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Since 1997, Minnesota has been a thorn in Penn State football’s side

Two decades ago, undefeated and No. 2 ranked Penn State football fell short at home to Minnesota. That loss, which came off a last-second Minnesota field goal, ended Penn State’s dreams of getting to the 1999 national championship.

Twenty years later, almost to the day, the No. 4 Nittany Lions and the No. 17 Golden Gophers (based on the CFP rankings) followed the same script. This time, in Minneapolis. Just as in 1999, Penn State took their first loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion and put their national championship hopes on life support.

On the flip side, in what wasn’t the case in 1999, Minnesota got the signature win they needed to give them a boost in polls and put them within striking distance of the Big Ten Championship.