It’s OK to breathe a sigh of relief, Penn State fans. The Nittany Lions are 10-1, but it certainly was not pretty on Saturday in a 26-25 victory over Minnesota. But a win is a win, and Penn State has 10 of them in 11 games.
Penn State came out sleeping its way to an early 10-0 deficit in the first half, and it was a constant battle to climb its way to a 23-22 lead in the third quarter. Penn State held a 26-25 lead after the Gophers kicked a field goal on its final possession of the game, and a fake punt and a fourth-and-short conversion on helped Penn State run the remainder of the game’s five minutes and change for a hard-fought victory. The win keeps Penn State in the mix for a spot in the Big Ten championship game and should keep the Nittany Lions for a potential first-round College Football Playoff game in Beaver Stadium.
And it was a roller coaster of emotions to get there.
[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] completed 20 of 27 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, a 45-yard strike to a wide-open [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] in the second quarter. Allar also picked up a short touchdown run in a game where he was under some good pressure throughout the game and let his emotions boil over a bit on the sideline in the heat of the moment. But Allar delivered another gritty performance on the road like he did at USC earlier in the season.
Not surprisingly, tight end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] was a big reason why Penn State came away with the Governor’s Victory Bell. Warren caught eight passes for 102 yards, including the big fourth-down conversion in the final minute to help Penn State run the clock out for good. Warren was without a touchdown in the game, but he was the game’s leading receiver.
[autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] rushed for a game-high 63 yards and a touchdown and he added six catches for 37 yards. [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] had a quiet day in the box score with three tackles, but he did bring some good pressure off the edge. Minnesota just found ways to avoid letting that pressure bring them down. Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer did throw an interception to [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] and had a costly fumble when he just dropped the ball in the backfield, with Carter battling him for the fumble recovery.
Special teams disasters by Penn State have been rare this season, but they cost Penn State 9 points in the first half. A blocked punt out of the end zone led to a quick Minnesota touchdown to go up 17-10, and a blocked extra point just before halftime was returned by Minnesota for two points. Confusion on the field also led to a rushed shanked pooch punt by Warren as Drew Allar appeared to want to call timeout.
But it was the special teams that helped deliver a win in the biggest way. Kicker [autotag]Ryan Barker[/autotag] hit a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to put Penn State up 26-22. After the Gophers had to settle for a field goal to cut the lead to one, Penn State picked up a 32-yard gain on a fake punt run by [autotag]Luke Reynolds[/autotag] from the Penn State 34-yard line to keep the drive moving. Penn State looked like it was going three-and-out on the drive after Minnesota cut the lead to one, so the fake punt was what ended up being the play of the game. But Allar picked up another fourth down conversion with a two-yard run with 2:10 remaining, and Allar’s pass to Warren for an 11-yard gain on 4th and 1 from the Minnesota 14-yard line and 26 seconds remaining was the icing on the cake.
With the win, and with Ohio State beating Indiana earlier in the day, Penn State is still in the running for a spot in the Big Ten championship game going into next week. Penn State will know when it takes the field next week if there is a chance to play for the Big Ten championship for the first time since 2016. If Ohio State loses to Michigan next week in the early kickoff window, then a Penn State win would send the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship game to face Oregon.
Penn State will close out the regular season next week at home against Maryland. Next week’s game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff and will air on Big Ten Network.
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