GOPHERS INSIDER Megan Ryan
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck learned an important lesson about football a long time ago.
"A win's a win," he said. "There's hard wins. There are no bad wins."
That's the message he relayed to his team Thursday after the Gophers outlasted South Dakota State 28-21 at TCF Bank Stadium in the season opener. And, well, he has a point. A shaky performance might have tempered some fans' wild expectations for this season. But ultimately, the Gophers are 1-0 with dreams intact.
South Dakota State, though, probably wishes the reverse was true, as this loss likely feels pretty bad to the Jackrabbits.
The visiting team never let the Gophers gain momentum. Part of that was the Gophers' own offensive woes, particularly when it came to blocking for the running backs and protecting sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan. But while the Jackrabbits stayed close and even eked out a one-point lead late in the game, turnovers foiled their upset.
In his college debut, South Dakota State's J'Bore Gibbs committed two sins: Throwing a pick-six in the third quarter that extended the Gophers' lead and fumbling a handoff in the fourth quarter when his team held a one-point advantage. The Gophers eventually turned that last mistake into the winning touchdown.
The Jackrabbits missed several other opportunities, though, that could have taken some of the responsibility off their new quarterback. A 99-yard kick return for a touchdown just before halftime was called back because of a holding penalty. An illegal block in the back also wiped out a third-quarter touchdown pass.
That third quarter was a rough one for the Gophers. South Dakota State outscored them 14-7, posting 190 yards of offense to Minnesota's 20.