The Gophers football team flirted with one of the sweetest doses of deja vu on Saturday.

But instead of duplicating a home upset of a fourth-ranked Penn State team as they memorably did in 2017, Minnesota gave up the lead in the third quarter and lost 26-25 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Brewing an upset as an 11-point underdog, the defeat will be a bitter pill for the US.

Minnesota had a chance to score a touchdown with six minutes left. On second and goal, Gopher coaches called a trick play — a return to left tackle Aireontae Ersery. It fell incomplete, but Penn State wasn’t fooled. The best player, defensive end Abdul Carter, was there to make a play if the offensive lineman caught the pass.

After an incompletion by receiver Elijah Spencer on third down, Minnesota kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 26–25.

On the next drive, Penn State was stopped, but he ran a fake punt on fourth-and-one. With that 32-yard gain and two more first downs, they put the game away.

Gophers fell to 6-5, 4-4 Big Ten, while Penn State (10-1, 7-1) stayed alive for a good spot in the expanded College Football Playoff race.

Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer hadn’t turned the ball over since September, but he threw his first interception in 206 attempts in the first half. It led to a Penn State field goal.

In the second half, Brosmer fumbled on a throw attempt, leading to another Penn State field goal and a 26-22 hole.

The combined six turnovers loomed large in the narrow loss.

Trailing 22-16 in the third quarter, Nittany Lions fed the ball to its best player – tight end Tyler Warren – with three receptions to spark a touchdown drive and take its first lead at 23-22 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

A wild final 72 seconds of the first half led to Minnesota taking a 19-16 at the break.

With the game tied 10-10, senior special teams player Derik LeCaptain deflected a punt in Penn State’s own end zone and Minnesota took over at the Nittany Lions’ 21.

With the great field position, offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh didn’t sit back and turned a double reverse pass from Max Brosmer to wide-open tight end Jameson Geers for a 21-yard touchdown to take a 17-10 lead.

On the next drive, Penn State took advantage of a questionable pass interference call after marginal contact from cornerback Ethan Robinson. Minnesota coaches lobbied for it to be considered elusive. Nittany Lions completed a 28-yard pass on the next play and then scored two plays.

Instead of an extra point, which tied the game again at 17-17, Minnesota went up three points. Jack Henderson blocked the extra point attempt and Robinson returned it down the left sideline for two points. It was the U’s first score on a PAT attempt since Mario Reese’s interception return against Wisconsin in 2006.

On the first three defensive drives, the Gophers produced a trio of big stops. Cody Lindenberg had tackles in the first two third-and-short situations, followed by Anthony Smith’s sack on Drew Allar on fourth down.

Minnesota was sound defensively until the secondary suffered a huge coverage breakdown, allowing Omari Evans to get wide open on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Allar.

The Gophers produced a statement start with a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead. It was kept alive with a fourth-down conversion from a jumbo formation and capped by Marcus Major’s 20-yard touchdown run. It was the Gophers’ third touchdown in the past four games.