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Penn State dials up fake punt, gutsy 4th-down calls to escape Minnesota

Mark Kern

By Mark Kern

Published:

Penn State escaped the game against Minnesota on Saturday, 26-25, in a game the Nittany Lions had to win to keep their hopes of making the B1G Championship Game. It wasn’t easy, as they trailed for a lot of the game, but held on to win late because of some fakes and risky play calls on the game-sealing drive.

The first of the stressful plays was a 4th-and-1 from the Penn State 34 with less than 3:47 remaining in the game and the Nittany Lions holding a 1-point lead. They went with a direct snap to Luke Reynolds on a fake punt and he took it 32 yards.

Had the play been stopped, Minnesota would have taken over already in position for a potential game-winning field goal.

There were 2 more 4th-down plays later on the drive that helped Penn State close the game out. First, Drew Allar ran for 2 yards on a 4th-and-1 from the Minnesota 25 with 2:10 remaining.

That conversion allowed Penn State to milk the clock all the way inside a minute, but Minnesota forced one more 4th down. Allar ended the game with an 11-yard pass to Tyler Warren with 26 seconds left.

The clock stopped to move the chains, but Penn State did not have to run another play in the win.

The Nittany Lions are now 10-1 on the season, and with the win have a chance to go to the B1G Championship depending on how Week 14 goes. They will close the regular season out in Week 14 against Maryland.

Mark Kern