Gophers cruise past Michigan State

You say you’re down to your third string running back? No problem, if you’re the Golden Gophers. With Minnesota’s offensive line, it seems anyone could be inserted in and still rush for over 100 yards. Still, the depth and talent of the Gopher running backs was evident, as the team’s second option Gary Russell ran for 85 yards before coming out with a minor injury in the first half. The Gophers’ third stringer Amir Pinnix picked up the slack with 206 yards rushing. That bottomless depth in the backfield was too much for Michigan State, which was never really in this game. The Gophers scored early and often, while the Spartans only managed two fourth quarter TDs when the game was out of reach. The final tally ended up 41-18.

Laurence Maroney sat out this game with a sore ankle. What Gopher fans saw today was possibly a preview of the two-featured backs for 2006.

Another encouraging sign for the offense is Bryan Cupito who has played brilliantly since coming back from a shoulder injury. In the three games since Cupito returned to the lineup the Gophers won two of them by big margins and Cupito played a big part in keeping the Gophers within striking distance in a 14-point loss to Ohio State. Today Cupito completed 8-of-13 passes, including two for TDs, and had no interceptions.

Russell and Pinnix accounted for three of the other touchdowns. Senior Jason Lammers got the carry with seconds left in the game and scored the team’s final TD. I think the final score had more to do with giving the unheralded Lammers a reward for his hard work than rubbing it in on the Spartans.

The Minnesota defense should not be overlooked in this win. Michigan State had the Big Ten’s top offense going into this game. Michigan State managed only three points through three quarters. So much for this game being a shootout. MSU got a lot of yards, 457 of them in total offense. Drew Stanton did his part, throwing for 312 yards. And Michigan State had no turnovers. The Gopher defense simply stood strong when the Spartans threatened to score. Minnesota also benefited from two MSU field goal misses. John Shevlin led the defense with 10 tackles, nine of them solo.

The special teams play was mostly solid this time, except for another missed extra point. The kickoffs and punts were much better than normal.

This was a non-flashy but satisfying win today. The Gophers proved today that they are very deserving of their 7-3 record and a bowl bid. They are also avoiding that late season swoon we have seen so much of in recent years.

The attendance for home games is moving in the right direction too. Minnesota averaged 53,304 for Big Ten games. Today’s game was the smallest crowd with an attendance of 45,187. Overall attendance averaged 49,025 for six home games. Minnesota’s attendance has been edging up every year for the last several years. Last year they averaged 47,573 fans a game. This year’s 49,025 average is the best since 1987 when the average hit 53,131.

Still, this attendance figure will be below every bowl eligible team in the Big Ten, except Northwestern which averages about 25,000 per game. What also doesn’t help is that the Gophers have been to the Sun and Music City Bowls twice each since 1999. What that means for this year is that the Gophers need more wins than their conference bowl competition, preferably two more wins. Even if Iowa goes into next week’s game at 5-5, that game will be a must win for the Gophers in order for them to get to a better bowl game than the Hawkeyes. Yes, I can still play my Alamo Bowl drumbeat for at least one more week. The Gophers will somehow have to exorcize some road demons, like they did earlier this season at Michigan and Indiana, to keep that beat going. Otherwise, it could very well be a trip to the Motor City for a 7-4 Gopher squad.