Gophers throw a scare into USC but come up short

LOS ANGELES — Still a few bugs in the system. But fewer by the minute.

Like newlyweds trying to put together an Ikea bedroom set, the Gophers spent half of Saturday's season opener against No. 25 Southern California trying to figure out how the pieces fit together, and their confusion ultimately doomed them to a 19-17 defeat.

But the delay penalties, occasional problems getting 11 men on the field, blocked field goals and a fits-and-starts offense eventually morphed into a more polished product -- one that was one two-minute drive, perhaps one wrestle-for-the-ball interception away from pulling off a stunning upset, and with a freshman quarterback at the controls, no less. The Gophers held USC without a point in the second half, found an offensive rhythm of their own, and offered plenty of hope for the rest of the season.

"The exciting thing is, we got better in each quarter," said coach Jerry Kill, who nearly accomplished on Day 1 what predecessor Tim Brewster never did -- beat a nationally ranked team. "It's going to take some time, some infant steps. We've taken some baby steps, but Coach Kill's got to do a better job."

First, he will have to figure out what Max Shortell's role will be in it. The true freshman stepped in for MarQueis Gray after cramps in the quarterback's throwing arm made him too risky a gamble for the fourth quarter, and immediately revved up a Gophers offense that had been slowed more by its own mishaps -- and some faulty electronics -- than by USC's defense.

Shortell rambled for 8 yards and a first down on his first collegiate play, and followed that by leading the Gophers on a nine-play, 83-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard completion to Brandon Green for a touchdown.

"They were faster than us in the first half," Kill said. "In the second half, I thought we played faster than they did."

"I felt we had a great shot. I felt good about it," Kill said. "I've been on that sideline a long time, and we've pulled off a lot of them."

Said Shortell, "Things were going our way."

He hit Malcolm Moulton with room on the right side, and the play gained 10 yards. He found Da'Jon McKnight in traffic over the middle for another 8. When he didn't find an open receiver, Shortell managed to scramble to keep the loss to just 1 yard. And on third-and-1, he made his first real mistake.

McKnight had a step on USC cornerback Torin Harris, and Shortell tried to loop the ball to him on the left sideline.

"Max tried to throw it on the back shoulder," Kill said. "Their guy played hard, our guy played hard, and [Harris] made a good play."

"I really was just reading the receiver. We're in man-to-man, bump coverage," Harris said. "I looked back and I saw the ball was there. I had to make the play."

Said USC coach Lane Kiffin: "It was good for someone to step in and make the play in that situation. Last year, we lost those games at the end."

The Trojans could have lost this one, too, and that would have been hard to believe after the first quarter. The Gophers committed a false start on the game's first play, and the problems just seemed to mushroom. Part of the problem, Kill said, was the fact that his team's headsets weren't working, so the offensive coaches couldn't communicate with the sidelines. "You can't communicate with your quarterback, so he ends up looking silly," Kill said.

But mostly, he said, his team was lethargic, and he made sure, in a huddle before letting them go to the locker room for halftime, that they knew it wouldn't be allowed.

As the Gophers seemed to improve as the game went on, the Trojans became more error-prone. A fourth-down snap was hiked over USC quarterback Matt Barkley's head; the Trojans had penalty problems of their own; and the Gophers forced Barkley into nine incompletions after he had only two in the first half.

Gray improved as the game went on, too, but he was upstaged by his understudy. Gray went 7-of-12 for 94 yards and picked up another 47 yards on 16 carries. Shortell was 7-of-13 for 98 yards and the touchdown toss to Green.