Nittany Lions Get By Gophers in Overtime, 28-27Nittany Lions Get By Gophers in Overtime, 28-27

Nittany Lions Get By Gophers in Overtime, 28-27

This special teams fumble recovery by Joe Cianciolo turned the game around early on.

MINNEAPOLIS, Mn.; October 7, 2006 - With Levi Brown out again with a knee injury, tailback Tony Hunt was the only senior logging significant playing time on offense. His experience showed.

Hunt carried 29 times for 144 yards and scored touchdowns both receiving and rushing ?C including the game-winning two-yard run ?C as Penn State overcame the odd 11 a.m. start, the challenges of playing indoors and a resilient Minnesota squad to win 28-27 in overtime at the Hubert Horatio Humphrey Metrodome.

??It??s a good news, bad news situation,?? said Joe Paterno after the back-and-forth contest. ??We went ahead, only to let them come right back down and score.??

Minnesota went ahead 27-21 on the first overtime possession when quarterback Bryan Cupito threw to Eric Decker for a 25-yard touchdown. But Jason Giannini missed the extra point, leaving the door open for Penn State.

Hunt blasted through that opening and scored the tying touchdown after posting his fourth consecutive 100-yard game; Kevin Kelly??s extra point secured a second consecutive overtime victory for the Lions.

??I wanted to win this game,?? said Tim Shaw. ??We might have a lot to learn, but we learned today that we??ve got a lot of heart.??

Anthony Morelli looked sharp, completing 20-of-34 for 281 yards and two scores. Derrick Williams had a career-high 94 yards receiving on four catches.

The defensive effort was led by Paul Posluszny, who made nine solo tackles and became the third Nittany Lion with 300 career stops, joining Greg Buttle and Brian Gelzheiser. Jay Alford stopped seven plays, four for loss, both career highs.

Traditionally, games between Penn State and Minnesota have been dramatic affairs. Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by 10 points or less, including three one-point outcomes.

The dependable Hunt could not be stopped at the Metrodome.

The squads first met in 1993, when then-acting Pennsylvania Governor Mark Singel and Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson established the Governor??s Victory Bell to signify Penn State??s first game as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

With today??s win, The Nittany Lions retain the traveling trophy for the second straight year and improve to 10-5 in domed stadiums, with a 3-2 mark at the Metrodome.

The Nittany Lions were forced to punt on the opening drive of the game and Minnesota capitalized, taking a 7-0 lead on a 30-yard pass from veteran quarterback Bryan Cupito to tight end Matt Spaeth. The throw capped a 6-play, 52-yard drive and was the sixth time in the last seven games that Minnesota scored on its first possession.

Penn State??s offense sputtered in the first quarter until Dominic Jones muffed a Jeremy Kapinos punt. Joe Cianciolo pounced on the ball - the second fumble recovery of the season for the veteran long snapper - on the Minnesota 9-yard line and Penn State needed just two plays to reach the end zone. The unstoppable Hunt blasted through the line and tied the game on a 5-yard run.

At the end of the first quarter, the teams were locked in a 7-7 tie. The Nittany Lions had two chances to take the lead before the second quarter clock expired but only capitalized once.

Morelli hit Williams for a 56-yard completion which moved the ball to the Minnesota 16-yard line, but despite the career-long catch for Williams and a career-best throw for Morelli, the Lions came away with no points in the red zone after making the longest play of the game.

A field goal attempt by Kelly never got off the ground because kick holder Kevin Suhey couldn??t get a handle on the snap. Suhey??s subsequent errant throw on the broken play was intercepted.

On the final drive of the half, Hunt put Penn State up 14-7 with his first career touchdown reception. Morelli hit Hunt on a simple screen pass in the right flat that went for 15 yards and the go-ahead score.

Neither team posted points in the third quarter, but Penn State did have a chance. Kelly??s 42-yard field goal attempt with 90 seconds left in the period sailed wide right.

Anthony Morelli was in control, completing 20 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

Just after the start of the fourth quarter, Minnesota tied the game 14-14 when Pinnix scored on a 4-yard run that capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

Penn State answered with a long, clock-eating drive of its own. Morelli marched the Lions 82 yards in 13 plays and after seven minutes, found Matt Hahn for a seven-yard touchdown, the first of his career.

The determined Gophers tied the game, 21-21, on a one-yard run by Amir Pinnix with a minute remaining in the game, sending the contest into the brief overtime.

Joe Paterno runs his career record to 358-119-3 all time and improves to 6-4 against Minnesota. He evens his career record, 4-4, with Gophers head coach Glen Mason.

Penn State and Minnesota are not scheduled to play during the 2007 and ??08 seasons, so the next time the Lions visit Minneapolis for a Big Ten game they??ll most likely play at Minnesota??s new on-campus football stadium, set to open in the fall of 2009. The squads next meet on Oct. 17, 2009 in State College.

Penn State is one of only two teams in the nation that has played two Top 5 teams during the initial five weeks of the season, and it doesn??t get any easier: the Lions next play Michigan, ranked No. 6 in this week??s poll.