Lucky Lions

Lions pull out 16-15 win over Minnesota

Against Ohio State they cried tears of joy, but Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions came one play away from crying tears of heartbreak.

Trailing 15-10 in the fourth quarter, Penn State's defense was dealt the task of stopping Minnesota. The Golden Gophers began at their own 6-yard line, and on the first two plays of the drive, tailback Thomas Hamner carried for eight yards. Then, on third-and-two, quarterback Cory Sauter flipped to Hamner, but the ball never settled into the tailback's arms. It fluttered to the ground, and Penn State defensive end Chris Snyder covered the ball.

Lion tailback Curtis Enis punched in a 10-yard touchdown run the very next play, and No. 2 Penn State (6-0) salvaged a 16-15 victory.

The slim win dropped Penn State to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll behind Nebraska, who shut out Texas Tech 29-0.

The Lions were fortunate to fall only one spot in the polls as nothing was going their way through three quarters. A first-half knee injury sidelined fullback Aaron Harris and he never returned. An MRI yesterday determined that Harris will miss the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He also suffered cartilage damage, and will require at least nine months of rehabilitation.

Add that to the fact that Penn State's offense mustered a measly 107 yards in the first half, and the Gophers (2-5) saw an opening they graciously welcomed.

Minutes into the fourth quarter, Minnesota capped its fifth scoring drive of the day with Adam Bailey's 33-yard field goal -- his school and Big Ten-record fifth of the game. The kick gave Minnesota a 15-3 lead and stunned many of the 96,953 fans.

The Lions, however, refused to give up.

With 11 minutes and 30 seconds remaining, Penn State began at its own 25-yard line and methodically began to piece together a consistent drive. Enis ran for nine. Fullback Anthony Cleary gained two. Mike McQueary hit tight end Bob Stephenson for 14 more.

Penn State advanced the football to the Gopher 21, where it faced a crucial third-and-six. McQueary, who struggled all afternoon, overthrew Enis streaking down the right sideline, but a controversial pass interference was called on Minnesota cornerback Trevis Graham.

One play later, Enis took in a six-yard score, and Travis Forney added the extra point to cut the deficit to 15-10.

"I put a hit on the quarterback. I didn't see it," said Minnesota linebacker Parc Williams of the interference call. "When you're at Penn State and Joe Paterno is on the sideline and 97,000 people are in the stands, I don't think they want to call that against Penn State."

Though the offense rallied to pull out the win, the defense deserved the credit for keeping Penn State in Minnesota's rear view mirror. On four separate occasions, the Gophers pushed their way past Penn State's 20, only to walk away with a trio of field goals.

After Snyder's fumble recovery set up the go-ahead score, the defense was called upon one final time to preserve victory.

Starting out from their own 20, the Gophers handed off to Hamner for four yards on first down, and on second down, Sauter threw incomplete for wideout Tutu Atwell. Then, on third-and-six, defensive end Courtney Brown sacked Sauter for a 10-yard loss.

Minnesota's last chance evaporated when Sauter's pass landed out of Atwell's reach.

"We didn't come out like we did against Ohio State, and that was a lesson for us that we have to come out ready to play," said Lion middle linebacker Maurice Daniels. "That was a wake up call, and I don't think you will ever see a Penn State team like that again this season."