Advertisement

Gophers secured more than three points before halftime

Securing a field goal before halftime gave the Gophers additional confidence.

September 28, 2014 at 12:59PM

ANN ARBOR, MICH. – The Gophers gained possession at their own 1-yard line with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in the first half Saturday.

The score was tied 7-7.

"It was like déjà vu," offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said after the game.

A year ago, the Gophers started a possession from their own 1 late in the first half tied with Michigan 7-7. The Gophers failed to convert a third down, had to punt and Michigan scored a touchdown to take a 14-7 halftime lead.

The Gophers never recovered and lost 42-13.

On Saturday, the Gophers coaches talked on their headsets about avoiding a repeat of that same scenario as they sent their offense into the field.

"Our thing was, 'Hey, let's not give them the ball back,' " Limegrover said. "It was literally, 'Let's find any way we can to get a first down here.' "

They did much better than that. The Gophers dug out of that hole and came up with a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Santoso as time expired to take a 10-7 halftime lead.

Advertisement
Advertisement

That drive gave the Gophers momentum and put the team in a comfortable spot: The Gophers entered the game 17-0 under Jerry Kill when leading at halftime.

"That [drive] may be as critical a part of the game as there was, getting it out of there," Kill said.

The key moment in the 12-play drive came on third-and-5 from their own 6. Michigan called timeout with 1:31 left.

Mitch Leidner faked a handoff to David Cobb, rolled to his right and threw toward tight end Lincoln Plsek. Plsek jumped, twisted his body and came down with a 21-yard completion.

"He made a great catch," Leidner said. "I told him in the huddle, 'Lincoln, there's a good chance you'll be running free here.' He was, and I wish I could have put a better ball on him so he could've kept running with it."

Cobb took over at that point. He had runs of 14, 8 and 20 yards to go along with an 11-yard reception.

Advertisement

"That was a series and a drive that left a mark," Limegrover said.

How much so? In the third quarter, the Gophers outscored Michigan 17-0 and held the Wolverines to minus-4 yards.

"You can't discount how big a deal that [drive] was for our kids because we hadn't beaten these guys," Limegrover said. "It was 58-0 three years ago when we came here. At 10-7, it was totally different. In that halftime, it was like, 'Yeah, we want more. We're not even happy with where things are at.' That's a big change."

Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams (88) caught a first down pass despite pressure from Michigan defensive back Jeremy Clark (34) in the second quarter as the Minnesota Gophers too on Michigan at Michigan Stadium, Saturday, September 27, 2014 in Ann Arbor, MI. ] (ELIZABETH FLORES/STAR TRIBUNE) ELIZABETH FLORES • eflores@startribune.com
Tight end Maxx Williams, left, fended off Michigan’s Jeremy Clark for a 10-yard gain on third-and-2 during the Gophers’ last possession of the first half. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Advertisement
about the writer

about the writer

Chip Scoggins

Columnist

Chip Scoggins is a sports columnist and enterprise writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has worked at the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2000 and previously covered the Vikings, Gophers football, Wild, Wolves and high school sports.

See Moreicon

More from Gophers

See More
card image

Anthony Smith, Darius Taylor, Koi Perich and Drake Lindsey all wore suits at Big Ten media days. Accessories — and Smith’s plaid pants — set them apart.

card image
card image
Advertisement
Advertisement

To leave a comment, .

Advertisement