Despite a stifling defense and a packed TCF Bank Stadium, the Golden Gophers fell 20-7 to the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday. After the loss, Minnesota still sits at 8-3 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten as they head to face a ranked Michigan State team next weekend.
Stopping the Badgers
Although the Gophers were unable to pull out the victory against Wisconsin, the Minnesota defense certainly made a statement. The Badgers came into Saturday’s contest averaging over 500 yards and 38 points per game. Against the Gophers, Wisconsin managed just 324 yards of offense and 20 points; both season lows.
“I think they only had 324 yards of offense,” said head coach Jerry Kill. “Against a football team like that, and certainly the way they run the ball, I thought we did a good job on the run game.”
The running back duo of Melvin Gordon and James White has spearheaded the Badgers rushing attack–which came into the game averaging 308 yards on the ground. Minnesota was able to limit the Wisconsin run game to just 197 yards and one touchdown on the day.
“Really, it’s all about protecting our house,” said Ra’Shede Hageman. “Obviously, Wisconsin has a good running system, they’ve got two great running backs…and the fact that we stopped the running game is definitely an improvement and I feel like it encourages the defense more. Giving them more faith that we can go against a good running team and still be able to stop them.”
Costly Mistakes
The Gophers offense struggled to get into rhythm on Saturday, totaling 185 yards in the game. Part of the reason for the lack of success was a number of dropped balls and poor throws that shortened drives for Minnesota.
“On offense, we missed some shots,” said Kill. “We missed some opportunities when we had guys open. We had a couple drops here and there.”
Minnesota also had trouble holding onto the ball, losing three fumbles on the day, two while in Wisconsin territory.
“We had three turnovers, and if you take those turnovers away, we might have a tie game against a very good football team,” said Kill. “They had one [turnover], we had three [turnovers.] They took the formula we had been winning on away from us.”
Losing by less than two touchdowns, the Gophers know that one or two missed opportunities made the difference.
“Winning a football game comes down to a couple of plays,” said Philip Nelson who ended the day throwing for 83 yards on 7-of-23 passing. “We had five or six chances there that we just let slip.”
Looking Forward
The Gophers played tough against the Badgers, hanging with their higher-ranked opponent for all four quarters. Although it was a close game, Minnesota certainly isn’t satisfied with the result.
“There is no moral victories,” said Kill. “Only thing I’d say is, I can live with a lot things if you play your butt off. And if we keep playing our butt off, there’s been a lot of good things happen, and a whole lot more will happen, as long as they play as hard as they play.”
Kill knows that his players will be able to bounce back in time to prepare for a tough Michigan State squad next weekend.
“I think everyone knows [Michigan State] is pretty good on defense,” said Kill. “Our kids have had a lot of adversity this year and they have shown resiliency. I thought they were resilient today keeping us in the football game for 60 minutes. I really believe they will be resilient through the week and we have another opportunity next week.”
The Gophers will use the loss to Wisconsin as motivation during practice to get ready for the Spartans.
“We’ll watch this film, learn from this one, get over it,” said running back David Cobb. “Again, I think everyone in the locker room feels the same way. It sucks to lose this one but we’re going to hold our heads high and go to Michigan State and win that one.”
Beating a ranked team like Michigan State could vault the Gophers into a top-tier bowl.
“Like what Coach [Kill] has always been saying to us, there’s not a lot of teams this late in the season who are still playing for something,” said Brock Vereen. “That’s definitely something that’s cool and that’s a testament to how the season has gone but we’re not folding. Now, it’s how good of a bowl game do we want to go to so that’s definitely something to work toward.”
Bright Spots
· Minnesota’s only score of the game came on a third down interception for a score by senior Aaron Hill to give the Gophers a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. The play marked the seventh non-offensive touchdown of the season for Minnesota, most in team history.
“It’s a play that we were definitely expecting,” said Vereen. “It’s definitely one of their go-to third down routes. Aaron was in the right place and he was able to execute…Aaron’s a great athlete and no one was going to catch him.”
· Although it was the coldest game in stadium history, it was also the most-attended. A total of 53,090 fans packed the stands, breaking the record at TCF Bank Stadium.
“There has been a buzz in the community,” said Kill of the fan support. “There’s no question about that. We certainly don’t want to lose that. We’ve worked hard. The kids have worked hard. We appreciate the fans. It was a great atmosphere, great students. Unfortunately it’s our last game at TCF Bank this year but hopefully we’ve shown people that we play a good brand of football. We’ve got to build off that and continue to work hard. It’s great to see all the fans’ support. We’re just very appreciative. I know those players, and those seniors, it’s important to them.”
· Although he amassed just 68 yards on the day, running back David Cobb was able to surpass 1,000 yards on the season, the first Gopher to do so since Amir Pinnix in 2006.
“David is a great story,” said Kill. “He hung in there when it was difficult early in his years and he started to mature and learned what it takes to play. It’s great to see and that’s the reason we’re 8-3.”