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University of Minnesota Athletics
Hoese, Gophers Run to 24-17 Win Over MTSU
9/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Behind an improved running game paced by three touchdowns from senior fullback Jon Hoese, the Minnesota football team opened the 2010 season with a 24-17 win over Middle Tennessee State.
The Gophers immediately established the running game on Thursday with nine-straight plays on the ground to start the game. After an incomplete pass and a one-yard run from senior running back Duane Bennett, Hoese capped the 11-play, 79-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give Minnesota an early lead 6:17 into the first quarter. The senior captain would add a two-yard touchdown plunge just over a minute into the second quarter to put the Gophers up 14-0.
"Obviously we're pleased with the outcome. Our goal was to be 1-0 at the end of this game tonight, and that's exactly what we are right now," Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster said. "I loved their style of play. We held the ball for almost 46 minutes, we ran the football just theway we want to run the football, didn't turn the ball over and had very minimal penalties. It was a good performance by our football team."
After being held scoreless by the Minnesota defense for over 25 minutes, the Blue Raiders finally got on the score board when fifth-year senior running back Phillip Tanner scampered seven yards into the end zone out of the wildcat formation. After Minnesota senior kicker Eric Ellestad's missed his second field goal attempt of the half, sophomore quarterback Logan Kilgore and the Middle Tennessee State offense pushed drove 77 yards to even the score at 14-14. In his first Division I start, Kilgore capped the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Sancho McDonald with 36 seconds left in the half. Kilgore, starting in place of suspended quarterback Dwight Dasher, would finish the game throwing for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Junior Alan Gendreau added his second extra point of the night following the touchdown before booting a 31-yard field goal 2:16 seconds into the third quarter to give the Blue Raiders their first lead of the game.
But the Gophers offense, behind a steady ground game, wore down the MTSU defense including a fourth-quarter drive that started on the Gophers 1-yard line and ended with Ellestad tying the game with a 20-yard field goal. Hoese would add his third touchdown of the game with 3:09 remaining on a one-yard run before then helping seal the win by recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. With no timeouts remaining for the Blue Raiders, the Gophers were able to run out the clock to preserve the 24-17 win.
Minnesota's desire to improve the ground game proved beneficial in multiple aspects of Thursday's game. The Gophers finished with 308 rushing yards, and Bennett, who reached 1,000 career rushing yards in the win, paced the Gophers ground attack with 187 yards on 30 carries. Freshman Donnell Kirkwood tallied 50 yards on 12 carries in his first game as a Gopher. Minnesota senior quarterback Adam Weber also did his part in the win, going 10-for-17 through the air with no interceptions. With 431 total yards of offense, Minnesota also had the benefit of clock management on its hands as the team held the ball for over three-fourths of the game.
Defensively, a young but talented defensive unit held the Blue Raiders to just 318 net yards. Mike Rallis led the charge for the Gophers with seven total tackles while the linebacker also hauled in first quarter interception after linebacker Gary Tinsley tipped a pass attempt from Kilgore at the line of scrimmage.
The Gophers return to action next Saturday with their home opener against the University of South Dakota.
-By Brian Deutsch, Athletic Communications Assistant
