After a bye week, the Gophers needed a win over Colorado State to remain perfect during the non-conference schedule. Thanks to over 400 yards by the offense, the Maroon and Gold finished off the Rams, 31-24.
4 Incompletions by Mitch Leidner who went 16/20. He also added 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
100 Percent of the time Minnesota gets in the red zone, this season, it scores. The Gophers are 14-for-14 on trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line; 13 have resulted in touchdowns.
184 Rushing yards racked up by the duo of Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith. The dynamic tandem was explosive, also scoring 3 touchdowns on the day. Brooks saw his first action of the year after coming back from a preseason injury.
“I felt great this whole week of practice just running on it, getting reps with the 1’s and 2’s,” said Brooks. “I knew coming I didn’t have to worry about it.”
10 Stops by the defense on third down. The Rams were just 5/15 on third down, but did end up gaining 369 yards.
“Even on defense, you see that they were 5 of 15 on third downs,” said Tracy Claeys. “Usually if you play well on third downs, it gives you the opportunity to win. But we gave up too many big plays.”
7 Tackles, including 4 TFLs, for DT Steven Richardson who was dominant on Saturday.
“When we’re downfield covering, we just look back and hear the crowd going crazy and see that it’s [Richardson],” said Damarius Travis. “It’s awesome to have him on our line.”
3 Sacks on the season for Tay’ion Devers. The explosive edge rusher has also forced a fumble on every sack. Watch him annihilate Rams’ QB Collin Hill, HERE.
“If we can put teams in the position where they have to throw all the time, he’s a great weapon,” said Claeys of Devers.
2:30 Central time for next week’s kickoff against the Penn State Nittany Lions.