Gophers sail past Kent State 44-0

As the score would indicate, Minnesota had no problem with their opener at Kent State. The Gophers jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and had a 17-0 lead at halftime. However, it was very timely defensive plays, especially a turnover in the end zone that kept the Gophers comfortable in the first half. Minnesota only led the Golden Flashes 218 to 204 in total offense at halftime. The rest of the way the Gophers played like a Big Ten team against a weak MAC team, resulting in a 44-0 romp.

Bryan Cupito provided the senior leadership Gopher fans are hoping for, completing 8-of-13 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown.

The Gopher defense looked vulnerable in the first half but showed an opportunistic spirit. Mario Reese made the most those defensive opportunities with a forced fumble and recovery into his own end zone, after a 64-yard pass play from Julian Edelman to Najah Pruden. Another big step in the right direction for the defense was their five sacks, two of them coming from Steve Davis.

The Glen Mason’s return to his first head coaching stop and the first-ever Big Ten team to visit to Kent, Ohio provided a local excitement for this game. A near record crowd of over 20,000 showed up at Dix Stadium. In the end, this was a prototypical Big Ten/MAC mismatch. There were several severe misplays on Kent’s side that helped the Gophers’ efforts, especially on defense. I will give the Minnesota defense credit for making the big plays when they were there to be had. Too often in the past, the DBs would drop sure interceptions. This time players like Jamal Harris took an interception that was laid into his hands and made another that required some acrobatics.

The special teams were largely solid. Kickoffs were deep and well covered. There was one missed extra point and only one punt, so not too much can be judged here from this game.

There is little doubt that No. 9 ranked California will be a huge non-conference challenge that the Gophers haven’t faced in a long time, even when the last six bowl games are included. You have to go back to games 15-20 years ago against Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado to find comparable out-of-conference match-ups.

Glen Mason didn’t hold back in a brief halftime interview when he said, “œThe defense left a lot to be desired.” The response by the Gopher “œD” in the final two quarters was far more deserving of another shutout. They only gave up 78 total yards in those final two quarters. That kind of defensive play and more will be needed next week.

(One aside on ESPN360: I was able to access their feed of the game as a result of a technical fluke. The online broadcast was about 30 seconds behind the radio broadcast and the video resolution wasn’t the greatest. Still, it was an interesting new way to see a game. Maybe kind of thing is the future of broadcast sports but I’ll take old fashioned TV for now.)