It's easy to forget amid all the negatives that the Gophers do some things right, and there was a pretty good example of it Saturday. After that awful two-play sequence -- ill-advised pass into the end zone is intercepted and returned 58 yards, followed immediately by Penn State's 42-yard touchdown pass -- late in the second quarter, Minnesota trailed 21-7 and appeared on the verge of being done.
But "there was no panic at halftime," coach Jeff Horton said. "We felt we were in the game. The offense made some adjustments, and we came back out and got right back into the football game."
That they did, by pulling off one of the most impressive drives of the season to open the third quarter, the sort of possession that gives credence to the Gophers' contention that they are close to effectiveness. Minnesota kept the ball for more than six minutes, ran 11 plays, 10 of which gained four or more yards, and marched 75 yards in 6:18, reaching the end zone on a perfectly executed 4-yard fade pass to Da'Jon McKnight.
"Guys were motivated, guys were energized," quarterback Adam Weber said. "To come out there, have a great drive, we put up seven points -- awesome. Now we're down by seven points, and feeling good about ourselves."
DeLeon Eskridge opened the drive with an 18-yard run around the left corner, putting Penn State's defense off balance right from the start. Eskridge ran five more times on the drive, picking up another 18 yards, while Weber went 4-for-4 through the air, including a 6-yard completion to MarQueis Gray on third-and-six. And when McKnight caught the touchdown pass over an unsuspecting Nittany Lion cornerback, he turned and flipped the ball to the referee with an exaggerated flourish.
"We felt like we put it together pretty good," Eskridge said of the drive, which closed Penn State's lead to 21-14. "We had them guessing and off their feet. ... We had a lot of opportunities to get down in their area, but we've got to finish as an offense and put up more points."
Yeah, that was the problem. The Gophers had five more possessions in the second half, and scored only once. Their other four drives went 28, 27, minus-8 (for a safety) and 41 yards. "We had some chances," Horton said, "but we've got to keep the pressure on them."

XXX

A couple other notes from a gloomy Saturday:

  • The gloominess came largely from the overcast sky, at least at first. There's no doubt that the Gophers came out energized, the cloud of negativity about fans' bitterness toward coach Tim Brewster having been removed. Athletic director Joel Maturi asked that the fans not boo the team, and they complied, choosing to boo the referees instead. A Nittany Lion drive in the second quarter was twice kept alive on third down by a pass-interference call. Both looked legit, though the Gophers argued that the passes were uncatchable. The lack of a similar call at the other end enraged the fans, however. "I just want it to be the same" for both sides, Horton said. "If you're going to call things, call them."
  • The booing was never particularly loud because the number of fans was never very large. The announced attendance of 48,479 was at least 10,000 higher than the actual number of fans in TCF Bank Stadium, and the empty seats were especially widespread in the student section. The upper-deck portion of the student section was largely empty, making this the smallest crowd in the stadium's history. The Gophers are now 0-5 in their new home this year, and with Ohio State and Iowa yet to visit, a winless home season is all but assured.
  • Weber was caught in the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter, having shoveled the ball forward as he was being sacked, drawing an intentional grounding penalty. Horton defended his quarterback, pointing out that had Weber's heave crossed the line of scrimmage, there would have been no penalty.
  • Joe Paterno may be a legendary coach, but his team sure didn't look very good Saturday. The defense gave up 433 yards, and the offense was 2-for-10 on third down. Their preseason position in the top 25 looks awfully misguided.