Michigan overwhelms Gophers in the 2nd half

Limping into this game at 1-7, the Gophers looked like a team that had some fight left, at least in the first half. Minnesota got on the board first with a 29-yard Joe Monroe field goal. Dominique Barber returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown to start the second quarter. That put the Gophers up 10-0. Michigan finally countered with two field goals and a touchdown with just under three minutes in the half to take the lead for good.

The Gopher defense did their part early in the second half to keep the game close. It wasn’t until late in the third period that the Wolverines went up 20-10. Two more Michigan TDs in the final period made it a 34-0 blowout.

Yes, the Gophers offense was shut out in the second half and was only responsible for three points in this game. The lone bright spot was Duane Bennett who rushed for 106 yards. Adam Weber threw for only 99 yards and had a fumble. The Gophers didn’t get past the 50 yard line in the second half until their last drive, which stalled at the Michigan 40.

The numerous freshmen being called upon for significant playing time can certainly be used as the prime reason for this dreadful season. Most of the secondary was made of freshmen and a total of 13 freshmen played in this game. The Gophers’ standout on offense, Bennett, is also a freshman.

Michigan did have to deal with injuries of their own with starting quarterback Chad Henne and running back Mike Hart out. Those injuries didn’t slow the Wolverine offense much, as they compiled 561 yards in total offense and had two players rush for over 100 yards.

This cast of newcomers will have to finish out the season with a couple of tough home games against Illinois and Wisconsin with a road game against Iowa, which is always tough at home, sandwiched in there. The Gophers will be big underdogs in all of these games.

Next up is the Homecoming game against Illinois. After starting the season 5-1, the Illini have lost two of their last three games. Yesterday they had a shaky 28-17 win over Ball State. This game might be the best chance for the Gophers to get one more win this season.