Indiana doubles up Gophers 40-20

The Indiana offense had its way in the first half, piling up the passing yards and 27 points. Minnesota tried to keep up with touchdowns on their first two possessions, but they didn’t score again until late in the fourth quarter. Indiana was held to mostly field goals in the second half but it was plenty for a comfortable Hoosier victory.

Two big plays killed any chance of the Gophers winning this game. First, there was the 71-yard punt return to the Gopher 15 that led to an Indiana touchdown near halftime. The Gophers were only trailing by six when their drive stalled right at midfield. Then there was the interception late in the fourth quarter that was returned to the Gopher five yard line. That also led to a TD and sealed the win for the Hoosiers.

The formula for this loss was all too familiar: a very porous defense and an offense that turns the ball over too much. That combination has resulted in an unsurprising 1-5 record.

The Gopher defense forced no punts or turnovers in the first half. In the second half the defense held up better with Indiana having to punt twice and freshman Kyle Theret making an interception. To make matters worse for the Gophers, Indiana had its way rushing too, getting 231 yards on the ground and nearly six yards per run. Relative unknown Bryan Payton (no relation to the famous Walter Payton) ran for 90 yards and almost seven yards a carry.

The Minnesota offense actually did have more yards passing than Indiana (275 to 244). However, the two interceptions by Adam Weber more than offset that advantage. Ernie Wheelwright led with 101 yards receiving and Eric Decker led in receptions with eight. The running game was weak with only 118 total yards.

The special teams had the big letdown on the punt return. Otherwise, they weren’t much of a factor.

Well, the road trip continues to Evanston. Northwestern won today over Michigan State 48-41 in overtime. The Wildcats are only 3-3 but this still looks like a scary mismatch. Northwestern’s quarterback C.J. Bacher passed for 520 yards and five touchdowns today.

There was very little to take from this game to indicate that this team is going to get a Big Ten win anytime soon. In fact, it looks like the next to last game of the season against Iowa will be the only decent chance of a win ““ just because the Hawkeyes are struggling right now and have a bad offense.

Maybe the Gophers will surprise someone who will look past them. It’s still going to take a much better defense and a lot fewer turnovers.