Mississippi State was the first SEC team to set foot in Huntington Bank Stadium and they absolutely controlled Minnesota from the very beginning. The Bulldogs scored early, built up a four-score lead and sent the Gopher fans home early as they cruised to a 13-38 win.
The first half was total domination by the Bulldogs. On all four first-half drives, Mississippi State executed with ease and scored four touchdowns. The Gopher defense was incapable of slowing them down as they went 75 yards in five plays,
75 yards in nine plays, 72 yards in seven plays and then it took them 12 plays to go 76 yards.
The Bulldogs racked up 283 yards, had 16 first downs, were 4/4 on third down and averaged 8.6 yards per play. They could do whatever they wanted on offense, and Danny Collins’ defense had no answers. Kamario Taylor finished the game 16/22 passing for 227 yards and three touchdowns, with most of that production coming in the first half. Taylor also rushed for 86 yards, converting on third down four times.
On offense for Minnesota in that same half, everything was a struggle. The running game averaged 1.6 yards per carry; they were 1/6 on third down and needed two 4th-down conversions to sustain any drives. To make matters worse, Minnesota also had seven penalties for 80 yards. In short, they were unable to answer the Bulldogs’ 28 points with touchdowns and they trailed 28-6 at halftime.
Minnesota showed some signs of life in the second half.
The Gophers took the third-quarter kickoff and completely abandoned the running game. Drake Lindsey began the half going 5/6 and drove the Gophers to the Bulldog 34 before stalling out. But Tom Weston and John Nestor teamed up to pin Mississippi State at their own four-yard line.
At that point, the Gopher defense stopped MSU for a one-yard gain on first down. And on second down Joey Gerlach hit Taylor, knocking the ball free and Aydan West landed on it in the end zone. The defensive touchdown gave the Gophers some life, making the score 13-28 and it was still early in the third quarter.
But that would be as close as it would get. The offense would continue to move the ball, but they were unable to score. Lindsey would make some impressive throws that were followed up by completely missing open receivers. His erratic throwing with some poorly timed penalties, stalled out drives and kept the offense out of the end zone for the entire game.
Defensively, it was better in the second half, but still not good enough. Mississippi State was forced to punt and we did have a few third-down stops.
Interestingly, the Gophers essentially did not run the ball in the entire second half, until they were running out the clock in the final seconds. They ran 31 plays; 29 were pass plays, two were running out the clock and Lindsey was sacked once. After averaging 1.6 yards per carry in the first half, a conscious decision was made not to even try to run the ball in the second.
Strangely, Minnesota won the turnover battle; the time of possession was basically even, they blocked a field goal and still managed to lose by 25 points. In the end, the only numbers that matter is 13-38. But 12 penalties for 115 yards, 13 total yards rushing (including sacks), zero offensive touchdowns and looking completely inept on defense for two quarters doomed the Gophers in this non-conference matchup.
Up next, the Gophers host Akron next Saturday at home. They have a lot to figure out before that game and the ensuing Big Ten season.
