MINNEAPOLIS — — Penn State left nothing to chance with a championship chase still on the line. The Nittany Lions were determined to end this game with the ball in their hands.

Drew Allar passed for 244 yards and a touchdown, rushed for a score and led two late fourth-down conversions to help No. 4 Penn State fend off Minnesota 26-25 on Saturday and stay on track for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Tyler Warren had eight receptions for 102 yards for the Nittany Lions (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP), who avoided the upset on an afternoon when three other teams were in the expected 12-team playoff defeated and secured a third consecutive 10-win season. Penn State is 5-0 on the road for the first time since 1985.

“Records and stats are one thing, but they’re a physical team, they’re a tough team and they brought their ‘A’ game,” Nittany Lions center Nick Dawkins said.

Dragan Kesich’s third field goal of the game with 5:48 to go brought the Gophers (6-5, 4-4) within one after having a first-and-goal from the 7. They tried to get tough with a second-down screen pass to left tackle Aireontae Ersery, but it fell incomplete.

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck trusted his defense enough to punt, a strategy that nearly paid off until Penn State’s Luke Reynolds ran 32 yards on a fake punt to make up for two special teams blunders in the first half.

Reynolds’ run was the first of three fourth-and-1 conversions on the Nittany Lions’ final drive. Allar converted the second on a keeper from the Minnesota 25 just before the two-minute warning and ended the game on the third conversion with an 11-yard pass to Warren.

“I just felt like we had to be aggressive and end the game on our terms,” Franklin said.

Penn State trailed 10–0 and didn’t score until Allar found an uncovered Omari Evans for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 10:48 left in the second quarter. Nick Singleton’s 12-yard touchdown run with 3:43 left in the third gave the Nittany Lions their first lead at 23-22.

“All the times we’ve been down at halftime, there’s been no pointing fingers or bad attitudes coming back into the locker room,” Warren said, reflecting on comeback wins over USC and Wisconsin. “I think this really puts us on the map, good for the second half.”

Max Brosmer, whose streak of 206 passes without an interception ended when he was picked off by Dominic DeLuca in the second quarter, lost a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter. Both turnovers set up field goals for Penn State.

“I know it happens in football, but I know I can be much better,” Brosmer said.

Daniel Jackson had six catches for 90 yards, and Marcus Major rushed for a touchdown for Minnesota.

“There are a lot of tears in the locker room because of how hard they played, but Penn State found a way to make one more play than us,” Fleck said. “It was a great football match. Sometimes you have to step out of the role of head coach to appreciate a match like that.

Hands up

As Penn State punted from the back of the end zone, Derik LeCaptain deflected the ball that died on the 21st. The Gophers completed a double reverse pass on the next play with a throw to Darius Taylor, who threw it to Jackson and back. to Brosmer for a TD pass to tight end Jameson Geers with 1:03 left in the first half.

The Nittany Lions covered 75 yards in six plays, aided by a questionable pass interference penalty on Ethan Robinson, to score on a 4-yard Allar scramble. But Jack Henderson blocked the extra point, and Robinson picked it up, racing 88 yards for two points and a 19-16 halftime lead.

The takeaway

Penn State: The offense was at its best in no-huddle mode, especially when you kept Warren, the do-it-all, as involved as possible. Allar’s ball security remains a plus.

Minnesota: The 2019 win against a then-undefeated Penn State team showed what is possible for this program, and the Gophers nearly repeated that feat. Brosmer’s two turnovers eventually threatened.

Next

Penn State closes the regular season at home next Saturday against Maryland, and Minnesota plays at Wisconsin next Friday for possession of Paul Bunyan’s Ax.

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