Penn State-Minnesota Takeaways: Lions overcome injuries, miscues to beat Gophers
By Greg Pickel
MINNEAPOLIS — Penn State did not win pretty on Saturday night at Minnesota, but it did avert an upset and kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive. At this point of the year, that’s all that matters. The Lions survived, 26-25, on the road. Here are our initial takeaways.
Penn State comes up big when it matters most
Penn State needed three big plays on the game’s final drive to win. The first was on fourth-and-1 at its own 34. Special teams coordinator Justin Lustig dialed up a fake punt, and tight end Luke Reynolds ripped off a 32-yard run into Minnesota territory. Then, on fourth-and-1 at the Gophers’ 25, quarterback Drew Allar went under center and snuck it for a 2-yard gain. Finally, Allar hit tight end Tyler Warren on fourth-and-1 at the Minnesota 11 for an 8-yard gain to seal it. On its final drive, Penn State was 2 for 2 on fourth down.
This was an awfully ugly win. We can’t say that enough. But the Lions had a chance to fold and instead answered the bell. There’s something to be said for that no matter how ugly the 54 minutes that preceded it were.
Special teams sloppy but save the day
It started out as an absolutely brutal afternoon for Lustig’s group. Riley Thompson had a punt partially blocked in the second quarter, leading to a short-field touchdown for the Gophers. Zion Tracy did not field a punt, forcing the Lions to start from their own 3 late in the second quarter. Allar did then lead a touchdown drive, but Kaleb Artis blew his assignment on the extra point. The kick was blocked and returned for two points, a three-point swing that gave Minnesota a 19-16 halftime lead.
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But it was all of those miscues were partially wiped away by Reynolds’ 32-yard fake punt run with less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter to help seal the game. In addition, Ryan Barker hit field goals of 45 and 32 yards.
Odds and ends
—Kaytron Allen was not used in the first half and finished the game with 10 yards on seven carries.
—Tyler Warren is now the Lions’ all-time leader among tight ends with 1,516 receiving yards. He broke Mike Gesicki’s record of 1,481 career yards, set from 2014-17.
—Penn State came away with two turnovers in plus territory but only converted them into a pair of field goals. It had two chances to put seven up and further demoralize the Golden Gophers but couldn’t do it.
—The Lions were not very good on third down, finishing 1 of 11.
—Three Penn State players left the game due to injuries. Offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh and defensive tackle Alonzo Ford Jr. left in the first and second quarters, respectively, and watched the remainder of the game in street clothes. Linebacker Tyrece Mills suffered an injury that took him out of the game, as well.
