It looks like Hill lost the football first, but let’s just pretend his helmet went flying before he lost grip.
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PREDICTION – The Gophers, a 17-point favorite, won’t need a late TD drive from QB Mitch Leidner like they did in the 2015 matchup against the Rams.
Rodney Smith rushed 17 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns to help Minnesota wear down Colorado State on the way to a 31-24 victory on Saturday.
Collin Hill and his young bevy of offensive play makers continued to drive the Rams offense, but CSU’s young defense made far too many mistakes for the Rams to come out on top.
The 11-yard sack was the 3rd of the season for Devers, who is also a freshman. The Golden Gophers from the Big Ten remained undefeated while the Rams fell to 2-2 as they enter Mountain West play next week. They held strong and got a sack to get the ball back for their offense.
Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Gaelin Elmore recovers a fumble from Colorado State Rams quarterback Collin Hill (not pictured) in the first half at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on September 24, 2016.
Colorado State responded by running the ball down the field.
The Rams had a chance as they were in Minnesota territory with plenty of time left, but Hill threw an incomplete pass on 4th down and the Gophers were able to run the clock out on their next drive. It was a drive that emphasized the CSU weakness on defense, as the Gophers converted three third-downs.
And despite being in control most of the day, the Gophers never were able to put the Rams away. On the ensuing Rams drive, Hill hit Ruiz for a 37-yard gain on third down from the CSU 36 to set the Rams up at the Minnesota 27. It showed during the Rams’ first second half possession as Clark, who lined up at quarterback, ran it in for a touchdown from three-yards out to cap off a 53-yard touchdown drive to cut the Minnesota lead to three points.
Looking at the statistics, Minnesota’s run defense wasn’t that bad, they just had some big plays hurt them.
CSU responded with a field goal and then Minnesota seemed to put the game out of reach.
Hill connected with Michael Gallup for 15-yard touchdown, making it 31-24. Rams P Hunter Hayden, a Ray Guy award finalist last season, has averaged 45.6 yards on 14 punts. We’re just glad that Hill wasn’t seriously injured on this play.
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The Gophers (2-0) will again be without tight end Brandon Lingen and wide receiver Rashad Still again on Saturday against the Rams (2-1) because of injuries, but freshman Tyler Johnson and junior Brian Smith have been helpful down-field complements to Drew Wolitarsky.
