Maroon and Gold: A Minnesota Golden Gophers Dynasty

[jayenomics]

Golden Gophers Overcome Slow Start to Throttle Western Illinois

If there was an MVP of the first three games of the season for Minnesota, it would be Marcus Jones. The young return man turned the tides once more, returning his second kickoff of the short season for a score, and putting the Golden Gophers ahead by two scores; a lead they would not look back from on their way to a 35 point victory.

The Gophers got out to a quick start, with Donnell Kirkwood Jr. tearing off a 53 yard run down to the Western Illinois 1 before Rodrick Williams would cap the drive for the early 7-0 lead, but two poor decisions by Philip Nelson kept the game close before the Jones kickoff return blew the doors open.

From that point on Nelson was sharp, hooking up with KJ Maye from 62 yards out to cap the first half, and hitting Isaac Fruechte from 31 yards out to start the second half on a high note. Nelson would finish with four touchdown passes, and 289 yards in the win.

"We started slow, a little over confident." said coach Gary Koch. "Eventually we got back within ourselves and played the game we wanted to from the start, and it showed on the scoreboard."

The hog mollies had a big game as they dominated both sides of the ball in an easy victory.

Western Illinois Leathernecks at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Sep 14, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-2)	0	7	7	0	14
Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0)	7	21	14	7	49

Team Stats Comparison
	WIU	MINN
Total Offense	294	528
Rushing Yards	85	213
Passing Yards	209	315
First Downs	10	20
Punt Return Yards	26	15
Kick Return Yards	143	95
Total Yards	463	634
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Converstion	5-15	6-10
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-1-0	6-4-0
Penalties	2-20	4-20
Posession Time	11:35	16:25

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		WIU	MINN
5:52	(MINN) Williams 1 Yard Run	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		WIU	MINN
5:59	(MINN) Goodger 8 Yard Pass from Nelson	0	14
1:50	(WIU) Jones 5 Yard Pass from Lumpkin	7	14
1:39	(MINN) Jones 95 Yard Kickoff Return	7	21
0:25	(MINN) Maye 62 Yard Pass from Nelson	7	28
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		WIU	MINN
4:51	(MINN) Fruechte 31 Yard Pass from Nelson	7	35
4:05	(WIU) Daniels 76 Yard Pass from Lumpkin	14	35
1:37	(MINN) Fruechte 3 Yard Pass from Nelson	14	42
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		WIU	MINN
2:49	(MINN) Wozniak 5 Yard Pass from Leidner	14	49

Western Illinois Leathernecks

Minnesota Golden Gophers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Philip Nelson 17/25 289 4 2 Mitch Leidner 3/8 26 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Donnell Kirkwood Jr. 14 147 10.4 0 Rodrick Williams 10 56 5.6 1 Philip Nelson 3 -33 -11.0 0 Mitch Leidner 2 29 14.5 0 David Cobb 2 7 3.5 0 Andre McDonald 1 7 7.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Isaac Fruechte 7 152 21.7 2 KJ Maye 3 81 27.0 1 Donnell Kirkwood Jr. 3 7 2.3 0 Andre McDonald 2 37 18.5 0 Drew Goodger 2 14 7.0 1 Mike Henry 1 13 13.0 0 Rodrick Williams 1 6 6.0 0 Nate Wozniak 1 5 5.0 1 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Zac Epping 2 0 Lincoln Plsek 1 0 Nate Wozniak 1 0 Caleb Bak 1 1 Josh Campion 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Derrick Wells 8 0 0 0 Theiren Cockran 7 0 0 0 Aaron Hill 5 1 0 0 Cameron Botticelli 5 1 0 0 Jeremy Baltazar 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Chris Hawthorne 0/0 7/7 7 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Christian Eldred 4 153 38.2 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Marcus Jones 1 95 95.0 1 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Marcus Jones 1 12 12.0 0

[jayenomics]

Week 3 - 2013


Money Manziel!
Johnny Football led Texas A&M to a 42-28 win over #1 Alabama

Top Stories
Conference play starts this weekend in the Big 12 as #13 Texas hosts #17 Kansas State
Boise State takes care of Air Force in the Mountain West opener
#14 Notre Dame comes from behind to knock off rival Purdue
LSU's SEC schedule begins this week in a match-up with the Tigers of Auburn
On Deck- #3 Stanford hosts #19 Arizona State
Braxton Miller garners national attention after another solid performance
The Gamecocks defende Williams-Brice with a conference win over Vanderbilt.

Heisman Watch
Braxton Miller 37/57 555 Yards 5 Touchdowns 3 Interceptions, 32 Carries 271 Yards 6 Touchdowns
AJ McCarron 27/49 428 Yards 4 Touchdowns 4 Interceptions
Connor Shaw 44/88 655 Yards 7 Touchdowns 2 Interceptions, 51 Carries 245 Yards 5 Touchdowns
De'Anthony Thomas 56 Carries 417 Yards 3 Touchdowns, 8 Receptions 113 Yards 3 Touchdowns
Johnny Manziel 51/84 741 Yards 10 Touchdowns 2 Interceptions, 36 Carries 151 Yards 2 Touchdowns

BIG10 Legends Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 16, 2013
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
#12 Michigan	3-0	1.000	0-0	102	43	W3
#16 Nebraska	3-0	1.000	0-0	112	27	W3
Michigan State	3-0	1.000	0-0	107	26	W3
Northwestern	3-0	1.000	0-0	103	82	W3
Minnesota	3-0	1.000	0-0	124	71	W3
Iowa	3-0	1.000	0-0	103	62	W3

BIG10 Leaders Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 16, 2013
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
#2 Ohio State	3-0	1.000	0-0	144	30	W3
Wisconsin	2-1	.660	0-0	107	53	L1
Illinois	2-1	.660	0-0	65	72	L1
Indiana	2-1	.660	0-0	88	67	L1
Purdue	1-2	.330	0-0	76	73	L2
Penn State	0-3	0.000	0-0	61	89	L3

Nate Wozniak - Broken Finger - 3 Weeks (Week 7 @ Northwestern)

Wozniak jammed his index finger on his left hand making a catch in the third quarter and never returned. He could miss a month with the finger issue.

[jayenomics]

Matchup Preview *|* September 21, 2013
	@
San Jose State Spartans (0-2, 0-1 Away)		Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0, 2-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 14.5 Points Per Game 41.3 469 Total Offensive Yards 1,314 372 Passing Yards 754 97 Rushing Yards 560 2 Passing TD 10 0 Rushing TD 5 Defensive Stats Comparison 79 Points Allowed 71 812 Total Yards Allowed 1,100 460 Passing Yards Allowed 797 352 Rushing Yards Allowed 303 2 Sacks 12 1 Fumble Recoveries 1 4 Interceptions 3 Injury Report Nate Wozniak | Broken Finger 3 Weeks Game Notes Minnesota comes in hot after a 35 point win a week ago against Western Illinois. San Jose State will be a step up in competition a week before the Golden Gophers open the BIG10 season with a visit from Iowa. Minnesota Wins If...They can take advantage of the Spartan rush defense and dominate time of possession because they are grinding out first downs on the ground. San Jose State Wins If...They can stop the run, and play some ball control football of their own. They'll need to be smart on special teams to keep the dangerous Marcus Jones from taking one to the house.

[jayenomics]

Gophers Pull Away in Fourth From Pesky Spartans

24 all going to the fourth quarter wasn't exactly what coach Gary Koch had in mind before the game against San Jose State, but that was where they found themselves on Saturday. "We weren't worried." said Koch, "We just buckled down and went to work."

And went to work they did, scoring the final 17 points of the game to turn a close contest into a comfortable affair as Minnesota won their fourth straight, 41-24, led once more by Marcus Jones and his pair of returns; a 93 yard kickoff return after the Spartans' tying score, and a 52 yard punt return later in the fourth.

"I don't understand why teams keep kicking to him." said Koch, "but I'm sure he'll keep making them regret doing it." Jones has had returns of over 50 yards, 5 times in the past three games including 2 touchdowns.

Philip Nelson struggled early for the second straight game before turning it on, throwing two picks, but lead the two big scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including hooking up with Donnell Kirkwood Jr. for a 20 yard touchdown to ice the game. Nelson would finish 22 of 28 for 321 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 picks. Kirkwood ran for 127 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns, adding 4 catches for 50 yards and the other score.

Minnesota will open their BIG10 schedule next week when they host 4-0 Iowa. "We look forward to it. It's going to be a great game."

Minnesota came up from behind to pull out the victory.

San Jose State Spartans at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Sep 21, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
San Jose State Spartans (0-2)	0	7	17	0	24
Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0)	7	10	7	17	41

Team Stats Comparison
	SJSU	MINN
Total Offense	378	487
Rushing Yards	27	166
Passing Yards	351	321
First Downs	8	23
Punt Return Yards	25	74
Kick Return Yards	70	197
Total Yards	473	758
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Converstion	3-10	5-9
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-1-1	7-5-2
Penalties	1-5	0-0
Posession Time	10:03	17:57

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	MINN
4:18	(MINN) Kirkwood Jr. 1 Yard Run	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	MINN
4:32	(SJSU) Jones 81 Yard Pass from Fales	7	7
2:42	(MINN) Henry 1 Yard Pass from Nelson	7	14
0:00	(MINN) Hawthorne 33 Yard Field Goal	7	17
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	MINN
5:31	(SJSU) Jones 57 Yard Pass from Fales	14	17
4:20	(SJSU) Lopez 32 Yard Field Goal	17	17
3:34	(MINN) Kirkwood Jr. 1 Yard Run	17	24
2:09	(SJSU) Jones 10 Yard Pass from Fales	24	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	MINN
6:55	(MINN) Kirkwood Jr. 20 Yard Run	24	31
5:22	(MINN) Kirkwood Jr. 20 Yard Pass from Nelson	24	38
0:41	(MINN) Hawthorne 19 Yard Field Goal	24	41

San Jose State Spartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT David Fales 20/30 351 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tyler Ervin 8 24 3.0 0 Jason Simpson 1 10 10.0 0 David Fales 1 -7 -7.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tyler Ervin 6 41 6.8 0 Chandler Jones 4 149 37.2 3 Travis Lorius 4 26 6.5 0 Noel Grigsby 2 81 40.5 0 Jason Simpson 2 30 15.0 0 Jabari Carr 1 21 21.0 0 Kyle Nunn 1 3 3.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Lemaki Musika 2 0 Chandler Jones 1 0 Jordan Theil 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Robert Fiscalini III 12 0 1 0 Bene Benwikere 11 0 1 0 Sean Bacon 7 0 0 0 Simon Connette 6 0 0 0 Forrest Hightower 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Austin Lopez 1/1 3/3 6 32 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Harrison Ward 5 265 53.0 4 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Forrest Hightower 3 70 23.3 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Bene Benwikere 2 25 12.5 0

Minnesota Golden Gophers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Philip Nelson 22/28 321 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Donnell Kirkwood Jr. 30 127 4.2 3 Philip Nelson 3 26 8.6 0 Rodrick Williams 2 10 5.0 0 Mike Henry 1 3 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD KJ Maye 5 113 22.6 0 Drew Goodger 4 53 13.2 0 Donnell Kirkwood Jr. 4 50 12.5 1 Andre McDonald 4 50 12.5 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Drew Goodger 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Aaron Hill 7 0 0 0 DeVondre Campbell 5 0 0 0 Brock Vereen 2 1 0 0 Derrick Wells 2 0 0 0 Jeremy Baltazar 2 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Chris Hawthorne 2/2 5/5 11 34 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Christian Eldred 2 87 43.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Marcus Jones 5 197 39.4 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Marcus Jones 5 74 0 53

[jayenomics]

Week 4 - 2013


Geaux Tigers!
LSU slips past Auburn despite furious rally

Top Stories
True Test! #9 LSU looks to handle #8 Georgia in their huge SEC match-up
Texas starts their conference season off right with a win over Kansas State
Fresno State keeps it exciting, but loses 31-23 to #25 Boise State
Notre Dame's Jackson's huge performance not enough as Irish fall to Michigan State
#10 Stanford looking to rebound against Washington State after losing a close one to Arizona State
Tennessee leaves Gainsville in bitter defeat after falling to Florida 34-20

Heisman Watch
Braxton Miller 48/71 747 Yards 8 Touchdowns 3 Interceptions, 37 Carries 299 Yards 6 Touchdowns
Johnny Manziel 68/116 925 Yards 12 Touchdowns 3 Interceptions, 57 Carries 324 Yards 3 Touchdowns
Teddy Bridgewater 67/122 962 Yards 9 Touchdowns 2 Interceptions, 56 Carries 320 Yards 4 Touchdowns
Connor Shaw 44/88 655 Yards 7 Touchdowns 2 Interceptions, 51 Carries 245 Yards 5 Touchdowns
De'Anthony Thomas 56 Carries 417 Yards 3 Touchdowns, 8 Receptions 113 Yards 3 Touchdowns

BIG10 Legends Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2013
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
#12 Michigan	4-0	1.000	0-0	139	50	W4
#14 Nebraska	4-0	1.000	0-0	139	40	W4
#23 Michigan State	4-0	1.000	0-0	138	43	W4
Northwestern	4-0	1.000	0-0	134	109	W4
Minnesota	4-0	1.000	0-0	165	95	W4
Iowa	4-0	1.000	0-0	130	65	W4

BIG10 Leaders Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2013
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Wisconsin	3-1	.750	1-0	145	67	W1
#2 Ohio State	4-0	1.000	0-0	199	40	W4
Indiana	3-1	.750	0-0	105	81	W1
Illinois	2-1	.660	0-0	65	72	L1
Penn State	0-4	0.000	0-0	78	127	L4
Purdue	1-3	.250	0-1	90	111	L3

Nate Wozniak - Broken Finger - 2 Weeks (Week 7 @ Northwestern)

Wozniak had his finger in a splint for the entire week, he'll return to practice this week but looks to be another week away from returning.

[beamerball811]

Big matchup with Iowa coming up!

[jayenomics]

Quote: Originally Posted by beamerball811

Big matchup with Iowa coming up!

Yeah, I'm pumped to play later today.

[Deuce2223]

The Legends is going to be tough. Everybody 4-0. Should make for very exciting Conference play.