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University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Notes
9/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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POSTGAME NOTES
Sept. 1, 2016
TCF Bank Stadium
Oregon State at Minnesota
MINNESOTA TEAM / SERIES NOTES
• Tonight's game was the fourth all-time meeting in football between Minnesota and Oregon State, with the Gophers holding a 3-1 lead in the series. All four games have taken place in Minneapolis, but the teams will face each other on Sept. 9, 2017, in Corvallis.
• Head coach Tracy Claeys improved to 3-4 in his second season at the helm of the program.
• The Gophers improved to 5-3 in home-opening games at TCF Bank Stadium.
• Minnesota recorded four quarterback sacks in the game. Last year, the Gophers had 22 sacks over 13 games.
• The Gophers ran the ball 47 times for 150 net yards, and all four Minnesota touchdowns came via the running game.
• Minnesota finished 4-of-4 on its Red Zone possessions, while Oregon State was 2-of-2 inside the RZ.
• Minnesota is 7-4 since 2012 when wearing an all-Maroon uniform combo at home.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Mitch Leidner recorded the Gophers' first points of the season on a six-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and added a 1-yard TD run with 1:27 remaining. Leidner's two rushing TDs give him 25 for his career, passing Rickey Foggie for most all-time among Minnesota QBs.
• Leidner ran the ball 13 times for 76 yards, while completing 13-of-26 passes for 130 yards.
• Rodney Smith gave Minnesota its first lead on a 3-yard TD run, and later helped the Gophers retake a 24-23 lead on a 2-yard TD early in the fourth quarter. Smith handled the bulk of Minnesota's rushing workload, finishing with career-high totals of 25 carries for 125 yards and the two TDs.
• Drew Wolitarsky led Minnesota with four catches for 53 yards.
• Nate Wozniak hauled in three receptions for 33 yards, tying his career best for catches in a game. He previously had three catches vs. Kent State on Sept. 19, 2015.
• Tyler Johnson had three catches for 31 yards in his first collegiate game.
• Tai'yon Devers forced his first career fumble, which was recovered by Steven Richardson and led to Minnesota's first touchdown of the season. It was the second career fumble recovery for Richardson, who also recovered a fumble at Colorado State on Sept. 12, 2015.
• Devers repeated the feat on the next possession, forcing his second fumble of the night. Devers finished with two sacks in his first collegiate game.
• Kamal Martin recovered his first career fumble, which led to Minnesota's second TD of the night and its first lead of the season.
• Emmit Carpenter made his first career field goal attempt, a 45-yarder as time expired in the first half, to give the Gophers a 17-14 lead at the break.
• Jalen Myrick returned the opening kickoff 56 yards to allow the Gophers to start the game in Oregon State territory. For the game, he averaged 28.0 yards on three kickoff returns.
• Ryan Santoso's first punt of the season (just the second of his career) was downed at the OSU 1-yard line. For the night, he punted six times for a net of 41.2 yards (long of 54 yards), and placed four punts inside the Beavers' 20.
OREGON STATE GAME NOTES
• Weather at kickoff was 72 degrees with a slight breeze.
• The game aired on the Big Ten Network.
• The Beavers wore white helmets with white jerseys and black pants.
• The game marked the first time OSU opened the season on the road against a Power 5 Conference school since playing at Stanford Aug. 28, 2008. The Beavers hadn't played a non-Pac-12 Power 5 conference school on the road to open the season since Sept. 4, 2004 at LSU.
• Minnesota returns to Corvallis to complete the two-game contract Sept. 9, 2017.
• Oregon State's travel roster (suited) included 20 freshmen (7 true), 18 sophomores, 23 juniors and 13 seniors.
• Pac-12 officiating crew with Big Ten replay officials.
• OSU won coin toss and elected to kickoff.
• OSU started its first two drives at its own 1-yard line and 11-yard line.
• The initial first down of the game came on a targeting penalty against Minnesota at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter.
• Minnesota's first two touchdowns came after Beaver fumbles.
• OSU scored its first safety since the 2014 Civil War.
• OSU converted over 50 percent of its third down attempts (10-19); it never reached that mark last year.
OREGON STATE INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• QB Darell Garretson made his first start for the Beavers after making 11 starts at Utah State during the 2014 and '15 seasons.
• OSU had five first time starters who had never played a down for the Beavers: Defense -- Elu Aydon, Xavier Crawford. Offense - Blake Brandel, Yanni Demogerontes and Darell Garretson.
• Darell Garretson first completed pass of his Beaver career came at the 8:15 mark to Ryan Nall for 31 yards and the first non-penalty first down of the game.
• Seth Collins stepped in at QB (shotgun) at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter as Darell Garretson positioned himself at WR. Garretson returned to QB the following play. Collins played QB a total of six snaps
• The first TD of the 2016 season came at the 5:52 mark of the first quarter, a 6-yard pass from Garretson to TE Noah Togiai. The 89-yard scoring drive was the second-longest in the Gary Andersen Beaver coaching era (98-yard drive vs. Oregon in '15).
• True-freshman Artavis Pierce carried the ball for the first time in his college career at the 11:56 mark of the second quarter for two yards.
• Tim Cook's first Beaver rush came on the first play from scrimmage in the second half for two yards. Then he caught his first pass for TD -12 yards at the 2:30 mark of third quarter.
• WR Victor Bolden Jr. moved into 16th position on the all-time receiving yards list with 1,353. He passed Tim Euhus (1,346) and Greg Ainsworth (1,349).
• Victor Bolden Jr.'s 30-yard TD reception in the second quarter marks the third-longest scoring pass in the Gary Andersen era.
• Ryan Navarro recovered the first opponent turnover of the season - at the 4:03 mark of the third quarter - on a bobbled fielding of a punt. It led to Cook's TD reception.
• Noke Tago made his first tackle since 2013. Due to injuries he played in only one game last year and just five games over the last two seasons.
