Game Coverage

Lions overcome sluggish performance at Minnesota, win 26-25

Fake punt helps clinch 10th victory

MINNEAPOLIS -- Penn State is closing in on a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The Nittany Lions overcame a sluggish performance in almost all facets but did enough to hold off Minnesota, 26-25, before 44,266 at Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday.

Penn State, ranked No. 4, improved to 10-1 on the season.

With the 12-team CFP looming, a loss would have jeopardized the Lions' position -- certainly their ability to host a first-round home playoff game.

Leading 26-25 with 3:38 left, facing fourth-and-1 from its own 34, Penn State faked a punt and freshman Luke Reynolds ran 32 yards.

That forced Minnesota to burn its timeouts, and on another fourth-and-1 with 2:12 left, James Franklin again gambled, passing on a field goal attempt, and Drew Allar ran a quarterback sneak to pick up the first down.

The Lions then ran out the clock.

“We wanted to end the game on our terms,” Franklin said.

PSU trailed through the first half and did not take its first lead until 3:43 remained in the third quarter.

At one point, the Lions were outrushed 86-4 before finishing strong.

Allar completed 21-of-28 for 244 yards and a touchdown. He was not intercepted, and the Lions did not commit a turnover.

Tyler Warren caught eight passes for 102 yards.

Dragan Kesich's third field goal, from 26 yards, pulled Minnesota within 26-25 with 5:48 remaining.

Down 23-22, Minnesota made a key turnover to close the third quarter when quarterback Max Brosner fumbled, and Zakee Wheatley recovered at the Gophers' 41.

The Lions cashed it in on Ryan Barker's third field goal, this one from 32 with 11:51 to play, bumping State's lead to 26-22.

Trailing 22-16, and with little else working on offense, the Lions turned to their All-American tight end, Warren, hitting him three straight times to the Minnesota 27.

Nick Singleton did the rest, running for gains of 15 yards and then a 12-yard TD to push PSU up 23-22 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

On the day, Penn State got off to a slow start, and was sluggish throughout on both sides of the ball.

The Gophers took a 7-0 on their first possession, going 70 yards in nine plays capped by Marcus Major's 20-yard touchdown run and bumped it to 10-0 on Kesich's 48-yard field goal.

Penn State pulled within 10-7 when Allar found Omari Evans alone behind the Minnesota secondary for a 45-yard touchdown and tied the game at 10 on Ryan Barker's 45-yard field goal with 7:50 remaining in the second quarter.

After a blocked punt gave the Gophers the ball at the PSU 21, Minnesota sprung a flea flicker with Brosner hitting Jameson Geers for a touchdown and a 17-10 lead with 1:03 left in the first half.

Penn State kept its composure and quickly moved up the field, going 75 yards on six plays, capped by Allar's 4-yard touchdown scramble with just 18 seconds before the half.

That made it 17-16, but Minnesota's Jack Henderson blocked the extra point, and Ethan Robinson returned it for 2 points, giving the Gophers a 19-16 halftime lead.

Allar went 5-of-5 on the drive for 56 yards, including one to 28 to Warren, and a pass interference call that Trey Wallace drew.

Minnesota opened the second half with Kesich's second field goal, a 42-yarder, to go up 22-16.

The Lions will host Maryland next Saturday on Senior Day. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. for the Big Ten Network.

Maryland lost at home to Iowa 29-13 on Saturday, falling to 4-7 on the season.

Minnesota, which fell to 6-5, visits Wisconsin for a noon Black Friday kickoff.