In a competitive battle any penalty late in the game will be magnified. Penn State fought to get a chance to score late in the fourth quarter to win the game. An offensive pass interference call on Daniel George set the Lions back 15 yards at a critical moment. A pass interference call that was not made two plays later ended the chance of a Penn State comeback.
Minnesota was leading 31-19 when Penn State failed to score from the 5 yard line with ten minutes to play. The Gophers killed 4:21 of game time in 7 plays before giving the ball back.