The Gophers led 10-0 on Saturday vs. No. 4 Penn State and had chances to secure a victory. But they ultimately lost by one point.

Dragan Kesich’s third field goal of the game with 5:48 left brought the Gophers (6-5, 4-4) within one after they had first-and-goal from the 7. They tried to get tricky 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 kick, a strategy that almost paid off until Penn State’s Luke Reynolds ran 32 yards on a fake punt to make up for two special teams gaffes 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 star tight end Warren.

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

Monday morning, Fleck reviewed the loss and looked ahead to Friday’s game at Wisconsin.

***Click the video box above to watch Fleck’s news conference from Nov. 25th***

The Wisconsin Badgers need one more win to clinch bowl-eligibility for the 23rd straight season. The Badgers (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten) face the Gophers in the final regular season game at 11 a.m. Friday in Madison.

The Badgers have lost four straight games for the first time since 2008.

The Associated Press contributed to this story