Gophers safety Antonio Johnson said the defense set a goal of posting a shutout Saturday against Kent State. The final score was Minnesota 10, Kent State 7. But for the Gophers defense, it was still mission accomplished.
Kent State's only touchdown came on an 85-yard fumble return by Golden Flashes cornerback Demetrius Monday.
"You don't get too many shutouts in college football, so we take pride in that," Johnson said.
Kent State was just 3-for-17 on third-down conversions and finished with 79 yards rushing and 63 passing.
Most remarkably, Kent State's offense didn't move the ball inside Minnesota territory until the fourth quarter. After running three plays from that side of the 50-yard line, the Golden Flashes punted and never returned again.
"We were flying around, making plays," defensive end Alex Keith said. "I mean, we played a really good game, so we were really happy."
Keith was a big part of it, notching five tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and two pass breakups off the bench. The Gophers also got tackles for a loss from Johnson, Cody Poock, Eric Murray and Julian Huff.
The Gophers have held TCU, Colorado State and Kent State to an average of 16.7 points per game. Coach Jerry Kill noted that the defense played its second consecutive game without two injured safeties — Damarius Travis (hamstring) and Ace Rogers (knee).