Gopher Football
Things started off in the worst possible way for Minnesota. Ohio State got the ball to open the game, and after getting a first down, Chris Wells ran for 28 yards and then Terrell Pryor ran 33 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Ohio State lead just a couple minutes into the game. Stopping the combination of Wells & Pryor in the running game was an essential task for the Gophers in this game, but it became evident very quickly that this was not going to happen. After the OSU touchdown, the Gophers got the ball but had to punt after getting one first down.
On the first play of Ohio State’s second drive, Eric Small made a great play by ripping the ball away from Chris Wells, giving the Gophers great field position on the OSU 24. It was here that the Gophers first big mistake really cost them. After going 9 yards on the first two plays, Chris Bunders was called for a false start, which pushed the Gophers back to a 3rd and 6. The Gophers did not convert and had to settle for the field goal. Opportunity lost.
On Ohio State’s next possession they drove down the field, but the Gopher defense held firm in the red zone and held Ohio State to a field goal, resulting in a 10-3 lead for the Buckeyes. On the ensuing kickoff, Troy Stoudemire had another nice return, bringing the ball back to the Gopher 40. A 12 yard completion to Jack Simmons moved the ball into Buckeye territory, and it was looking like the Gophers could move in and possibly tie the game. But on a 3rd and 6 from the Buckeye 44 the Gophers made their second big mistake when Adam Weber threw an interception, killing the Gophers chances. Ohio State drove the field and then kicked another FG for a 13-3 lead with 3 minutes left in the second half.
Shortly thereafter, the Gophers third key mistake cost them badly. After hauling in a pass from Weber and getting past the first down marker, Jack Simmons was fighting for extra yards when he fumbled and OSU recovered at the Gopher 35. It was a questionable call by the refs, as Simmons’ forward progress appeared to be stopped, but a replay challenge by Brewster was not overturned, giving OSU great field possession just a few minutes before the end of the half. The Buckeyes cashed in on the turnover on an 8 yard TD catch by Brian Robiskie, giving Ohio State a 20-3 lead before half, and essentially ending any hopes for a Gopher upset. All in all, the Gopher offense did not have a drive of more than 30 yards in the first half.
To start the second half, go Gophers put together a very nice drive, moving down the field on mostly runs, but once again the Gopher drive stalled and they had to settle for a field goal. Ohio State responded with 2 more TD’s, sandwiched around a fumbled pitch on a play where Jack Simmons failed to block Malcom Jenkins, who blew up the play. This put OSU up 34-6.
The Gophers did a nice job to keep the game respectable, getting two fourth quarter touchdowns. On the Gophers final score, Da’Jon McKnight caught his first career touchdown pass from Adam Weber, and in a nice gesture, Brewster inserted Columbus native Mike Maciejowski into the game for the two point version, and Maciejowski completed the two-point pass to Eric Decker.
Defensively the Gophers just had no answer for of Wells & Pryor. The duo combined for nearly 200 yards by the end of the 3rd quarter alone, averaging about 9 yards per carry between them. Pryor was everything he was billed to be. OSU called a lot of designed runs for him, and whenever he got in space, he was nearly impossible for the Gophers to contain. He is obviously a great athlete and runner, but what I was really impressed with was his vision. He always seemed to take the right path through the defense to allow him to maximize his yards. Pryor was not terribly effective as a passer, throwing 8/13 for 70 yards and one TD, but his ability to gain yards on the ground against the Gopher defense more than made up for it.
Wells was no slouch himself. Despite being obviously hobbled and playing only sparingly he did a lot of damage, tearing off several long runs. In the end he had 14 carries for 101 yards only about 3 quarters of work.
As far as the Gophers go, it was pretty obvious that Ohio State was the more talented team, and it would’ve taken a perfect game for them for Minnesota to pull off the upset. Besides the few key mistakes the offense had early on, the only thing I was really disappointed with was that they didn’t really seem to key on the run early in the game. In order to win, I thought that the Gophers will have to sell out against run and take their changes of Pryor beating them with his arm. But the Gophers didn’t really come out that way, and OSU instantly started tearing off chunks of rushing yards. The Gophers never really recovered from this, and the Buckeyes won the game easily.
The Gophers next must prepare for Indiana. This will be a great opportunity for Tim Brewster to get his first career Big Ten win, as the Hoosier defense has given up a lot of points to Michigan State and Ball State the past two weeks. The Gophers will score, but as always the question will be, can the Gopher defense keep the opposition out of the end zone?
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