Longtime observers said it was the biggest crowd to watch a Gophers spring game since the Lou Holtz era.
The Gophers estimated that 10,100 turned out at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday to watch a team trying to build off its first New Year's Day bowl appearance since 1962.
But even with a genuine buzz in the warm spring air, coach Jerry Kill was careful not to reveal too much to a Big Ten Network audience. Surely, he knew his good friend Gary Patterson would be watching, studying up for Texas Christian's visit for the Sept. 3 season opener.
So the Gophers disguised their personnel groupings and did a lot more huddling than they did during a spring that saw them install a new, no-huddle offense.
"We did things we wouldn't do in the game," Kill admitted. "We just tried to experiment a little bit."
The results didn't exactly electrify the crowd, but there were a few highlights, as the offense put up 24 points in 23 drives against the defense.
The Gophers rested their starting secondary, knowing there wasn't much for those four seniors to prove. On the opening drive, the first-team offense drove 65 yards for a touchdown.
Mitch Leidner hit KJ Maye for a 27-yard gain down the sideline, and Rodrick Williams had six carries for 33 yards on his one and only drive. Williams carried three defenders into the end zone on his 12-yard touchdown run.