MINNEAPOLIS — Time for a little credit where it’s due.

In 11 years at the helm of the Nittany Lions, James Franklin’s body of work has been excellent.

He’s particularly adept at recruiting, program development, representation, communication, vision and so many of the aspects that go into being a highly successful coach in big-time football.

Game management? That’s been another story.

Franklin’s teams have shown a troubling penchant — especially at the biggest moments against the biggest opponents — for calling the wrong play at the wrong time and paying the ultimate price.

That wasn’t the case Saturday.

The Nittany Lions escaped Minnesota with a 26-25 victory because of the buttons Franklin pushed in the key moments in totally winning the sideline battle over P.J. Fleck, an accomplished coach in his own right.

Keep in mind Penn State did not play consistently well in any of the three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — and yet the Lions stand today at 10-1 largely due to the confidence Franklin showed in his team when it needed it most.

Nursing a 26-25 lead and facing fourth-and-1 with 3:38 remaining, Penn State lined up to punt.

Rather than turn the game back over to a leaky defense, Franklin called for a fake punt that was perfectly executed and saw freshman protector Luke Reynolds rumble for 32 yards.

Franklin said the play has been worked on “since training camp,” adding “That’s been cooking — with Thanksgiving coming, it was marinating.”

He praised Dominic Rulli, a 295-pound walk-on and punt team center whose job it is to recognize whether the opponent is in a vulnerable defense.

Six times this year, Franklin said, the play has been called but Rulli checked out of it.

“We’ve been waiting for the right time,” Franklin said. “It was blocked extremely well.”

That flipped the field, moved the Lions to the Gophers’ 34 and forced Minnesota into using all three of its timeouts.

With 2:12 left, on another fourth-and-1, Franklin passed on a field goal that would have made it 29-25, and the Lions picked up a first down on a Drew Allar sneak to decide it.

“We wanted to end the game with the ball in our hands and on our terms,” he said. “We needed to be aggressive.”

The calculated risk-taking wasn’t the only thing that showed Penn State was a well-coached team at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Prior to the fake punt, as the Lions were trailing, and their special teams were falling apart, there were two decisive touchdown drives that kept Penn State in control. Or semi-control.

The first followed a blocked punt that Minnesota turned into a one-play flea-flicker touchdown and a 17-10 lead with 1:03 remaining in the first half.

Allar quickly raced the Lions up the field by going 5-for-5 plus a (generous) pass interference penalty and finished it with a tough 4-yard touchdown run that pulled the Nits within 17-16.

“We were really well coached in situational football,” Allar said. “It goes back to how we practice.”

Never mind, for a second, that Penn State proceeded to allow a blocked extra point that Minnesota took back the distance for 2 points and a 19-16 lead.

The Gophers added a field goal for a 22-16 lead early in the third quarter, and for the third time this year in the second half, on the road, Penn State found itself having to respond.

Decisively, the Lions prioritized Tyler Warren and Nick Singleton – Allar’s best two offensive weapons — and five plays and 57 yards later, Penn State had a touchdown and the lead for good.

“Our team overcame adversity and found ways to win,” Franklin said.

Minnesota made two turnovers that the Lions turned into a pair of field goals – the difference in the game.

Penn State also was penalized just twice for 10 yards so it didn’t beat itself and did enough on both sides of the ball in the second half to offset the special-teams gaffes.

“This is the time of the year — on the road — that the margins for error are small,” Franklin said. “I think you have to give Minnesota and P.J. a ton of credit. They had them ready to play.”

Fleck accepted that and returned the compliment.

He called Penn State “one of the top five teams I’ve played against as a football coach.”

Whether that’s true we’ll see in the coming weeks, but there’s no doubt the Nittany Lions were coached up Saturday night.

Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.