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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Lose Shootout With Coyotes
9/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Even with senior quarterback Adam Weber tying the Minnesota record for career touchdown passes and junior running back Duane Bennett recording his second-straight 100-yard game, the Minnesota football team could not overcome a second-half deficit, losing a 41-38 shootout to South Dakota in Saturday's home opener.
"As I just told the team, the depth of my disappointment right now, you cannot measure it," Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster said. "I do not want to discredit South Dakota in any way. I want to make sure we give them the proper credit but it certainly is an unacceptable loss on our part by our team."
Weber, who threw for three scores in the loss, tallied his 55th-career touchdown and tied Bryan Cupito and Asad Abdul-Khaliq for the program record when he connected on a 26-yard pass to junior wide receiver Da'Jon McKnight with just under five minutes into the second half.
But Weber, who finished the game going 21-for-31 with 308 total yards of offense and two fumbles, was outshined by Coyotes quarterback Dante Warren. Warren recorded 433 total yards of offense and was responsible for five of South Dakota's six touchdowns. The quarterback was 21-for-30 with three passing touchdowns and two interceptions. He also led the Coyotes ground game with 102 yards of rushing and a pair of touchdowns.
Sophomore MarQueis Gray proved to be Weber's favorite target on Saturday afternoon, racking up 91 yards on nine catches including 16-yard touchdown reception. McKnight (four receptions, 55 yards) and junior wide receiver Troy Stoudermire (three receptions, 69 yards) also hauled in touchdown catches in the loss.
Behind the strong performance from Warren, the Coyotes were able to outlast a second-half surge by Minnesota in which South Dakota nearly blew a double digit lead three separate times. Minnesota junior running back Duane Bennett scored twice in the fourth quarter to cut the Coyotes' lead down to a field goal including a one-yard touchdown run with 3:21 remaining. Bennett tallied his second-consecutive 100-yard game but wouldn't get another chance to put the Gophers back on top as Warren and the Coyotes were able to run out the final three minutes of game clock to earn the win.
"I feel good about the way we competed back, particularly on the offensive side in the second half," Brewster said. "What we cannot do is let this one game define us and define our season. We certainly will not allow that to happen. We will give credit where credit is due and we will come back to work."
The Gophers (1-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) were hit and miss on defense, specifically when it came to Warren. Sophomores Mike Rallis and Michael Carter each picked off the Coyotes quarterback while Rallis and sophomore linebacker Keanon Cooper led the team with nine total tackles each. But the Minnesota defense also allowed Warren and the South Dakota offense to accumulate 444 yards including four touchdown-scoring plays of 25-yards or more. Coyotes' wide receiver Will Powell benefitted the most from Warren's success, tallying eight catches for 156 yards including a 61-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter - Powell's second touchdown catch of the game.
Minnesota returns to action next Saturday against USC. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
