Penn State is still alive. To a degree, that’s all that matters this season.

The fourth-ranked Nittany Lions moved to 10-1 on the season with a 26-25 win over Minnesota on the road. Penn State trailed 7-0 after 1 quarter and trailed 22-16 late in the third. But the Nittany Lions made plays in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Here are 3 takeaways from the game.

A championship drive

The fourth quarter just melted away. Penn State had 2 possessions. Minnesota had 1 possession and 1 play. When the Gophers got the ball with 11:46 to play, the set out on an 11-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal from the Penn State 8-yard-line to claw within a single point.

Minnesota took 5 minutes and 58 seconds off the clock to still trail.

But the Gophers cut the 4-point deficit to 1 and assumed they’d be able to get at least 1 more crack at it. They kicked off to Penn State with 5:48 to play and the Nittany Lions set up shop at their own 25.

On a third-and-9, Drew Allar scrambled for 8 yards to give James Franklin a decision. Franklin sent his punt team onto the field, but with no intention of giving the ball back.

Luke Reynold’s 32-yard run was the first of 3 conversions on fourth down for Penn State on the drive. Penn State entered the day with only 10 fourth-down attempts all season. Only 6 FBS programs had been more risk-averse than Franklin’s group coming into the game.

Allar converted a fourth-and-1 with his legs, gaining 2 yards up the middle. Allar then converted another fourth-and-1 with an 11-yard pass to Tyler Warren on the final play of the game.

Twelve plays. Seventy-two yards. Penn State bled the final 5:48 off the clock to secure the win.

Minnesota gambled it would be able to get the ball back. Penn State stood up and grabbed the game away from the Gophers.

Allar has a day

Allar completed 21 of his 28 passes for 244 yards. He threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Omari Evans in the second quarter, a throw that came just 5 plays after Minnesota stretched its lead to 10. Allar also ran in a 4-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

It was not a spotless day.

Midway through the third, Allar about stormed off the field while Tyler Warren was attempting a pooch punt. A clearly emotional Allar had to then be calmed down by Franklin.

But Allar came back after that sequence and completed each of his 3 passes for 30 yards on a touchdown drive that gave Penn State a 23-22 lead.

Allar missed. And he let his emotions get the best of him in a moment. But he made plays when Penn State needed them. The final fourth-down play to Warren was all on Allar.

Third downs prove problematic

Yes, Penn State was aggressive and otherwise successful on fourth downs, but Penn State needed those conversions because it was remarkably poor on third downs.

The Nittany Lions went just 1-for-11 on third downs. The only conversion was a third-and-short. They faced 4 third-and-longs and failed to convert all of them. The average line to gain on third was 6.8 yards and yet Penn State still converted just once.

Allar was 0-for-4 on third. The run game gained only 1 first down on third.

Penn State entered the game as one of the best third-down offenses in the country, converting 52.6% on the season. Though the last 2 weeks (19-for-27) have helped the average. Penn State went 3-for-11 against Ohio State and 4-for-13 at USC.