Gophers Humbled in Lincoln, Nebraska Dominates 38-14

Two match-ups with Nebraska as a Big Ten opponent and twice the Gophers have been physically and numerically and statistically dominated. The offense and defense were equally uninterested in competing today and content with Nebraska pushing them around. I guess this isn't terribly surprising. Nebraska is the class of the Big Ten (among eligible teams) and while we are improved, we are still mediocre at best.

This afternoon it was Nebraska racking up 441 yards while holding Minnesota to 177. Minnesota managed to score two touchdowns in the 4th quarter but this was after both sides had begun to get reps for some second stringers. Both touchdowns came after Philip Nelson had mercilessly been removed. And both touchdowns were MarQueis Gray runs. That is about all you need to know.

The Gopher defense came out and was hitting hard today but they were too often a step slow and lost receivers leaving them wide open for long third down conversions. Nebraska's only second half offensive touchdown came after three consecutive plays of 20+ yards, the last one being Kenny Bell's 30 yard scamper.

Nelson played his worst game as a Gopher. I don't want to rip him here, he is after-all a true freshman playing on the road against arguably the best defense in the conference. Probably the best pass defense. And his receivers did very little to help him out. Many passes were slightly off target and were subsequently dropped.

But that is about all the time I'm going to spend on this game. Nobody thought we'd win, most of us assumed it would be more competitive, but it wasn't. Nobody should be surprised that Nebraska is much better than we are. We didn't lose our bowl eligibility and maybe this slap in the face will be motivating for next week's game. Michigan State is vulnerable, let's put this one behind us and move on.