Gophers Hold On To Beat Middle Tennessee

Tim Brewster would not be happy. The Minnesota Golden Gophers started off hot on Saturday afternoon against the hated Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. The Gophers looked sparkling on both sides of the ball in the first two quarters, but it was a Jekyll and Hyde act between the two halves.

David Cobb rushed for over 100 yards in the first half leading the Gophers to a 28-0 lead at the intermission whistle. It looked like it would be an absolute rout with a defensive that had already scored, but that defensive scheme fell apart quickly.

The Blue Raiders scored 24 points in the second half while the Golden Gophers only scored a single TD. The final score ended up being 35-24, but it proved to be quite a disappointing game for Minnesota as a strong showing turned concerning.

Mitch Leidner saw the sidelines late in the ending moments of the game after he took a hit to the knee. Leidner also only found his best target in Maxx Williams once in the game. Williams’ one catch was for a TD, but still he should have more catches in a game then x’s in his name.

On the brighter side for the Gophers, David Cobb put in an amazing game. Cobb rushed for a career high 220 yards while hitting the end zone twice.

All in all, it’s another non-conference victory for the Gophers which has become the norm. The downturn seen in the second half is worrisome, especially against another team that the Gophers really should have rolled over.

The Gophers get something closer to a real test next Saturday when they travel to Texas to take on TCU.

Seriously, Middle Tennessee scored last a lot. He’d be happy there.