What We Learned From Penn State's Wild Win at Minnesota

The Nittany Lions struggled to run, had two special-teams failures and were terrible on 3rd down. But they managed a win over the Golden Gophers.

Penn State Nittany Lions players pose for a photo with the Governor's Victory Bell after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

No. 4 Penn State survived a scare on Saturday, escaping Minneapolis with a 26-25 win that keeps its Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff hopes alive. At times, it looked like Minnesota was poised for a signature win, but the Nittany Lions (10-1) found a way to slip by. Here are the biggest takeaways from the nail-biting win. 

Championship drive seals win 

After holding Minnesota to a red-zone field goal that cut its lead to 26-25 with 5:48 to go, Penn State embarked on a championship drive that included three fourth-down conversions. Facing a fourth-and-1 at its own 34-yard line, Penn State coach James Franklin made the gutsy call to go for a fake punt. The ball was snapped to tight end Luke Reynolds, who burst through a lane for a 32-yard gain. 

Franklin said after the game that Penn State had called the fake several times this season but checked out at the line of scrimmage. This time, Franklin also had to be conscious of the punt that Minnesota blocked in the first half, which led to a touchdown. Had this play not worked out, Minnesota would have gotten the ball already in field goal range. 

Three plays later, it was fourth-and-1 again, this time from the Minnesota 25-yard line. Again, Franklin kept his offense out there, and quarterback Drew Allar gained two yards on a quarterback sneak to get another first down. 

Three plays after that, Penn State faced another fourth-and-1 at the 14-yard line with 26 seconds left. The Nittany Lions went for it again, with Allar scrambling around before floating the pass to a wide-open Tyler Warren. Warren, a secondary target after Nicholas Singleton, sat down at the Golden Gophers’ 3-yard line to clinch the win. 

In total, Penn State drove 72 yards in 12 plays, chewing the final 5:48 off the clock. It was reminiscent of the Ohio State game, when Penn State failed to score a touchdown in the red zone, and then the Buckeyes milked the final 5:13 off the clock. This time, though, the roles were reversed, and Franklin’s aggressive play-calling and the offense’s good execution made the difference in the win. 

“I just felt we needed to try to end the game on our terms with the ball in our hands,” Franklin said after the game. 

A suspect start for Penn State's offense, special teams

For as well as Penn State finished the game, the start was disconcerting. The biggest issue for Penn State was the lack of a running game; the Nittany Lions ran for only 10 yards rushing in the first half. Nick Singleton had seven carries, and Kaytron Allen didn’t get one. 

The offensive line was without tackle Anthony Donkoh, who was carted into the locker room after suffering a leg injury on the second play from scrimmage. His absence certainly didn’t help, and the injury will be significant as Penn State closes the regular season against Maryland and prepares for the College Football Playoff.  

The offense looked better in the second quarter, thanks in large part to getting Tyler Warren involved. The tight end had only one touch in the first quarter but accumulated 49 yards on three grabs in the second quarter. He’d go on to have a team-leading 102 yards and eight catches. 

Singleton finished with a respectable 63 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while Allen managed 10 yards on seven rushes. Penn State certainly will need more production from its run game, particularly the backfield duo, to have a chance in the playoffs. 

On special teams, Penn State made two crucial mistakes. The first was a blocked punt deep in Nittany Lions territory, which led to an immediate touchdown and a 17-10 lead for the Golden Gophers. Later in the quarter, Minnesota blocked an extra-point attempt and returned for a 2-point play. There was a missed assignment on the left side that allowed a free rusher through the line cleanly and make the play. The return gave Minnesota a 19-16 lead going into the locker room. 

Penn State has third- and fourth-down dilemmas 

Although the final drive of the game proved to be excellent from a play-calling standpoint, Penn State still had some dilemmas on third and fourth down. Third down was a mess all game long: the Nittany Lions went 1-for-11 overall and 0-for-5 in the second half. Further, Penn State had four third-and-longs (9+ yards) and converted none.

That led to fourth down. On its first two drives, Penn State opted to punt on a pair of fourth-and-1s from their own 34- and 46-yard lines. Though conservative, these choices were understandable: play field position and trust your defense. 

On their third drive, the Nittany Lions kept the offense on the field for a fourth-and-5 from the Minnesota 33-yard line, rather than attempting what would’ve been a career-long 50-yard field goal for Ryan Barker. Allar was sacked on fourth down, ending another scoreless drive for Penn State.

In the third quarter, Penn State had a fourth-and-9 from the Minnesota 38-yard line, trailing 22-16. The play was a direct snap to Warren, who showed that he does have some weaknesses by shanking a pooch punt out of bounds. The play would’ve looked much better had Warren pinned Minnesota deep, but it makes you wonder why the Nittany Lions are having their all-world tight end punt the ball in plus territory while trailing in the second half. 

Ultimately, Penn State got its fourth-down calls right on the final drive. But had Minnesota found a way to pull the upset, these moments might have gone further under the microscope.

More Penn State Football

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How Andy Kotelnicki brought his Minnesota roots to Penn State

Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson