Gophers Shutout Kill Led Aggies 38-0

Mismatch

This was a tough one for the Aggies coming into Minnesota off a short week. They simply could not match the Gophers. Minnesota’s defense picked up where they left off last season with a dominating performance, holding the Aggies to 91 yards of total offense. Minnesota also did what they do best, controlling time of possession. The Gophers had the ball for 44:30 compared to the Aggies 15:30. That means the Gophers basically had the ball for three quarters. It’s hard enough when you’re outmatched, but when you only possess the ball for 15 minutes, it’s hard to do anything.

Highlights of the Game

Fleck and Kill Shake Hands

Coming into the game the storyline that was grabbing everyone’s attention was the Kill, Fleck comments . Kill even came out saying he wasn’t even sure if would shake Fleck’s hand after the game.

As we see above, we didn’t even have to wait for the game to end to find out what would happen. Fleck and Kill talked, shaking before and after the game and having a lengthy conversation each time. Knowing Kill’s personality and who he is, this seemed inevitable to happen. He is of good character and wouldn’t do something like this, not to a former assistant.

After the game P.J. Fleck talked about what he said to Jerry Kill. “I’ve always had the utmost respect for you, always will”. It was nice to see the two not have any problems once at the stadium. I was happy to see them get past what was said earlier in the week and appear to have moved on.

Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts Return

The Gophers saw the return of their top running backs last night. Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts both return from injuries and look fantastic. Ibrahim had 21 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Ibrahim did what he does best and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.

Potts in his return had 17 carries for 89 yards, one touchdown, averaging 5.2 per carry. Ibrahim and Potts had a lot of help from the newly rebuilt offensive line. The Gophers lost four of five offensive line starters, but you wouldn’t have thought that watching them play. The Gophers added two transfers and two of their own, joining sixth year senior John Michael Schmitz at center.

Looking Ahead

Next week the Gophers host Western Illinois on September 10th at Hunting Bank Stadium. Western Illinois is 0-1 losing to UT Martin 42-25 yesterday. The Aggies travel to El Paso to take on UTEP on September 10th at the Sun Bowl. UTEP is 0-1 losing to North Texas 31-13 in Week 0. UTEP will most likely be 0-2 coming into the matchup as they take on ninth ranked Oklahoma tomorrow afternoon.