Gopher Football
Like last year’s game against Indiana things started off promising for the Gophers. They took the opening drive down the field with ease but the drive stalled deep in Indiana territory. Jason Giannini then missed a 34-yard field goal. The offense did hit pay dirt late in the first quarter, as Justin Valentine got a 1-yard touchdown run on a big third down play. The drive went 80 yards and Bryan Cupito was perfect passing at that point.
However, the second quarter was all Indiana with Minnesota mistakes piling up. Indiana scored two touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead into halftime. It was Gopher penalties that really cost them. The Gophers had three penalties, all for big yards. Those miscues where a big reason why the Minnesota offense was 2-for-7 on third down conversions through two periods, while Indiana was 6-for-10 in third down efficiency. And it could have been worse, as the referees missed obvious interference by a Gopher defender and made a questionable interference call that set up a goal line situation for the Gophers right before the half.
Then Glen Mason decided to take a big gamble and go for the TD with five second left. Cupito’s pass was thrown just a bit too low to give the Hoosiers a big boost.
It really was hard to overlook some questionable coaching decisions by the Minnesota coaching staff throughout that infamous half. Some third down calls on offense were confounding, like calling a running play when needing six yards for a first down only to later call pass plays twice when only 1-2 yards were needed. All those third down plays failed.
Yes, it was lack of intensity by the players and coaching gaffs that has been so typical when the Gophers play at Indiana. By the midway point of this game I felt I could have written the recap before it started or taken last year’s recap and done a little cutting and pasting.
In fact, I was all set to rip into the Gophers with particular emphasis on the coaching effort and congratulate Indiana for a well deserved win with a good shot at a bowl game that they would appreciate more than the Gophers anyway. I had already jotted down a few lines and had a few more paragraphs in my head.
Those thoughts will forever go in the bit bucket of my computer and will never be publicly revealed. Whatever Glen Mason said at half time worked and the team finally played a good second half in Bloomington, Indiana.
Maybe Mason’s speech went something like this, “œWe’ve made excuses for losing here for too long. In 1998 it was the crappy field conditions that were blamed for our two extra point misses and a 20-19 loss. (They now have artificial turf.) Last year, our delicate passing game was hampered by gusty winds. (Today you couldn’t have asked for better football weather.) This time there are no excuses. We are playing like horsesh*t and it has to stop.”
Well whatever he said, the Gophers played like a different team right out of the gates in the third quarter. Just over seven minutes into the quarter, the Gophers turned a 7-point deficit into a 21-14 lead. In fact, the Gophers scored touchdowns on all four of their possessions in the third quarter.
The teams played to a 7-7 standoff in the final period, as the Gophers coasted to a 42-21 win. Oddly it wasn’t the Gophers ground game that worked most of the time off the clock. It was the Minnesota defense that made Indiana work for their yards. The Hoosiers had two drives from the end of the 3rd quarter on that went 15 plays each and burned no less than 12:13 off the clock. That was the key to avoiding any late game meltdown.
Yep, I have to give most of the credit to the defense for this win. Most of the losses at Indiana lately have been a result of a defensive breakdown, the 51-43 loss in 2000 being a prime example. This time they stepped up at just the right time. Anthony Montgomery’s interception was the play that turned this game around.
This is not to take anything away from the offense. Cupito had another fine game passing with 225 yards, 62% completions, one TD throw and no interceptions. Laurence Maroney played with a tender ankle from the beginning but still ended up with 85 yards running. And as we have come to expect, Gary Russell was more than ready to step in, as he piled up 188 yards on the ground.
The special teams did what they needed to do in this game and went unnoticed for the most part, thus not having the negative impact they had in the last two losses. The Gophers also covered up a special teams gaff. A missed extra point was made up for with a 2-point conversion on the next touchdown.
Yes, the Gophers are bowl bound for the fourth year in a row and the sixth time in nine seasons for Mason at Minnesota. Indiana is still too early in their latest rebuilding journey to be considered a good opponent. However, Gopher fans have heard that story before and been bitterly disappointed. Terry Hoeppner is getting some wins right away at Indiana, which is no small task. This was in no way an automatic win for Minnesota. I have to give the team credit for regrouping at half time and extinguishing any hopes of a still dangerous Hoosier team pulling off yet another upset over the Gophers.
The win gives the Gophers wins at the “œBig House” (Michigan) and the “œLittle House” (Indiana) in the same season for the first time since 1960. As well, hopes are alive for bigger and better things this season. Michigan State will be very beatable in the Metrodome next week. Iowa is reeling right now and will have to finish against Wisconsin and Minnesota. After last week’s game, I said an 8-3 season and an Alamo Bowl bid was still an outside shot for the Gophers. Now it’s looking much more realistic.