Experience wins out on the Big House stage

ANN ARBOR, MICH. - Gophers football coach Tim Brewster said last week that he didn't think his large group of freshmen would suffer a terrible case of big-stage jitters in their first trip to the Big House on Saturday.

It wasn't exactly smooth sailing, however.

Minnesota's youngsters learned just how difficult life can be in the Big Ten pressure cooker in a 34-10 loss to No. 19 Michigan before an announced crowd of 109,432 at Michigan Stadium.

Freshman quarterback Adam Weber had the shakiest performance of his young career, freshman cornerback Ryan Collado received a baptism by fire in defending star wide receiver Mario Manningham and the Gophers were simply overmatched in the talent department.

"Those young freshmen that played for us got a lot of life lessons," Brewster said. "They're going to learn from those lessons and they're going to be better from it. I couldn't be more proud of those kids."

Facing a Wolverines team playing without its top two stars, the Gophers (1-8, 0-5) showed some fight early but ultimately got worn down by Michigan in suffering their seventh consecutive loss.

Michigan (7-2, 5-0) looked uneasy in the first half in the absence of senior quarterback Chad Henne (shoulder injury) and star tailback Mike Hart (ankle sprain). But the Wolverines overcame an early 10-0 deficit by scoring 34 unanswered points against a Gophers squad that played 13 freshmen, including nine true freshmen.

"We knew it was going to be an experience," Weber said. "The Big House definitely lived up to its reputation."

The Gophers offense -- and Weber in particular -- fell victim to it. Weber never looked comfortable against Michigan's pressure and had a miserable day throwing the ball.

He completed only 14 of 30 passes for 99 yards. He also fumbled twice (losing one) and was sacked three times. Weber completed only three of 13 passes for 40 yards with one fumble in the first half.

"I never really felt comfortable," Weber said. "I just wasn't on my game."

The offense managed only 231 yards and three points. Freshman running back Duane Bennett had his best performance with 106 rushing yards on 20 carries, but the offense did little else.

"As an offense, we just weren't able to put everything together," Weber said.

The Gophers defense actually showed more good than bad in the first half. But Michigan's offense came to life and used a string of big plays to put the Gophers on their heels after halftime.

Manningham, in particular, took advantage of the 5-9 Collado on several occasions. One of college football's top receivers, Manningham caught five passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. He hauled in catches of 44, 24, 48 and 40 yards.

Brewster pulled Collado aside several times and told him to keep his head up.

"He's going up against Manningham, who's one of the best wide receivers in America," Brewster said. "[Collado] is fighting and competing and Manningham won a couple of times. That's going to happen."

The Wolverines finished with 561 total yards -- 307 rushing and 254 passing. With Hart out, backups Brandon Minor (157 rushing yards and one touchdown) and Carlos Brown (132 rushing yards and two touchdowns) filled the void.

The game was actually tight for one half. The Gophers forced two turnovers in the first half, scored a defensive touchdown and trailed only 13-10 at halftime.

"We wanted to take advantage of [Henne and Hart being out]," senior safety Dominique Barber said. "They're great players, All-Americans."

The Gophers used a field goal and a big defensive play by Barber to take a 10-0 lead. On the first play of the second quarter, Henne's replacement, freshman Ryan Mallett, dropped the ball as he came out from underneath center, and Barber scooped it up and ran 46 yards for a touchdown.

"I couldn't believe the ball managed to get to me," Barber said. "The opportunity was there and I took advantage of it."

Ultimately, Michigan was simply too good on both sides of the ball for the Gophers, even with its starting quarterback and tailback on the bench in street clothes.

"The only real disappointing thing for me is the score is not going to be indicative of the way our football team fought and competed," Brewster said.

Chip Scoggins • ascoggins@startribune.com