Week 1 is all about surviving. The Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0) did exactly that in their season-opening 23-10 win over the Buffalo Bulls (0-1) Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium.
The Elite
Darius Taylor. If you can believe it, Taylor came into this game having only recorded one total carry in a season opener through the first two years of his college career. He certainly made up for lost time, recording 30 carries for 141 rushing yards and hauling in four receptions for 36 receiving yards. Taylor remains
their most dynamic playmaker on offense and that was apparent on several plays throughout the game.
Darius Taylor’s touchdown-saving tackle. The Gophers’ lone turnover of the game came on a bizarre interception in the second quarter — more on that later — but what could have been a game-tying pick six ended up only being a 54-yard gain thanks to Taylor, who sprinted down the field to make a shoestring tackle of Mitchell Gonser before he could reach the end zone. The Minnesota defense was able to force a three-and-out and limit Buffalo to a 36-yard field goal, preserving the Gophers’ lead.
Danny Collins’ debut as defensive coordinator. It’s impossible to gauge the quality of the opposing offense at this point in this season, but the Gopher defense took care of business in Collins’ first game as the play-caller. They limited Buffalo to 151 total yards of offense, seven tackles for loss, and two sacks. The lone blemish was a 40-yard touchdown pass that saw safety Kerry Brown bite on a double move by Bulls wide receiver Victor Snow.
Drake Lindsey. I will admit I am grading Lindsey on a curve here, but for a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start, I came away impressed. He finished 19-of-35 (54.2%) for 290 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Lindsey certainly made some throws and decisions that were typical of a freshman, but he also showed poise in the pocket and saw his pass catchers drop far too many passes. The play of the game for Lindsey was his 60-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Smith, which saw Lindsey step up in the pocket to escape pressure, keep his eyes downfield, and make an accurate throw on the run.
Special teams. The Gophers debuted a new starting kicker and a new starting punter Thursday night, and both acquitted themselves well. Syracuse transfer kicker Brady Denaburg was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, with a long of 38 yards. Aussie punter Tom Weston, who transferred in from Ouachita Baptist University, averaged 43.3 yards on three punts, downing two of them inside the 20-yard line, including one at the 1-yard line.
16 plays, 58 yards, and 9 minutes and 45 seconds. No one loves dominating the time of possession more than P.J. Fleck. But I think we can all appreciate when that manifests as a clock-killing drive to end a game, which is precisely what we saw in the final 10 minutes Thursday night as the Minnesota offensive line went to work wearing down the Buffalo defensive front. It was a thing of beauty.
Max Brosmer showing up to the game in a Drake Lindsey jersey.
The Meh
The Minnesota Movers. Death, taxes, and a slow start to the season for a Brian Callahan-coached offensive line. Thursday night’s season opener was no exception. With a new-look offensive line featuring three new starters, the Minnesota Movers struggled to find much traction in the ground game early before eventually overpowering the Buffalo defensive front in the fourth quarter. Pass protection was clean for most of the night, save for a pair of sacks, though at least one of them could be attributed to Lindsey not throwing the ball away when all of his targets were covered in the end zone.
The Ugly
The red zone offense. This was the most glaring weakness of the offense all night. Minnesota made four trips to the red zone Thursday night and came away with two field goals, one touchdown, and one turnover on downs after getting stopped short on a 4th & Inches run play with tight end Jameson Geers.
Dropped passes. Just way too many. And not on difficult catches, either.
That bizarre interception. I’ve never seen anything like it, but in the second quarter, Drake Lindsey’s first turnover of the season came on a fluke play. Jameson Geers got obliterated by linebacker Mitchell Gonser while running his route — which is technically legal, I guess, because it was within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage — and Lindsey delivered the pass anyway, which then bounced off Geers’ foot and into the open arms of Gonser, who sprinted 54 yards down the field before getting tripped up by Taylor.
The officiating. When you have five replay reviews in the first half, you’re doing something wrong.
