University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHERS DEFEATED IN INDIANA
10/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
wasMinnesota could not overcome the emotions of another homecoming or Indiana's Antwaan Randle El as they were handed a 51-43 loss in Bloomington Saturday afternoon.
Indiana's first scoring drive was indicative of the outcome of the game. On the back of quarterback Antwaan Randle El, the Hoosiers capped a nine play, 91-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Randle El to Versie Gaddis with 10:46 remaining in the first period.
The Gophers weren't able to get anything going on their opening drive, but a Preston Gruening punt stuck the Hoosiers deep in their own territory. The Gopher defense kept Indiana behind their own 30-yard line, and forced them to punt.
Minnesota's first scoring drive began with a 20-yard punt return by Tellis Redmon to the Hoosier 37. Eight plays later, Dan Nystrom narrowed the Hoosier lead to 7-3 with a 23-yard field goal.
Indiana answered a field goal with a field goal. After a 8-play, 30-yard drive, place kicker Andy Payne came in to attempt a 53-yard field goal. The ball just barely made it through the uprights and made the Indiana lead 10-3.
Randle El and the Hoosier offense seemed virtually unstoppable in the second quarter. The Hoosiers continuously ran the ball at the Gophers, and the Gopher defense couldn't figure out how to contain the option. Randle El connected with De'Wayne Hogan on a 47-yard pass play to put his team up by 14 with 12:47 remaining in the half. The Hoosiers scored again with 4:44 remaining on a reverse. Running back Levron Williams ran the ball 24-yards for the touchdown and the 24-6 lead.
Minnesota got into the red zone for the first time on its second possesion of the second quarter. Tellis Redmon was stopped at the one, and the Gophers had a chance to score, but the Hoosier defense and penalties drove them back. The Gophers had to settle for another Nystrom field goal, this time from 24-yards out.
The Gophers had a quick answer to Williams' touchdown. On the play following the kickoff, Minnesota quarterback Travis Cole connected with Ron Johnson on an 82-yard pass for the touchdown. It was the longest play from scrimmage of the year for the Gophers and a career high for both Johnson and Cole.
Minnesota held the Hoosiers deep in their own territory on the next possession. Clorenzo Griffin made a huge play, blocking the Payne punt and putting the Gophers in prime position to score again. Jermaine Mays recovered the ball on the Hoosier 15 yard line. The Gophers were not able to put the ball in the end zone, but Nystrom connected on his third field goal of the half to make the deficit only eight with 38 seconds left in the half. That field goal tied the school record for field goals in a season (18). The records was set by Paul Rogind in 1977.
Indiana drove the ball into field goal range, but John Schlecht blocked the 52-yard attempt to give the Gophers some fire going into the locker room at half time.
That fire continued right into the second half. Jermaine Mays returned the second-half opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The return tied the school record held by Rick Upchurch and Bobby Weber. Minnesota attempted the two-point conversion to tie the game at 24, but the pass intended for Mays was caught just outside the back of the endzone.
The exceptional special teams' play got the rest of the Minnesota team going. The defense held the Indiana offense deep in their own territory on their first possession of the second half. The intensified defensive effort fueled the offense. Cole capped a 54-yard, seven-play drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Gophers ahead 29-24 with 10:13 in the third quarter.
Randle El was not going to let his team go down without a fight, and took the Hoosiers all the way to the Gopher five-yard line. Karon Riley prevented another Hoosier score by intercepting a Randle El pass in the end zone and returned the ball to the Gopher 12. It was Riley's first career interception. Nystrom missed a 35-yard field goal, ending his consecutive field goals made streak at 13, just one short of the school record he set last season.
The Hoosier offense used the missed Gopher field goal to give them momentum on their next possession. Indiana drove 80-yards in three plays to score on a 36-yard run by Williams. They tried for the two- point conversion, but Randle El's pass was incomplete, giving the Hoosier's a one-point (30-29) lead with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. Williams' run gave both him and Randle El over 100 yards rushing for the game, while the Gophers totaled just 100 rushing yards to that point.
Williams and the Hoosiers struck again with 12:28 remaining in the game. Williams' took the Indiana lead back to eight with a 13-yard touchdown run in their first possession of the fourth quarter.
The Gophers knew it was do-or-die time with the clock slowly ticking down in the final period of play. Quarterback Cole completed a 19-yard pass to Redmon on a fourth-and-two to keep Minnesota alive. A pass interference call on an attempt from Ryan Keller to Ron Johnson kept the Gophers going and put them 11-yards from their goal line. Despite a holding penalty and Indiana's tough defensive effort, Cole once again fired a pass into the end zone. This time an 18-yarder to Tellis Redmon to put Minnesota within two. The two-point conversion failed again, but plenty of time still remained on the clock and neither team was tiring. Minnesota didn't let the Hoosiers beyond the 50-yard line on the next drive. Randle El fumbled the ball after a hard hit by Minnesota's Riley. The Gophers' Greg White recovered the fumble to give his team another shot at a score. That chance did not materialize as Cole threw an interception with just over seven minutes remaining on the clock to give Indiana the ball back. The Hoosiers took advantage of the turnover and capped the 56-yard drive with a 3-yard run by Randle El for his first rushing touch down of the game to give his team the nine-point lead at 44-35.
The insuing kickoff went out of bounds, so Minnesota got the ball at their own 35-yard line. The next play, Cole was hit for a six-yard loss and Indiana's Justin Smith forced the fumble recovered by Indiana. Randle El led his team to the Minnesota end zone once again to make the score 51-35 and put the game out of reach for the Gophers with 2:31 remaining.
With Cole injured on the previous possession, Asad Abdul-Khaliq came into the game for what would be Minnesota's final possession. Abdul- Khaliq led a valient charge down field and capped off the drive with a two-yard run for a touchdown. This time the two-point conversion was good as Abdul-Khaliq completed a pass to Ryan Keller to put the Gophers within eight again after taking only 52 seconds off the clock. The Gophers attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by Randle El. Consecutive off-sides calls on Minnesota brought the Hoosiers further into Gopher territory. Indiana continued to run the ball up the middle to keep the clock running and assure them the victory.
The Gophers return home for their homecoming celebration next week against Northwestern. Tickets are available online at gophersports.com.
Indiana's first scoring drive was indicative of the outcome of the game. On the back of quarterback Antwaan Randle El, the Hoosiers capped a nine play, 91-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Randle El to Versie Gaddis with 10:46 remaining in the first period.
The Gophers weren't able to get anything going on their opening drive, but a Preston Gruening punt stuck the Hoosiers deep in their own territory. The Gopher defense kept Indiana behind their own 30-yard line, and forced them to punt.
Minnesota's first scoring drive began with a 20-yard punt return by Tellis Redmon to the Hoosier 37. Eight plays later, Dan Nystrom narrowed the Hoosier lead to 7-3 with a 23-yard field goal.
Indiana answered a field goal with a field goal. After a 8-play, 30-yard drive, place kicker Andy Payne came in to attempt a 53-yard field goal. The ball just barely made it through the uprights and made the Indiana lead 10-3.
Randle El and the Hoosier offense seemed virtually unstoppable in the second quarter. The Hoosiers continuously ran the ball at the Gophers, and the Gopher defense couldn't figure out how to contain the option. Randle El connected with De'Wayne Hogan on a 47-yard pass play to put his team up by 14 with 12:47 remaining in the half. The Hoosiers scored again with 4:44 remaining on a reverse. Running back Levron Williams ran the ball 24-yards for the touchdown and the 24-6 lead.
Minnesota got into the red zone for the first time on its second possesion of the second quarter. Tellis Redmon was stopped at the one, and the Gophers had a chance to score, but the Hoosier defense and penalties drove them back. The Gophers had to settle for another Nystrom field goal, this time from 24-yards out.
The Gophers had a quick answer to Williams' touchdown. On the play following the kickoff, Minnesota quarterback Travis Cole connected with Ron Johnson on an 82-yard pass for the touchdown. It was the longest play from scrimmage of the year for the Gophers and a career high for both Johnson and Cole.
Minnesota held the Hoosiers deep in their own territory on the next possession. Clorenzo Griffin made a huge play, blocking the Payne punt and putting the Gophers in prime position to score again. Jermaine Mays recovered the ball on the Hoosier 15 yard line. The Gophers were not able to put the ball in the end zone, but Nystrom connected on his third field goal of the half to make the deficit only eight with 38 seconds left in the half. That field goal tied the school record for field goals in a season (18). The records was set by Paul Rogind in 1977.
Indiana drove the ball into field goal range, but John Schlecht blocked the 52-yard attempt to give the Gophers some fire going into the locker room at half time.
That fire continued right into the second half. Jermaine Mays returned the second-half opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The return tied the school record held by Rick Upchurch and Bobby Weber. Minnesota attempted the two-point conversion to tie the game at 24, but the pass intended for Mays was caught just outside the back of the endzone.
The exceptional special teams' play got the rest of the Minnesota team going. The defense held the Indiana offense deep in their own territory on their first possession of the second half. The intensified defensive effort fueled the offense. Cole capped a 54-yard, seven-play drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Gophers ahead 29-24 with 10:13 in the third quarter.
Randle El was not going to let his team go down without a fight, and took the Hoosiers all the way to the Gopher five-yard line. Karon Riley prevented another Hoosier score by intercepting a Randle El pass in the end zone and returned the ball to the Gopher 12. It was Riley's first career interception. Nystrom missed a 35-yard field goal, ending his consecutive field goals made streak at 13, just one short of the school record he set last season.
The Hoosier offense used the missed Gopher field goal to give them momentum on their next possession. Indiana drove 80-yards in three plays to score on a 36-yard run by Williams. They tried for the two- point conversion, but Randle El's pass was incomplete, giving the Hoosier's a one-point (30-29) lead with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. Williams' run gave both him and Randle El over 100 yards rushing for the game, while the Gophers totaled just 100 rushing yards to that point.
Williams and the Hoosiers struck again with 12:28 remaining in the game. Williams' took the Indiana lead back to eight with a 13-yard touchdown run in their first possession of the fourth quarter.
The Gophers knew it was do-or-die time with the clock slowly ticking down in the final period of play. Quarterback Cole completed a 19-yard pass to Redmon on a fourth-and-two to keep Minnesota alive. A pass interference call on an attempt from Ryan Keller to Ron Johnson kept the Gophers going and put them 11-yards from their goal line. Despite a holding penalty and Indiana's tough defensive effort, Cole once again fired a pass into the end zone. This time an 18-yarder to Tellis Redmon to put Minnesota within two. The two-point conversion failed again, but plenty of time still remained on the clock and neither team was tiring. Minnesota didn't let the Hoosiers beyond the 50-yard line on the next drive. Randle El fumbled the ball after a hard hit by Minnesota's Riley. The Gophers' Greg White recovered the fumble to give his team another shot at a score. That chance did not materialize as Cole threw an interception with just over seven minutes remaining on the clock to give Indiana the ball back. The Hoosiers took advantage of the turnover and capped the 56-yard drive with a 3-yard run by Randle El for his first rushing touch down of the game to give his team the nine-point lead at 44-35.
The insuing kickoff went out of bounds, so Minnesota got the ball at their own 35-yard line. The next play, Cole was hit for a six-yard loss and Indiana's Justin Smith forced the fumble recovered by Indiana. Randle El led his team to the Minnesota end zone once again to make the score 51-35 and put the game out of reach for the Gophers with 2:31 remaining.
With Cole injured on the previous possession, Asad Abdul-Khaliq came into the game for what would be Minnesota's final possession. Abdul- Khaliq led a valient charge down field and capped off the drive with a two-yard run for a touchdown. This time the two-point conversion was good as Abdul-Khaliq completed a pass to Ryan Keller to put the Gophers within eight again after taking only 52 seconds off the clock. The Gophers attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by Randle El. Consecutive off-sides calls on Minnesota brought the Hoosiers further into Gopher territory. Indiana continued to run the ball up the middle to keep the clock running and assure them the victory.
The Gophers return home for their homecoming celebration next week against Northwestern. Tickets are available online at gophersports.com.
Players Mentioned
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