It feels all too familiar for Gopher fans. A heartbreaking loss that leaves spectators stunned, numb. In an emotional game playing for Jerry Kill, the Maroon and Gold came up a half yard short of a historic upset. With the last-second, goal-line stop, Michigan topped the Gophers, 29-26, and took back the Little Brown Jug in crushing fashion.
That Close
The Gophers thought they had it won when Mitch Leidner hit Drew Wolitarsky for a long pass that was called a touchdown on the field. After review, the refs determined that Wolitarsky’s knee was down short and the ball would be placed inside the one.
“With it not being called a touchdown, at that point we went out there with the same mindset,” said Leidner who threw for a career-high 317 yards. “We were going to punch it in, but unfortunately that never happened.”
What followed was bizarre to say the least. The Gophers had the ball inside the one, first down, one timeout, and 19 seconds remaining. On their first play, the Gophers lined up and had four players shift on the line to create a possible mismatch. The problem was the clock was running once the ball was spotted following the review.
“[That play] did take a little bit longer than what we thought with the shift and the motion, but the bottom line is, we ran that play after they brought the touchdown back, it was one of those things where we thought we could get two plays off,” said Claeys. “That’s really what we were looking at. We were going to go through a little shift-motion thing to see if we could get somebody open on a short pass and then from there, go back and try to stick it in.”
Following the incompletion, Minnesota had just two seconds left on the clock. Whether or not the Gophers knew the clock was running is up for debate. Did the coaches know the clock would run after the review?
“Yeah, we did,” said Claeys. “We did.”
If the coaches did know, some players may have been unaware.
“I don’t think we were expecting [the clock] to be going,” said Leidner. “I mean, I wasn’t at least.”
Following the clock runoff and missed pass, the Gophers called timeout to diagram a final play which turned out to be a simple quarterback sneak. The Wolverine defense stood strong and kept Leidner short.
“I had a lot of confidence,” said Leidner on the play. “I haven’t missed a quarterback sneak since I’ve been here, at least I’m pretty sure. So it’s crazy because nobody usually stops us in that situation.”
After the game, Claeys said he’d go for the win again if he had the chance.
“I think in those situations, you have to be able to get half a yard. If it’s outside the one-yard line, we’ll kick it and move on,” said Claeys. “In that situation, I felt like we could get it. I’d do it all over again. I’d do the same the same thing. That’s what it’s about.”
Emotional Game
With Jerry Kill announcing his immediate retirement on Wednesday, the Gophers were fired up to play for their leader.
“We definitely wanted to come out and get this win for him, because I know he was watching, and he’s probably upset, too,” said Devondre Campbell. “He probably shouldn’t have watched it. But we wanted to come out and get this win for him and that was something that was in the back of our minds.”
Leidner kicked off the evening by taking the “Jerrysota” flag to the student section, igniting the crowd.
“Coach Kill is so important to the state of Minnesota,” said Leidner. “The entire student section loves him. He’s done so much for this team, this program. I was honored to be able to do that tonight. They asked me earlier in the week if I wanted to do it and I said ‘Hell yeah, I want to do that. I want to do that so badly.’ To get the opportunity to do that tonight for Coach Kill is something I’ll never forget.”
Going Forward
Things don’t get any easier the rest of the season. The Gophers (somehow) need to forget this loss and look to next week as they travel to Columbus to take on the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.
“Obviously it’s unfortunate how it ended, but that’s the game of football,” said Brandon Lingen. “It’s a game of inches. Right now it definitely hurts but all we can do is come back Sunday and learn from it and get ready for Ohio State.”
Many players won’t forget this loss for a long time, but some are ready to get back on the field.
“We’re about to play the No. 1 team in the country next week so can mourn about the loss tonight but tomorrow we have to move past it and move on to the next team,” said Campbell