Gophers Wear Down Spartans in 27-12 Victory

The Minnesota Gophers and Michigan State Spartans contest was a tale of two teams at different ends of the momentum scale. The Gophers were coming off a hard-fought 12-10 win against the 24th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City. Meanwhile, the Spartans were thrashed 49-0 in East Lansing by the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines.

The game started very inauspiciously for the Gophers. Sean Tyler and Athan Kaliakmanis fumbled on Minnesota’s first two possessions. But the Minnesota defense, led by returning middle linebacker Cody Lindenberg denied the Spartans a first down on both drives. They instead had to settle for two Jonathan Kim field goals.

Neither team could generate much offense for the remainder of the first quarter. Thus, the quarter ended with a 6-0 Spartans lead.

Some nifty runs by Jordan Nubin and a couple of clutch catches by Daniel Jackson enabled the Gophers to move the ball all the way down to the Spartans 17-yard line. But unfortunately, on fourth down, Dragan Kesich’s kick was blocked by the Spartans Simeon Barrow Jr. and Michigan State took possession of the ball with 9:58 left in the half.

After a Spartans punt, the Gophers got a spark from a long-awaited source. Kaliakmanis threw a long pass down the field to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. Spann-Ford snatched the ball out of the air for a thirty-yard reception. In addition, Michigan State was called for a face mask penalty, and this put the ball on the Spartans 14-yard line.

The drive stalled and Kesich was brought in to attempt another field goal. This time, he nailed a 25-yarder to cut the Spartans lead to 6-3.

After another stalled Spartans possession, the Gophers marched down the field searching for their first lead of the day. This drive was fueled by a couple of Kaliakmanis completions, one to Jackson and the second one to Corey Crooms Jr.

And the drive culminated with a Kaliakmanis pass to a streaking Jackson down the middle for a 22-yard touchdown reception. Minnesota ran to their halftime locker room with a 10-7 lead.

The third quarter saw sluggish play from both teams and the score remained 10-6 Gophers at the quarter’s end. The only drive of consequence was a six-play Minnesota possession which brought the ball down to the Spartans 36-yard line.

However, this drive ended with an errant Kaliakmanis throw intended for Crooms. Instead, he was picked off by Michigan State’s Jaden Mangham who was pushed out of bounds at the Spartans 14-yard line.

But the Gophers wasted no time getting their offense untracked in the fourth quarter. Riding the strong legs of Jordan Nubin, Minnesota launched a nine-play, 87-yard drive.

The drive was topped off by a Nubin dash around the right end for a touchdown. Nubin gained 68 yards on nine carries during the drive. He seemed to only get stronger as the game wore on.

But it turned out that Michigan State had a secret weapon of its own. True freshman Sam Leavitt led the Spartans on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in their first touchdown of the game.

This drive was all Leavitt, as he rushed for 34 yards and passed for another 41. He put a bow on this one with an 18-yard touchdown strike to Tyrell Henry. But their two-point conversion attempt was stopped by the Gophers’ Tyler Nubin and Ryan Selig and the score stood at 17-12.

Then the Spartans attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Gophers’ Rhyland Kelly at the Michigan State 46-yard line. The Jordan Nubin show continued as he gained 32 yards on the ensuing drive, including a two-yard touchdown run. Minnesota extended its lead to 24-12.

Next, an outstanding effort by the Gophers Jah Joyner would lead to a huge Spartans turnover. On second and 10 from the Michigan State 25-yard line, Joyner would strip sack Leavitt and recover the fumble at the Spartans 21-yard line.

Four plays later, Kesich drilled a 31-yard field goal to widen the Gophers lead to 27-12. But the Gophers had one more defensive gem up their sleeves.

Leavitt was once again leading his team down the field when he threw a pass to wideout Jaron Glover near the goal line. But the Gophers’ Tre’Von Jones stepped in front of the pass and returned it to the Minnesota 13-yard line. From there, the Gophers would run out the clock to preserve their 27-12 victory.

Jordan Nubin was of course the star of the game. He rushed for 204 yards on 40 carries, and he scored two touchdowns. This after only having six carries in the Gophers’ previous seven games this season.

Jackson also had a career-high 120 yards receiving, off six receptions. He also scored that key second-quarter touchdown that put the Gophers in the lead for good. And of course, the entire offensive line should get kudos. They wore down the Spartans front seven and ripped open big holes for Nubin to run through.

Defensively, it was a second straight dynamic effort by this unit. Lindenberg certainly made his presence known early with those opening drive tackles.

He had missed the previous seven games with a lower-body injury. Linebacker Devon Williams was once again a force, leading the team in tackles with nine. Also, Jones’ interception in the waning minutes of the game took the life out of the Spartans’ rally.

And Tyler Nubin was his usual All-American self as he contributed five tackles and a pass breakup. And for the second week in a row, the Gophers defensive line dominated their opponent and wreaked havoc in the Michigan State backfield all game long.

Next up for P.J. Fleck and the Gophers is a home game against the Fighting Illini from Illinois. Illinois is only 1-4 in conference play and has struggled defensively all year. However, in the past two games, there has been a resurgence in their running game so the Minnesota defensive front seven will be tested once again.