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Gophers punt block sinks Miami |
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Written by Mike Smith
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Saturday, September 17 2011 |
 MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- As a head coach at Northern Illinois last December, Jerry Kill watched Miami come up with a big fourth quarter play that ultimately led to his team’s defeat. Kill was working the sidelines for his new team Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium as the Minnesota Golden Gophers generated a decisive fourth quarter play of their own. Duane Bennett blocked a Miami punt and ultimately scored on a play that proved to be the difference in a 29-23 win over the RedHawks.
Miami’s special teams breakdown put Minnesota up 29-16 with 10:23 remaining in the final period. The RedHawks came storming back, however, thanks to some key scrambles and passes by quarterback Zac Dysert. Following the ensuing kickoff, he completed seven-of-eight passes on an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Dysert escaped a couple defenders and lofted a 26-yard pass to freshman Dawan Scott for a drive-ending touchdown. Mason Krysinski’s PAT kick made it a 29-23 game with 7:49 remaining.
BOTH QBs PRODUCED
“Their quarterback … made some things happen, and Zac did the same thing for us,” Miami head coach Don Treadwell said. “You certainly give him credit there. He did a great job of being poised and keeping his eyes downfield. That is something he does very well, and it showed on the touchdown break.”
Minnesota did not score again, but the Gophers did the next best thing. They ran precious minutes off the clock on their next drive. Starting at their own 33, the Gophers ran 10 plays and gained 33 yards while bleeding 4:51 off the clock. Miami finally took over after stopping the hosts on downs at the RedHawks 34-yard line with 2:58 left in the contest.
Miami might have started with even better field position as Gray was hit in the backfield by Austin Brown. Gray unloaded the ball and a flag was thrown. However, officials felt Bennett was close enough to where the ball was thrown. Intention grounding was therefore waved off.
Marquis “did a heck of a job getting the ball dumped down,” Kill said. “Thank the Lord Bennett was in the area where they waved off the flag. That was a big play.”
Dysert picked up a key first down off a third-and-10 scramble to the 46. Four plays later he hit Nick Harwell with a 17-yard strike on fourth-and-10.
Two short completions took Miami to the Minnesota 20. But after an incompletion, the RedHawks were faced with fourth-and-three. More importantly, there were probably only enough ticks left on the clock for one play. Dysert took his shot, trying to hit senior Chris Givens in the right side of the end zone, but two Minnesota players broke up the play to seal the verdict.
“He (Dysert) did a good job of putting it up there. They just happened to make a good play,” Treadwell said.
NEW SCHOOL MARK
While the special teams breakdown hurt the RedHawks cause, so did Minnesota quarterback Marquis Gray. The junior from Indianapolis Ben Davis High School established a new school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single contest. Gray totaled 171 rushing yards off designed runs, option reads and scrambles as the RedHawks defense struggled to contain the 6-4, 240-pound junior with the cutting ability of an agile running back. It was the second week in a row that he went over 100 yards rushing.
“There were some opportunities (that we missed). … He’s a good enough athlete that it is tough to bring him down,” Treadwell said of Gray. “The next thing you know, he takes off running, and he just made plays with his feet. Give him credit. He’s a very good player.”
Thanks in part to a couple of big plays, Gray and the Gophers were able to add another 163 yards through the air to bring the Minnesota offensive total to 399 yards. Miami, meanwhile, registered 405 total yards. However, the RedHawks had the only turnovers of the game – one interception and the blocked punt.
While Gray’s running kept the Gopher’s moving, Miami again relied primarily on the pass. Eric Finklea picked up 54 yards on 15 carries (3.6 ypc) as Miami netted 80 yards on the ground. Dysert completed 27-of-47 for 325 yards, two touchdowns and one interception through the passing game.
HARWELL HITS DOUBLE DIGITS
An added Miami plus for its second 2011 contest was the return of sophomore Nick Harwell, who missed the Missouri game due to a violation of team rules. Harwell had 12 catches for 162 yards, averaging 13.5 yards per catch against Minnesota. Givens had seven receptions for 84 yards (12.0 ypc) and freshman David Scott caught three balls for 49 yards (16.3 ypc) and a score.
Miami, coming off a bye-week, fashioned a seven-play scoring drive on its first possession. Dysert found Harwell over the middle for 66 yards in the biggest play of the drive. That took the ball to the Minnesota nine-yard line, but after two short runs and an incompletion, the RedHawks had to settle for Krysinski’s 22-yard field goal.
Although the drive didn’t yield a touchdown, the fact that MU was able to convert a field goal was a good sign. The RedHawks missed both kicking attempts – a field goal and PAT – in the opener at Missouri. Krysinski made good on all his kicks against Minnesota, except for one PAT. He never really got a chance on that one as the snap was off target.
Minnesota, playing for first time since Kill’s in-game seizure last week and his subsequent hospital stay, quickly put up an equalizer on its next drive when Hawthorne was good from 33-yards out. As with the RedHawks first drive, a big pass play accounted for most of the yardage. On the second UM play from scrimmage, Gray found Malcolm Mouton for a 59-yard completion.
Two plays into the second quarter, Minnesota put its first touchdown on the board as Donnell Kirkwood went in untouched up the middle on a four-yard run. Hawthorne added the PAT and later a 19-yard field goal at 9:30 to put the hosts up 13-3.
CLOSING THE GAP
Miami needed a score before the half, and it got it with a 12-play, 65-yard drive. Givens took the RedHawks into Minnesota territory with a 31-yard reception. Finklea, who carried eight times on the drive, burrowed his way in from one yard out for the touchdown.
The Gophers returned from intermission determined to mine the running game. Nine of 12 plays leading up to a 26-yard Hawthorne field goal were runs. Two were incomplete passes and another play resulted in a sack by Miami’s Wes Williams and Jerrell Wedge. That finally forced the field goal.
Miami responded with a seven-play 77-yard scoring drive. Finklea had a big 16-yard run early and took the RedHawks into UM territory with a 10-yard reception. Harwell’s 32-yard catch gave Miami a first down at the eight and Dysert hit Givens for a seven-yard TD strike to finish the drive. The PAT failed after a bad snap, leaving the two teams knotted at 16-all.
Gray’s running accounted for 47 of 60 total yards in a 12-play drive that put the Gophers back out front two plays into the third quarter. John Rabe’s seven-yard reception completed the drive. Hawthorne added the PAT, but he missed the extra point attempt after Bennett’s blocked punt TD later in the period.
“We knew they would come out with their best shot … and they did that. We give credit to Minnesota, because they did come out and play well, and their quarterback made a lot of plays,” Treadwell said.
“I’m just happy for the kids. They’ve been through a lot of adversity,” said Kill after the contest. “We told them we were probably going to have to do something special to win, and I’ll be darned if we don’t block a punt.”
After successive road games against Big 12 and Big Ten opponents, Miami (0-2) returns home for a Mid-American Conference opener next week when the RedHawks host Bowling Green (1 p.m.) . Minnesota (1-2) closes out its non-conference schedule at home against North Dakota State (7 p.m., ET).
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