Gophers shut down 44-0

Minnesota’s Big Ten losing streak was extended to six games today. No. 1 Ohio State thumped them 44-0. The Gophers haven’t won a conference game since beating Michigan State in November 5, 2005. They are now 0-5 in the Big Ten and 3-6 overall. It will take winning their three final games to have a chance at a 5th bowl bid in a row.

The Gophers played their hearts out in this game but it only slowed the eventual blowout. Ohio State scored a touchdown just four minutes into the game. They were held to a field goal on their next possession and the score remained 10-0 after one quarter. The Gopher defense kept fighting, as the score was somewhat respectable at 17-0 at the half. The Buckeye onslaught was steady the rest of the way, adding 13 in the third quarter and 14 in the final quarter.

This was only the second time under Glen Mason that the offense was shutout. The other time came in a 31-0 loss to Iowa in 1997, Mason’s first season at Minnesota. The Gophers were stymied everywhere. They got a mere 47 yards rushing with Amir Pinnix getting 46 of them. Bryan Cupito was constantly under pressure, resulting in three interceptions and two sacks.

Deon Hightower led the defense with 13 tackles and Mario Reese was not far behind with 11. Dominique Barber also had a fumble recovery early in the game to give the Gophers a glimmer of hope. The defense did all they could to keep the team in the game but the lack of offensive output took its toll. The Buckeyes were steady on all phases of their offense. Troy Smith completed 67% of his passes for 183 yards and Antonio Pittman had 116 yards rushing.

Right now Glen Mason is about as popular in Minnesota as the movie character Borat is with the Kazakhstani Embassy. There is a real possibility that this could match the worst season for Mason when the team went 3-9 in ’97. Winning is the only sure cure for Mason’s troubles and that won’t be easy with this squad.

Next week’s Homecoming game against Indiana was supposed to be a breather. Now, it’s only a question of how many points the Hoosiers will be favored by. Michigan State is doing its best to match the Gophers as the turkey of the Big Ten this year, so that could be a strange game of sad sacks. Then it’s Iowa with their horde of fans and their plan to take over the Metrodome. Just maybe the Gophers will be mad enough about the indignity to spoil Iowa’s party. Otherwise, it will just be another embarrassment in a long line of them this season.