Tanner Morgan, in his first collegiate start threw for 3 touchdowns and 302 yards leading the Golden Gophers to their first Big Ten win of the season. What appeared to be a decisive win got very dicey before Minnesota eventually wins 38-31 over the Indiana Hoosiers, making their first visit to TCF Bank Stadium. Early Indiana moved the ball with relative ease on the Gopher defense. Their first two drives of the game were a combined 26 plays for 129 yards. But in both cases the Gopher defense made key, 3rd down stops inside the red zone to force field goals. The very next Gopher possession was a Shannon Brooks fumble in Gopher territory. But once again the Minnesota defense held and the Hoosiers to three again. Big hat tip to the Gopher defense for limiting Indiana’s big plays and keeping the Hoosiers from scoring touchdowns (in the first three quarters). Then it was the offense’s turn. Having already scored one touchdown on their opening drive, now trailing 7-9...the following two Gopher possessions were a 14 play, 75 yard touchdown drive followed by a 12 play, 99 yard touchdown drive. Both drives capped by a Tyler Johnson catch and run for another touchdown. Now a 21-9 lead at the half. The second half began and the Gophers did not lose any of their momentum (till the 4th quarter). The offense went 53 yards on 11 plays, before a sack effectively ended up forcing a field goal. Then special teams wanted to get in the action and they blocked the Hoosier punt. Three plays later it was Shannon Brooks, rushing for 17 yards and another touchdown and a 31-9 lead. This is how the 3rd quarter ended and then the 4th quarter got interesting. A 22-point lead and all the momentum in the world. Indiana very quickly strikes with a 43-yard pass from Peyton Ramsey to Donovan Hale (31-15) to Donovan Hale (31-15) Minnesota fumbles Indiana scores on a 37-yard pass to Ty Fryfogle , Indiana converts 2-point conversion (31-23) , Indiana converts 2-point conversion (31-23) Minnesota throws an interception Indiana throws an interception Minnesota punts Indiana converts on 4th down with a 29-yard QB scramble and scores on the next play Indiana converts the 2-point conversion (31-31) Minnesota punts Indiana gets stopped on 3rd and 1 by a great play by Blake Cashman Minnesota scores in 1 play, 67 yards to Rashod Bateman Indiana gets sacked, fumbles Minnesota assumes victory formation This game got drunk, in a hurry. Through three quarters this was a very well-played game by the Gophers. The offense was efficient, the defense was solid and special teams made plays. Then the wheels came off in a big way. Eventually the team made 2 huge plays to seal it. The 67-yard, cold-blooded touchdown was followed by the Carter Coughlin strip sack. Notably, the offense put up some really big numbers. 302 yards passing by Tanner Morgan (17/24 passing) to go with 3 touchdown passes (17/24 passing) to go with 3 touchdown passes 154 yards rushing by Shannon Brooks and a touchdown 108 yards receiving by Rashod Bateman and a touchdown and a touchdown 102 yards receiving by Tyler Johnson and 2 touchdowns But they also contributed 4 turnovers, which very nearly cost them the game. Consistency was discussed on this blog earlier in the week, tonight that was on full display. When the offence was efficient and when the defense was playing soundly, this was a game they were sailing to a comfortable win. Once things started to become unhinged, it resulted in 22-unanswered points in the 4th quarter. There are plenty of things to be figured out yet. Despite the cardiac arrest inducing 4th quarter, the Gophers did win this game. They are 4-4 with a trip to Illinois next week. Also, it is important to note that Brooks had a really great game in his first game back since tearing his ACL last year. Unfortunately he went down again early in the 4th quarter in what looks like another knee injury. Hopefully it is not nearly as serious as it looked, but we will find out more this week. Enjoy your college football Saturday, Gopher fans.<doc-sep>MINNEAPOLIS — Indiana’s worst performance of the season was briefly interrupted by an unforeseen comeback. Ultimately, Friday’s game at Minnesota ended much like it started. Poorly. IU scored 22 straight points during a frenetic fourth-quarter rally and forced a tie with four minutes remaining. But Gophers receiver Rashon Bateman beat Hoosier safety Juwan Burgess on a double move in the waning moments, racing 67 yards for the game-winning score in Minnesota’s 38-31 victory over Indiana on a rainy night at TCF Bank Stadium. “This one really hurts,” IU coach Tom Allen said. “Really proud of our guys for battling back and overcoming a big deficit that we created.” Even so, the late comeback wasn’t enough to overshadow what was, in sum, an ugly effort by Indiana (4-5, 1-5). While the Hoosiers’ offense squandered prosperity throughout the first half, their defense mostly disappointed from start to finish. In a hugely-important game for Indiana’s postseason chances, IU failed to rise to the moment and prove itself worthy of even being in the conversation for a bowl berth. IU’s hopes remain alive with two wins needed across the final three games. But if Indiana couldn’t handle a middling, reeling Minnesota program, one that committed four turnovers and begged IU to steal a win from its grasp, it’s not really clear where those two wins will come from. The Hoosiers have a long-awaited bye next weekend before closing the regular season with home games against Maryland and Purdue sandwiched around a trip to Michigan. For three quarters, this may have been the worst all-around effort by an Indiana team in Allen’s two seasons at the helm. The Hoosiers couldn’t cover a Minnesota offense that was led by its backup quarterback, getting exposed all night on routine slant routes that went for chunk gains. While IU’s offense settled for a series of three early field goals by Logan Justus, Minnesota’s offense hummed. The Gophers didn’t have to punt for the first time until the end of the third quarter. Minnesota largely took what it wanted, particularly over the middle, and used a 99-yard scoring drive at the end of the first half to build a 21-9 lead by halftime. Although it was merely a two-possession deficit, the gulf between the two teams felt much wider. “Defensively, we didn’t play well overall,” Allen said. “Had some of our better players who I didn’t feel like played well today and lost several, which is unfortunate, then had to go with several young guys at the end. Bottom line is guys got to step up and make plays.” Minnesota backup quarterback Tanner Morgan did. He helped the Gophers out-gain the Hoosiers 482-385, with the home team averaging 7.5 yards per play. Morgan, filling in for injured starter Zack Annexstad, completed 17 of his 24 passes for 302 yards, and he threw a pair of touchdown passes to top receiver Tyler Johnson, who frustrated IU defensive backs all night. For the Hoosiers, defending slants and posts were a problem they struggled to solve altogether. “They hit some of those slant routes off the RPO runs,” Allen said. “We knew that’s what they do, so we worked a lot on different things to throw at them. We were losing the one-on-ones, which is frustrating because that’s the fundamentals of how you defend that.” After an IU punt by Haydon Whitehead pinned Minnesota at its 1-yard line late in the first half, Johnson helped the Gophers quickly return to Hoosier territory. He slipped through coverage on another slant, running 52 yards to the IU 45. Six plays later, he was in the end zone on an 18-yard reception that gave Minnesota all the momentum entering the intermission. After Minnesota opened the second half with a field goal, going ahead 24-9, Indiana went three-and-out and had the ensuing punt blocked. It turned into a quick 3-play, 28-yard scoring drive for the Gophers, who opened a 22-point lead. Then, Indiana showed some life. Back-to-back touchdown passes by Peyton Ramsey — a 43-yard strike to Donavan Hale and a 37-yard connection with Ty Fryfogle — cut IU’s deficit to 31-23 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. “I just think we started completing passes and saw the chains moving,” Ramsey said. “That first one to Donavan kind of got everything rolling. From there, we didn’t look back. We knew we needed touchdowns.” Altogether, Indiana produced three touchdowns during the fourth quarter, with Ramsey completing 11 of his 16 throws in that span. Ramsey helped IU to its third score of the period with a key 29-yard run on fourth-and-nine at the Minnesota 32. That allowed Stevie Scott to punch it in from three yards out on the following snap. “At first, I didn’t see how much green grass was down there,” Ramsey said. “I had my eyes downfield. As soon as I got out of the pocket, it was a no-brainer to take off and run and try to score a touchdown.” Indiana got the ball back with 3:25 to go, but three straight runs went nowhere. Scott gained seven on the first play of the drive, then picked up two more to set up third-and-one. On that pivotal play, he was knocked back for a loss of two and the Hoosiers paid the price for going conservative. “Our offensive coaches felt like our offensive line could get us a first down, as well as we were running the ball,” Allen said. “You’re kind of dealing with the clock and you want to take the ball down and get that last possession and kick the field goal and go win the game. “Obviously, because it didn’t work, it doesn’t look like a very good idea. But had it worked and had we run the ball like we ran the ball most of the game, you feel like you’re doing the right thing. I understand why it would be second-guessed.” On the first play of the ensuing drive, Morgan found Bateman with a step on Burgess for the game-winning score. The comeback went for naught, spoiled by one more breakdown in an evening full of them. “That’s part of the growth process for some of these young guys,” Allen said. But right now, with Indiana entering the bye with four straight losses, it’s hard to see that growth taking hold at all.<doc-sep>There's plenty of pregame below for tonight's Indiana football game at Minnesota. In a rare Friday night matchup, the Hoosiers and Golden Gophers will both be looking to end losing streaks in conference play. Only one will in the 8 p.m. kickoff at TCF Bank Stadium. You can watch this one on FS1 (How to Watch IU at Minnesota). In other news, Indiana baseball gets a tuneup win under its new coach, feature on IU men's hoop, more about the guilty verdicts handed down to the Adidas executives in the NCAA hoop trial.<doc-sep>
Well that was fun and surprising... and then stressful and frustrating... and then euphoric. Just your casual Friday night football game at TCF Bank Stadium. Ultimately, despite a near disastrous fourth quarter, the Minnesota Golden Gophers prevailed over the Indiana Hoosiers, 38-31, to claim their first conference victory of the season. Now what are we supposed to do with ourselves on Saturday? The Elite Tanner Morgan. 17-of-24 for 302 passing yards and three touchdowns. Not bad for the first start of his college career. It was far from perfect — that fourth quarter interception was an egregious mistake and he all but disappeared, along with the rest of the offense, for most of the second half — but the redshirt freshman quarterback played well enough to lead the Gophers to victory, and certainly made things interesting for when Zack Annexstad is cleared to return. Tyler Johnson. The Gophers’ top wideout reached a number of milestones last night en route to 102 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Johnson notched his 100th career reception, which came on an 18-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and tallied his fourth straight game with at least 100 yards receiving, tying Eric Decker’s school record. Shannon Brooks. I can’t say I expected to see Brooks back in action for this game, but with Mohamed Ibrahim sidelined for reasons unknown, the senior running back was inserted into the backfield and made the most of his unexpected season debut. There were more than a few setbacks — more on those later — but Brooks finished the night with an impressive 22 carries for 154 yards and one touchdown. Fingers crossed we’ll see more of him this season. Shannon Brooks is back for @GopherFootball, and he's also back in the end zone: pic.twitter.com/lAbU9DAoWc — Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) October 27, 2018 Jacob Huff. The senior defensive back was all over the field last night, racking up seven tackles and making a diving interception in the fourth quarter to stop the Hoosiers offense. Rashod Bateman's game-winning 67-yard touchdown. Thank you, God. ROW THE BOAT. A 67-yard touchdown gives @GopherFootball the lead! pic.twitter.com/Id546CiUz5 — FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) October 27, 2018 Gopherguy05. The TDG staff tends to commiserate together during games via Slack, and gopherguy05 is frequently the first to proclaim the sky is falling at the first sign of adversity. But while the rest of the staff was banging our heads against the wall in the fourth quarter as the Gophers’ collapse unfolded, it was gopherguy05 who wrote, and I quote, "Can we be positive for just a few seconds." That's how you keep your oar in the water. P.J. Fleck's custom Coke bottle at the postgame presser. Is it a bit much? Eh, maybe. But is it absolutely on brand for Fleck? One hundred percent. PJ Fleck has a customized Coke bottle that says "MAHturity." pic.twitter.com/M0G2Cih43k — Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) October 27, 2018 The Meh The Gopher defense. To their credit, the defense performed... well for the first three quarters of the game. Minnesota limited the Indiana offense to three field goals through their first seven offensive possessions of the game, but it was admittedly difficult at times to determine whether more credit was owed to the Gophers’ defense or the Hoosiers’ offense. Predictably, in part due to three fourth quarter turnovers courtesy of the Gopher offense, Minnesota proceeded to collapse in the fourth quarter, allowing Indiana to erase a 31-9 deficit. The Gopher defense looked completely out of sorts as the Hoosiers gashed them for yards at a time. In the end, Minnesota got it done on defense, forcing a three-and-out late in the fourth quarter to set up the Gophers’ game-winning touchdown drive. And of course it was Carter Coughlin who strip sacked Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey to seal the game. Don’t get comfortable, Robb Smith. The Ugly Turnovers. “The ball is the program.” We’ve heard it once, if we’ve heard it a thousand times. The Gophers’ failure to treat the ball like the program nearly cost them dearly last night, as Shannon Brooks fumbled twice, Bryce Williams fumbled once, and Tanner Morgan threw an interception. Three of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter, when the Hoosiers were able to mount their comeback. The field conditions were certainly a factor, but Indiana had to play under the same conditions and weren’t nearly as careless with the football. Injuries. It was a big night for Johnson and Brooks... until it wasn’t.