Penn State coach James Franklin has long considered turnover ratio one of the most important statistics in football. It’s unlikely he will forget to mention it this week as the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions (6-1 Big Ten, 9-1) prepare to play Minnesota (4-3, 6-4) Saturday at 3:30 (TV-CBS) at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers rank among the nation’s best teams in turnover ratio at plus-12. They have 20 takeaways against eight giveaways. “To be honest with you, that’s P.J. (Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck) and his background,” Franklin said Monday during his weekly press conference. “He was at Rutgers (as an assistant) with Coach (Greg) Schiano. A lot of the well-coached teams understand before you learn how to win, you better learn how not to lose. “You put the game in jeopardy by playing sloppy football, turning the ball over and giving up big plays. He’s done a really good job with that.” How important have turnovers been for the Gophers? They’re plus-15 in their six wins over Rhode Island, Nevada, USC, UCLA, Maryland and Illinois and minus-3 in their four losses against North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan and Rutgers. They lead the Big Ten and are tied for fourth nationally with 16 interceptions, including five by freshman safety Koi Perich and three by senior cornerback Ethan Robinson. Penn State, on the other hand, ranks 46th nationally with a plus-3 turnover ratio, including nine giveaways and 12 takeaways. The Lions have had an advantage in turnovers in four games, wins over West Virginia, Bowling Green and Illinois and their only loss to Ohio State. They were minus-1 in a blowout win over Kent State and minus-2 in an overtime win at USC. “When you’re looking for areas of improvement and where you can take the next step, we have to create more turnovers,” Franklin said. “Those things change games.” Safety Jaylen Reed has three interceptions, and five others have one apiece. “We’re doing a pretty good job with pass breakups and contested catches,” Franklin said. “We have to come down with a few of those. There have been a couple 50-50 balls. We have to find a way to win a few more of those.” Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer, a transfer from New Hampshire, has thrown four interceptions in 325 attempts. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has five interceptions in 231 attempts, including three in a 33-30 overtime win over USC. Each team has lost four fumbles. The Lions’ last trip to Minnesota was five years ago when they and the Gophers were unbeaten. Sean Clifford, in his first season as a starter, threw three interceptions in a 31-26 loss to Minnesota, which was plus-2 in turnovers. “It (turnover ratio) is not something that you can start to preach in one week,” Franklin said. “It’s something that we talk about all the time. “It’s always emphasized. We won’t emphasize it more this week because it’s one of our staples that we’re going to talk about and work on every single week and every single day. It’s not something that we’re going to do differently this week.”