Written By Bob Mora
The Missouri Tigers did not start out the game as planned, Quarterback Maty Mauk threw 2 interceptions and the offense gained just 28 yards in the first quarter.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers Quarterback Mitch Leidner fumbled on his fourth play of the game, After Mauks' first interception, the gophers put together an 11 play 80 yard drive ending with running back Roderick Williams 20 yard touchdown run at 5:56 in the first to give Minnesota a 7-0 lead that held until the end of the first quarter.
In the second kicker Andrew Baggett connected from 21 yards to put the tigers on the board, and on the their next possession, Mauk found wr Bud Sasser for a 25 yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead 10-7 on a 5 play 67 yard drive that would hold until the half.
The first half found both offenses even at 184 total yards.
Missouri started the second half with an unexpected, successful on side kick recovered by Ian Simon at the gophers 47, where the tigers running back Marcus Murphy started with a 25 yard run followed with a 9 yard run setting up a Baggett field goal from 33 to make it 13-7.
Minnesota followed with a quick, 3 play 75 yard,1:15 drive , highlighted by tight end Maxx Williams 54 yard reception that ended with a hurdle and a stretching dive into the endzone that put the gophers up 14-13.
" I saw a guy coming in,kind of just closed my eyes and said, hey, might as well go for it, got to try it " said williams post game.
The Tigers punted on the next set of downs and gained the momentum when Tyler Hunt recovered the fumbled ball at the Gophers 34, setting up an 18 yard rushing touchdown by Maty Mauk on a 3 play 34 yard drive, the 2 point attempt failed, making it 19-14.
Gophers kicker Ryan Santoso made a 38 yard field goal with 1:54 in the third to make it a 2 point game at 19-17.
Tailback Russell Hansbrough made the longest play of the game on a 78 yard touchdown run with 9:22 left to make it an 11 point game, Hansbrough had 114 yards on 15 carries.
Minnesota desperately tried to score but the tiger defense was too much and forced a punt from mid field, where on the tigers first play running back Marcus Murphy broke free and rush 69 yards that set up a 7 yard pass to wr Bud Sasser, making it 33-17 and put the game out of reach with under 5 minutes left.
The tigers defense held the golden gophers to 106 rushing yards, led by Markus Golden and Ian Simon with 10 tackles each, Michael Scherer had 7.
Defensive end Markus Golden received the MVP award with 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks, and 4 tackles for a loss of 21 yards.
Marcus Murphy led all rushers with 157 yards on 12 carries, Bud Sasser led all tigers with 7 catches for 68 yards, quarterback Maty Mauk ended with 97 yards on 12 of 19, with 2 int's.
Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner passed for 258 yards on 21 of 31 with 1 touchdown pass, Maxx Williams caught 7 for 98 yards and a score, Kj Maye caught 3 for 75 yards, and running back David Cobb caught 3 for 33 yards, Cobb rushed for 81 yards on 21 carries.
Williams 20 yard TD was the golden gophers only rushing score, Kj Maye rushed twice for 15 yards.
Minnesota's Jack Lynn, Theoren Cockan, and Michael Amaefula each recorded a sack.
Damien Wilson led the golden gophers with 8 tackles, Eric Murray had 7 and Cedric Thompson had 6.
The announced attendance was 48,624.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers Quarterback Mitch Leidner fumbled on his fourth play of the game, After Mauks' first interception, the gophers put together an 11 play 80 yard drive ending with running back Roderick Williams 20 yard touchdown run at 5:56 in the first to give Minnesota a 7-0 lead that held until the end of the first quarter.
In the second kicker Andrew Baggett connected from 21 yards to put the tigers on the board, and on the their next possession, Mauk found wr Bud Sasser for a 25 yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead 10-7 on a 5 play 67 yard drive that would hold until the half.
The first half found both offenses even at 184 total yards.
Missouri started the second half with an unexpected, successful on side kick recovered by Ian Simon at the gophers 47, where the tigers running back Marcus Murphy started with a 25 yard run followed with a 9 yard run setting up a Baggett field goal from 33 to make it 13-7.
Minnesota followed with a quick, 3 play 75 yard,1:15 drive , highlighted by tight end Maxx Williams 54 yard reception that ended with a hurdle and a stretching dive into the endzone that put the gophers up 14-13.
" I saw a guy coming in,kind of just closed my eyes and said, hey, might as well go for it, got to try it " said williams post game.
The Tigers punted on the next set of downs and gained the momentum when Tyler Hunt recovered the fumbled ball at the Gophers 34, setting up an 18 yard rushing touchdown by Maty Mauk on a 3 play 34 yard drive, the 2 point attempt failed, making it 19-14.
Gophers kicker Ryan Santoso made a 38 yard field goal with 1:54 in the third to make it a 2 point game at 19-17.
Tailback Russell Hansbrough made the longest play of the game on a 78 yard touchdown run with 9:22 left to make it an 11 point game, Hansbrough had 114 yards on 15 carries.
Minnesota desperately tried to score but the tiger defense was too much and forced a punt from mid field, where on the tigers first play running back Marcus Murphy broke free and rush 69 yards that set up a 7 yard pass to wr Bud Sasser, making it 33-17 and put the game out of reach with under 5 minutes left.
The tigers defense held the golden gophers to 106 rushing yards, led by Markus Golden and Ian Simon with 10 tackles each, Michael Scherer had 7.
Defensive end Markus Golden received the MVP award with 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks, and 4 tackles for a loss of 21 yards.
Marcus Murphy led all rushers with 157 yards on 12 carries, Bud Sasser led all tigers with 7 catches for 68 yards, quarterback Maty Mauk ended with 97 yards on 12 of 19, with 2 int's.
Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner passed for 258 yards on 21 of 31 with 1 touchdown pass, Maxx Williams caught 7 for 98 yards and a score, Kj Maye caught 3 for 75 yards, and running back David Cobb caught 3 for 33 yards, Cobb rushed for 81 yards on 21 carries.
Williams 20 yard TD was the golden gophers only rushing score, Kj Maye rushed twice for 15 yards.
Minnesota's Jack Lynn, Theoren Cockan, and Michael Amaefula each recorded a sack.
Damien Wilson led the golden gophers with 8 tackles, Eric Murray had 7 and Cedric Thompson had 6.
The announced attendance was 48,624.