MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota looked like a mess a mere month ago, with a couple of lopsided losses to start conference play and head coach Jerry Kill on leave to treat his epilepsy.

Now the Golden Gophers have won four straight Big Ten games in the same season for the first time since 1973.

A little confidence can go a long way.

David Cobb had 27 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown, and Minnesota held Penn State scoreless over the final 33-plus minutes to grind out a 24-10 victory on Saturday.

“We’re having fun now. Before it was more of a job. You’d come into work and didn’t know if you were going to win or not,” Cobb said. “But now we expect to win. We’re having fun at practice, having fun during the games. No one’s really uptight about it. The coaches believe in us. We trust each other.”

Philip Nelson had 186 yards and a score on 15-for-24 passing, plus one touchdown and 40 yards on the ground for Minnesota (8-2, 4-2), which hasn’t had this many victories since a 10-3 finish in 2003.

“I didn’t know if we could move quite this quick, but I think that’s a credit to our staff and our players,” said Kill, who has eased back in to the job by supervising from the coaches’ booth instead of being on the sideline. “On the inside -- it’s sometimes hard to see on the outside -- we knew we were getting better.”

Zach Zwinak scored once and gained a season-high 150 yards on 26 rushes for the Nittany Lions (5-4, 2-3), who have been outscored 131-48 in three Big Ten road games.

“Give Minnesota a lot of credit. They do a great job. They deserve to be 8-2,” coach Bill O’Brien said.

Allen Robinson had seven receptions for 63 yards, giving him 1,106 yards this year to break Bobby Engram’s 18-year-old program record, but the Gophers minimized his impact by double teaming on almost every play.