Minnesota Gophers run away from Middle Tennessee

The Minnesota Gophers worked through a tough opening quarter en route to a decisive victory over a banged up Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders team.

As has been the norm with this Minnesota Gophers team, it was the ground game that paced Minnesota in this contest. Despite missing one their top running backs, the team still rushed for 221 yards on the ground against a very fast Blue Raider defense. Shannon Brooks ended up not playing due to a shoulder injury. Brooks was the team’s second leading rusher going in to Saturday. Thus, the baton was passed to senior Kobe McCrary, who only saw one carry in each of the Gopher’s first two games.

What ensued was a breakout game for the Chipley, Florida native as he rushed for 107 yards on 23 carries. On top of all of that, he reached the end zone three times, matching his Gopher career total. Couple that with Rodney Smith’s 107 yards and Minnesota’s ground attack was nearly impossible to stop as the game wore on. The reliance on the run game seems to be a consistent theme for the Gophers, especially with a quarterback who still needs some work.

Minnesota was only helped due to some big Middle Tennessee State injuries. Quarterback Brent Stockstill, who was questionable throughout the week due to a shoulder injury, did not suit up. Coach P.J. Fleck called Stockstill one of the “toughest QB’s we’ll face all year” in a press conference earlier this week. This was obviously before it was known that Stockstill would not play, but it shines some light onto the threat Stockstill imposed on the Gopher defense.

None the less, sophomore John Urzua filled in for Stockstill and the inexperience was evident. Urzua was throwing behind his receivers and leaving balls short of their intended targets. It did not help that the Blue Raiders’ primary weapon, Richie James went down early with an apparent ankle injury. Urzua struggled, throwing for 135 yards and two interceptions, one being returned for a touchdown by junior defensive back Jacob Huff:

Conor Rhoda was not necessarily effective in this game, he did what was asked of him I should say. Minnesota did not rely on the pass as the run was obviously their primary game plan. Middle Tennessee sported an athletic secondary and Rhoda did not test it too much. He only threw 18 passes, completing 11 and throwing for 122 yards. Rhoda finished the game with a 118 passer rating, so it was not that he had a “bad” game. He just was not able to flex his passing muscles, which is understandable considering the successful running attack. As the season moves along, expect Rhoda to be given more responsibility. Minnesota just did not need him to win this football game is all.

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It was the Gopher’s stingy defense that again paved the way to victory. Granted, they were playing against a back-up quarterback. Regardless, Minnesota was able to get two interceptions, one from Thomas Barber, and the other by Huff. Barber also led the team in tackles with nine followed by Antoine Winfield Jr. with seven. Although the Gophers were pressuring John Urzua all day, they only came away with one team sack. That stat can be misleading, as Urzua was consistently under fire and took some big hits from Gopher defenders.

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When it mattered the Gopher defense played their best football. The Blue Raiders were only three for 14 on third down. The headline will show that the run game won Minnesota this game, but the defense was stellar as well. This has to be a momentum boost for the defense as they head into conference play.

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There are still some alarming issues the Gophers need to work on as conference play approaches. They were only three of 12 on third down which will not hold up when they play Big Ten opponents. That percentage should improve as Conor Rhoda settles in and becomes more comfortable throwing the ball.

Another sticking point is the Gophers pattern of slow starts. After the first quarter, the Gophers had only put a field goal up on the board. Early in the second quarter, Middle Tennessee was tied with Minnesota 3-3. Late in the half and over the course of the rest of the game, Minnesota pulled away. We have seen this in their two previous game however, and it could become an issue. It is especially troubling that this happens against inferior opponents. As Big Ten play begins, the last thing P.J. Fleck wants is for slow starts against teams like Wisconsin or Michigan. That is a terrific formula to ultimately get blown out. Coach Fleck will most certainly address this in the coming weeks.

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In the end, the Gophers played well enough to get a fairly decisive victory on the scoreboard. Middle Tennesee was not at full strength, and the game would have been more interesting if they had been healthy. That is neither here nor there at this point, and Minnesota should celebrate this win for as long as they can.

The Gophers have the weekend off this coming week, and they will open up Big Ten play at TCF Bank Stadium on September 30th against Maryland.