It was hot. It was humid. It was win No. 3 for the Gophers football team at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon after a convincing 26-3 victory over Miami (OH). The Gophers special teams showed up in a big way all day long and Carter Coughlin and the defense made key plays to put the offense in a great position to score. The offense proceeded without Rodney Smith who is out for the year and freshman Bryce Williams stepped up in a huge way on the rushing attack in Smith’s absence. Tyler Johnson continues to show the nation that he deserves to play on Sunday’s and the Gophers look to be in good shape as the team heads into Big Ten play next weekend in Maryland.
91: Temperature at the time of Saturday’s kickoff. It is the second highest temperature at kickoff in TCF Bank History only one degree short of the 92-degree record back in 2013 against UNLV.
117: Total yards for Bryce Williams in the first half of his first start since Rodney Smith was ruled out for the season. Williams carried the ball 15 times for 82 yards in the first half while adding one catch for 35 yards to set up a Seth Green to Tyler Johnson connection. Williams finished with 176 yards in the win.
5: The number of times Tyler Johnson has gone over 100 receiving yards in a game as a Golden Gopher. Johnson also eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards in the first half, the 25th Gophers player to do so in Minnesota Football history. Johnson finished with 9 catches for 133 yards and three touchdowns.
“I can’t do it without the guys up front,” Johnson said after the game. “Hats off to them for holding their ground today, and then the quarterback just threw amazing passes all game.”
14: Saturday’s win was the 14th straight win against non-conference opponents. The streak is the second longest of the nation behind Utah (22). Minnesota’s last loss to a non-conference opponent was on Sept. 3, 2015, when TCU defeated the Gophers 23-17. Minnesota is 19-1 in last 20 non-conference home games including ten straight at TCF Bank Stadium.
4: Punter Jacob Herber had six punts this afternoon with four of them pinning Miami (OH) inside their own 20-yard line. Two of those punts were within the five-yard line with one leading to an eventual Gophers safety.
“They (Gophers) ran the ball, they took some shots down the field and they played physical on defense and created some turnovers that really made a difference in the game,” Miami (OH) head coach Chuck Martin said after the game. “Their punter did a really good job, fantastic job, pinning us inside the two every time.”
1: Seth Green threw just one pass in the 26-3 but it was completed for a 7-yard touchdown to Tyler Johnson. Green also had four carries for 15 yards.
8: Tackles by both Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin to lead the team in the victory. For Miami (OH) De’Andre Montgomery had 15 tackles.
2: Sacks by Carter Coughlin, the only two sacks of the game by the Gophers. Coughlin also had three tackles.
“Defensively we played lights out, very stingy and aggressive,” P.J. Fleck said after the game. “Offensively we had some big plays, then we would stub ourselves in the foot. That’s what happens when you have a young football team.”
22: First downs by Minnesota including 12 on the ground. The Gophers defense held Miami to just 10 first downs.
42: Yards ran by Antonio Shenault after his first career interception on Saturday afternoon. Shenault also had seven tackles and one tackle for loss.
“We need to continue to prepare, continue to change our best every week, that’s the goal,” Shenault said. “You know that’s not going to be any different, but a road conference game is a little bit different, so we know we gotta raise our bar.”