Courtesy: Alicia Jerome/University of Minnesota http://gophersports.com/ Amir Pinnix ran for 126 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in the third overtime period.
An Amir Pinnix 2-yard touchdown in the third overtime period of the NCAA-record tying second consecutive overtime game this season for the Golden Gophers handed Minnesota an emotional 41-35 victory over Miami (Ohio) in front of 45,383 fans at the Metrodome on Saturday. The victory is the first of Tim Brewster’s Golden Gopher coaching career.
Senior cornerback Jamal Harris’ second interception of the game, ending the RedHawks’ drive in the final overtime period, set up the winning effort. Harris’ first interception on the first play of the fourth quarter also halted a Miami scoring threat. He added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to the winning effort.
Pinnix finished with 126 yards on 28 carries, his fifth consecutive game with over 100 yards.
Minnesota briefly enjoyed a 28-12 lead after Adam Weber fired his second scoring strike to Ernie Wheelwright with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter.
Miami looked to sophomore quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh in relief of starter Mike Kokal and the RedHawks responded with a pair of scoring drives to tie the score at 28-28 and force overtime.
Minnesota won the toss and elected to play defense in the opening overtime.
Andre Bratton touched the Gopher defense for a 22-yard run in the first play in overtime. He would later give Miami the lead with a 4-yard touchdown. Trevor Cook’s extra point gave the RedHawks a 35-28 lead.
Minnesota answered with 25-yard touchdown pass from Adam Weber to Eric Decker to knot the score at 35-35 and force the second overtime.
The Gophers’ offense took to the field first in the second overtime and moved the ball to the Miami 2-yard line. The drive lost steam and Minnesota was forced to attempt a 26-yard field goal which Jason Giannini pushed wide left.
The RedHawks and Bratton rushed on four consecutive plays, needing only to score to capture the win. Miami moved to the Gophers’ 10-yard line but no further. Miami placekicker Cook lined up for 33-yarder and, as Gopher fans held their breath, watched as the sophomore sailed his potential game-winner wide right.
With a new life, it was the Gopher defense that opened the door for victory in the third and final overtime. Raudabaugh opened the drive with a 20-yard reception to Dustin Woods before the Willie VanDeSteig and John Shevlin teamed to take down Bratton for a 5-yard loss. After an incompletion, Harris ended the Miami drive with an interception in the end zone.
Pinnix galloped for a 20-yard gain to kick off the Gophers’ winning drive. Later, he would take a handoff on third down and power his way to pay dirt for the winning touchdown.
Minnesota marched down the field on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead. Weber followed his right-side blockers in the endzone for an 8-yard touchdown to cap off the 12-play, 81-yard drive. Weber connected on three-of-four pass attempts, hitting Tray Herndon twice for 28 yards and a pair of first downs.
Miami missed a 49-yard field goal in its first offensive possession, but the RedHawks defense stopped the Gophers to a three-and-out. Andre Bratton came up with the big play on special teams, blocking Justin Kucek’s punt, giving Miami the ball at Gophers’ 31.
The Gopher defense held firm forcing a RedHawk field goal. This time, Cook split the uprights on a 34-yarder to get Miami on the board. The first quarter ended with Minnesota holding a 7-3 lead.
Minnesota extended its lead early in the second quarter with a season-long 92-yard drive. Weber started the drive with a 15-yard run up the middle, then put the finishing touches on the scoring effort with a 26-yard toss to Ernie Wheelwright. The reception was Wheelwright’s second touchdown of the season and extended his streak to six consecutive games with a TD catch, tied for the second-longest streak in school history.
The RedHawks used a Gopher miscue to set up their first touchdown of the day. Defensive tackle Martin Channels stripped the ball from Weber and linebacker Caleb Bostic collected the fumble recovery to give Miami the ball on the Minnesota 42-yard line.
Sophomore Dustin Woods caught a slant pass from Mike Kokal, slipped a Gopher tackle and sprinted in for a 24-yard touchdown. Cook missed the extra point attempt, but Miami had closed to within 14-9. The score remained at the half.
Miami added a 30-yard goal from Cook on the RedHawks’ initial drive of the second half to close to 14-12. Tailback Brandon Murphy contributed a big 27-yard run to put Miami into scoring position.
Meanwhile, the Gopher offense struggled in the third quarter. After tallying 324 yards of total offense in the first half, the Gophers managed just 75 in the third stanza.
The Gophers’ defense couldn’t have picked a better time to pick up their fellow teammates and grab the first opponent turnover of the season.
Miami had the ball and the momentum as the third quarter drew to a close. A 55-yard Kokal pass to Chris Givens had placed the RedHawks in great shape with a first-and-10 on the Gophers’ 14-yard line.
After Kokal lost four yards on the next play, the RedHawks went for it all on the first play of the fourth quarter with Kokal looking to Woods in the end zone. Harris jumped the route and picked off the pass ending the threat.
The Gophers’ offense then regained its form as well, making good on the turnover by putting points on the scoreboard. Weber found Eric Decker open on the right sideline and Decker scored his career-long touchdown of 59 yards to give the Gophers a 21-12 lead.
The Miami offense now sputtered fumbling the ball away on its next two possessions. On the second turnover, Murphy ran a sweep to the right with Harris making the play, both the forced fumble and recovery, from his cornerback position.
The Gophers quickly turned that turnover into points as Weber tossed his third touchdown pass of the game with Wheelwright on the receiving end for the second time. Wheelwright’s 5-yard catch marked the fourth two-TD game of his Golden Gopher career.
The RedHawks refused to give up, scoring touchdowns on consecutive possessions to come back to within 28-25 with 3:10 remaining.
Miami attempted a pooch kick, but the Gophers’ kickoff return unit was ready. Jay Thomas caught the kickoff and returned in xx yards to the Miami 45. The Gophers, however, were unable to get the one necessary first down to ice the win and punted.
Miami took over on its own 20-yard line with 2:02 remaining. On a third-and-5, Raudabaugh hit Robinson for 15 yards and a first down on the 40 to keep the drive alive. After an incompletion, Raudabaugh fired a 21-yard bullet to Givens as the clock ticked off under a minute to play.
Robinson grabbed an 11-yard reception with 45 seconds to go to give the RedHawks a first down on the Gophers’ 28. A draw to Bratton added nine yards forcing Raudabaugh to spike the ball to kill the clock. The RedHawks took a final shot at the end zone but Robinson bobbled the ball going out of the side of the zone end.
Both teams amassed 577 yards of total offense. Weber threw four touchdown passes and finished 26-of-40 for 271 yards. Decker led the way with seven receptions for 128 yards.
Courtesy: Alicia Jerome/University of Minnesota
