

"We were horrible in the first half," Paterno said. "You can't play against a good football team with half of a game on offense."

Minnesota also had offensive troubles, but they took place in the red zone. But the combination of Dan Nystrom's powerful leg and running back Tellis Redmon's ability to hit gaping holes equaled sufficient offense.

The second half was marked by big catches by both teams. On the third quarter opening drive, Gophers quarterback Travis Cole found wideout Ron Johnson for a 37 yard gain. That play set up a three-yard touchdown pass from Cole to Johnson to make the score 15-3.

Penn State's offense was also jump started by a huge receiving play. In the third quarter, wideout Kenny Watson made a one-handed catch in midair to put the Lions on Minnesota's 17-yard line.

"It changed the momentum for a second," Watson said.

The catch set up a three-yard Eric McCoo touchdown run to make the score 15-10.

Minnesota responded with a halfback option in which Johnson caught a pass from running back Thomas Tapeh for a 22-10 score. Big rushes by Redmon set up another Nystrom field goal on the next drive to make it 25-10.

Penn State responded when Tony Stewart caught Rashard Casey's pass for a touchdown with 3:16 remaining. The two-point conversion failed, but the ensuing on-side kick was successful.

The Gophers, however, stopped the Lions' final drive and won the matchup for the second-straight year.

"Obviously, this is not a typical Penn State team by their win-loss record," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "But they aren't Sisters of the Poor. They have good players. I thought they got better as the game got on."

Penn State has an entire week to contemplate the future and direction of the team. Paterno said he is grateful for the bye week, which gives the Lions a chance to regroup.

But other players said they wanted to do that regrouping as soon as possible.

"I kind of wish we didn't have a bye week," McCoo said, "so we can go out there and get things going."

And maybe make the next game against Illinois less painful for Paterno.