Injuries, lack of depth, and a myriad of mistakes cost the Gophers on Saturday as they fell to Maryland, 31-24. Head coach P.J. Fleck succinctly summarized the loss at his postgame press conference.
“My opening statement is we didn’t deserve to win the football game. Simple. If you like look at why and how we win football games, that was flipped over on us [today]. And that’s the result.”
BY THE NUMBERS
80 Rushing yards for the Gophers. The lack of a ground game wasn’t for a lack of trying. Minnesota ran it 31 times, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry. After the game, Conor Rhoda was asked if he should have kept the ball more on zone read runs.
“I trust [Rodney Smith] and [Shannon Brooks] so much that I want the ball in their hands, unless the first time, the read shows me it’s a definite keep. It’s a lot of stuff that’s up for discretion,” said Rhoda. “I’ll watch the film and see if there were a couple more times. I’m sure there were, but, it’s definitely a feel in the game and just kind of seeing how things play out.”
56 Percent conversion rate for Maryland on third down. The Terps came into the game dead last in the Big Ten, converting on just 23% of third down attempts.
46 Yards for freshman receiver Phillip Howard. The Minnesota native was a bright spot on offense filling in for the injured Demetrius Douglas.
“I thought Phil Howard played great,” said Rhoda. “Those two (Howard and Douglas) are right there, skill-wise I trust them just as much as anybody else. It’s just the next man. We’ll see how long Demetrius is going to be out, but I have all the confidence in the world in Phil. When he plays fast, he’s a hell of a football player.”
1 Absolutely amazing catch by Eric Carter to set up a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“When I saw it up in the air, I thought it was going to be a little far so I was going to have to run up under it, so I picked up a little speed, and just reached out and made the catch,” said Carter.
0 Turnovers forced by the Gophers while Maryland picked off Rhoda twice. The first interception was costly as it came when Minnesota was on the Maryland 15 in the second quarter.
34 Yard run right up the middle by Maryland’s Ty Johnson to take a 31-24 lead in the fourth quarter. Minnesota got the ball back with just over a minute left, but an interception on their second play sealed the loss for the Gophers.