.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Bennett Reaches Century Mark Again
9/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
It took a while longer to get Duane Bennett and the Gophers' rushing attack going against South Dakota than it did against Middle Tennessee. But the junior running back from St. Louis came through for the Minnesota offense in the second half.
After the Coyotes slowed the Gophers' rushers in the first half, allowing for just 86 yards and no scores on the ground, Minnesota came out and ran for 118 yards in the second half and two touchdowns.
Bennett led the way for the Gophers with 104 rushing yards, including 78 in the second half. After rushing for 187 against Middle Tennesse State, Bennett is now the first Minnesota player to rush for more than 100 yards in back to back games since Amir Pinnix had 168 yards against Bowling Green and 126 yards against Miami (Ohio) in the first two games of the 2007 season.
Bennett added two fourth-quarter touchdowns, as well.
"We preach every day to be accountable for what you do," Bennett said. "I took it upon myself and as the game went on I reached out to the offense that I'm ready to regain the swagger and regain the confidence that we had coming into the game and to pay attention to my reads and take what the defense gave us."
Bennett now has 291 yards rushing through the first two games of the season averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He had 376 yards total in 2009 in his first season back after ACL surgery. He suffered the devastating knee injury in the second game of the 2008 season.
Bennett came through for the Gophers in grand fashion in the fourth quarter. His first score came with 10:16 remaining as he got in the end zone with a 1-yard run, cutting the Coyotes' lead to 34-31.On that possession, Bennett did all the heavy lifting. After linebacker Mike Rallis picked up an interception to give the Gophers good field position at the USD 37-yard line, Bennett ripped off a 25-yard run to give the Gophers first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Two rushes later, Bennett pounded it into the end zone.
Midway through the quarter -- again with Minnesota trailing by 10 -- Bennett burst through the South Dakota defense on third-and-four for 25 yards, putting the offense on the one-yard line. Bennett punched it in on the next play to once again pull the Gophers to within three.
But Bennett's efforts weren't quite enough to get Minnesota the victory. For Bennett and the Gophers the focus turns to USC next week. They can't afford to dwell on the unexpected loss to the Coyotes.
"After what we learned today we are going to take them seriously and get mentally and physically prepared because we know USC is a great team," Bennett said. "Just like South Dakota, we know they are going to come out with their best shot . It starts tomorrow when we come in and do the film corrections. We are going to take it week by week and go in like any other week prepared, day in and day out to make sure we are ready for Saturday."
Junior DeLeon Eskridge also had a solid game running the ball, accumulating 49 rushing yards on 12 carries. Besides passing for 258 yards, quarterback Adam Weber also ran for 47 yards, which is the most yards he has acquired on the ground since he ran for 53 yards on Nov. 1, 2008 against Northwestern.
-By Athletic Communications Assistant Keith Beise
