University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
6-5 , 4-4
Penn State
10-1 , 7-1
Team Stats
PSU 0, UMN 7
UMN - Major,Marcus 20 yd run (Kesich,Dragan kick), 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:12
PSU 0, UMN 10
UMN - Kesich,Dragan 48 yd field goal 7 plays, 25 yards, TOP 04:14
PSU 7, UMN 10
PSU - Evans,Omari 45 yd pass from Allar,Drew (Barker,Ryan kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:08
PSU 10, UMN 10
PSU - Barker,Ryan 45 yd field goal 4 plays, -5 yards, TOP 01:20
PSU 10, UMN 17
UMN - Geers,Jameson 21 yd pass from Brosmer,Max (Kesich,Dragan kick) 1 plays, 21 yards, TOP 00:07
PSU 16, UMN 17
PSU - Allar,Drew 4 yd run ( kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:44
PSU 16, UMN 19
UMN - Robinson,Ethan 0 yd PAT return
PSU 16, UMN 22
UMN - Kesich,Dragan 42 yd field goal 9 plays, 51 yards, TOP 05:01
PSU 23, UMN 22
PSU - Singleton,Nicholas 12 yd run (Barker,Ryan kick), 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 01:58
PSU 26, UMN 22
PSU - Barker,Ryan 32 yd field goal 7 plays, 26 yards, TOP 03:02
PSU 26, UMN 25
UMN - Kesich,Dragan 26 yd field goal 11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 05:58
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
#4 Penn State Escapes with 26-25 Win Against Minnesota
11/23/2024 6:19:00 PM | Football
Tyler Warren had eight receptions for 102 yards for the Nittany Lions (10-1, 7-1, No. 4 CFP), who dodged the upset on an afternoon when three other teams in the projected 12-team playoff were beaten.
Dragan Kesich's third field goal of the game with 5:48 left brought the Gophers (6-5, 4-4) within one after they had first-and-goal from the 7.
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck trusted his defense enough to elect to kick, and the strategy almost paid off until tight end Luke Reynolds ran 32 yards on a fake punt to make up for two special teams gaffes by Penn State in the first half.
Allar converted another fourth-and-1 on a keeper from the 25 just before the 2-minute warning and found his star tight end Warren for an 11-yard gain to end the game on another fourth-and-1 conversion.
Nick Singleton's 12-yard touchdown run with 3:43 left in the third quarter gave the Nittany Lions their first lead at 23-22.
Max Brosmer, who had his streak of 207 passes without an interception end when he was picked off by Dominic DeLuca to set up a second-quarter field goal, lost a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter to set up Penn State for another kick by Ryan Barker.
Daniel Jackson had six catches for 90 yards and Marcus Major rushed for a touchdown for Minnesota.
Hands up
With Penn State's Riley Thompson punting from the back of the end zone, Derik LeCaptain deflected the ball that died at the 21. The Gophers dialed up a double reverse pass on the next play, with a pitch to Darius Taylor who tossed it to Jackson and back to Brosmer for a wide-open TD pass to tight end Jameson Geers with 1:03 left in the first half.
The Nittany Lions cruised 75 yards in six plays, aided by a questionable pass interference penalty on Ethan Robinson, to score on Allar's scramble from 3 yards out. But Jack Henderson blocked the extra point attempt, Robinson scooped it up and raced 88 yards for two points and a 19-16 halftime lead.
Slow start
Penn State trailed 10-0 until Allar found an uncovered Omari Evans for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 10:48 left in the second quarter. The Nittany Lions kicked a field goal on their next drive to tie the game at 10.
The takeaway
Penn State: The offense was at its best in no-huddle mode, particularly when getting the ball to Warren, the do-it-all tight end.
Minnesota: The win five years ago against a then-undefeated Penn State team showed what's possible for this program, and the Gophers nearly repeated that feat. The two turnovers by Brosmer loomed in the end.
Up next
Penn State finishes the regular season at home against Maryland next Saturday, and Minnesota plays at Wisconsin next Friday for possession of Paul Bunyan's Axe.