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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Lose To No. 1 Ohio State 44-0
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Gophers (3-6) lost to consensus No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus today 44-0. The Gophers held the Buckeyes in the early portion of the game and forced two fumbles to halt Buckeye drives in the first half, but could not prevent OSU from advancing to 9-0.
The Gophers knew they would be facing quite a challenge from Ohio State, especially since All-Big Ten selection Matt Spaeth was held out of the game with an injury, joining cornerback Trumaine Banks and linebacker John Shevlin as other Gopher inactives. The Buckeyes used an opening drive of eight plays and 57 yards to post the game's first points on a 10-yard touchdown run by Antonio Pittman. Following a Gopher punt on their first series, the Buckeyes increased their lead to 10-0 on a 42-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey.
The next Minnesota drive would stall just inside Buckeye territory, but it appeared as though the Gophers would be back in business in the opening moments of the second quarter. Gopher defensive tackle Otis Hudson, who joined John Jakel as two Gopher offensive guards who were moved to defensive tackle this week by the coaching staff, forced a fumble by Buckeye tailback Chris Wells at the Minnesota 15-yard line, which was recovered by safety Dom Barber to end the Buckeye threat.
The Gophers were forced to punt on their subsequent series, but the new-look Gopher defense was up to its old tricks again on the first play of the next Buckeye series as defensive end Steve Davis sacked OSU quarterback Troy Smith and forced a fumble, which was recovered by defensive tackle Neel Allen at the Buckeye 38.
Unfortunately, the Gophers made nine yards on their first three plays following the fumble and turned the ball over on downs when tailback Amir Pinnix was stopped on fourth-and-one. Ohio State would close out the first half scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Brian Robiskie to give Ohio State a 17-0 halftime lead.
The second half did not get off on the right foot for the Gophers as quarterback Bryan Cupito was intercepted by Antonio Smith on a third down pass intended for Jack SImmons. OSU would cash in the turnover for seven points three plays later on a 21-yard touchdown run by Smith to give the Bucks a 24-0 advantage.
Deja vu would strike the Gophers on the next possession as Cupito was once again picked off, this time by Jamario O'Neal on a pass also aimed at Simmons. Five plays and 41 yards later, Pittman would record his second touchdown, this on a 13-yard run, and following a blocked extra point by Dom Barber, the Gophers faced a 30-0 deficit.
The fourth quarter brought with it a 3-yard touchdown run by OSU's Chris Wells on a 10-play 74-yard drive and later a 14-play, 85-yard drive by the Buckeyes was capped off by a 1-yard sneak for a score by quarterback Justin Zwick to finalize the scoring and the afternoon for both teams.
Despite the score, the Gopher defense held Heisman Trophy candidate Troy Smith to only 183 yards passing, while forcing three turnovers against the Buckeyes on the day. Besides the transfer of Hudson and Jakel from defense to offense, Alex Daniels was moved from running back to defensive end, where he registered five tackles. Offensively, Bryan Cupito completed 13-of-25 passes for 120 yards and Amir Pinnix led the Gophers in rushing, tallying 46 yards on 14 attempts.
The Gophers will be in action next Saturday for their Homecoming game against Indiana at 11 a.m. at the Metrodome. The game will be shown on ESPN360.
