The Penn State Nittany Lions got a little bit of timely help to score a key touchdown in Saturday’s showdown with Minnesota.
Trailing 31-19 with 3:54 left, the play clock appeared to expire before the Nittany Lions snapped the ball on a key 3rd and 2 from the Minnesota 6. With the penalty uncalled, running back Journey Brown went into the end zone for a touchdown that kept Penn State in the game.
It's a one-score game.@PennStateFball makes it 31-26 late in the 4Q. pic.twitter.com/hr0FCEnEHm
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 9, 2019
The play clock is clearly at zero, at least on the broadcast scoreboard, but no whistle is blown. The game is clearly in four-down territory, so it wouldn’t necessarily have been a drive-killer, but there’s a big difference between 3rd and 2 and 3rd and 7 in that spot if penalty yardage is applied.
The good news? The call ended up not being decisive in the game. Minnesota intercepted a pass in the end zone on Penn State’s next drive, sealing a victory to move them to 9-0.
