In front of an estimated 45,383 fans, Tim Brewster picked up his first victory as a collegiate football head coach.
“The Minnesota Golden Gophers are so special to me, and it’s an honor for me to be the head football coach here,” Brewster said following his first victory. “This win today was for the state of Minnesota; it was for all Minnesotans.”
Overtime history
Minnesota has now played in two straight regular season overtime games, the first time ever in Minnesota history. The two overtime games in a row ties an NCAA Division I record; the only other team to do so was Boston College during the 2005 season.
The last overtime win for the Gophers before Saturday was in 2005, in a double-overtime thriller against Purdue.
Weber’s improvement
Redshirt freshman quarterback Adam Weber drastically improved from his first game at starting quarterback for Minnesota last Saturday.
Weber went 26-of-40 on the day, giving him a very solid 65 percent completion percentage. Weber also threw for 271 yards, compared to 188 yards in the air last week.
Although Brewster mentioned that he wanted Weber to get less carries compared to the 18 attempts he got last week, Weber still managed to run the ball 16 times for an impressive 97 yards.
Weber’s 177 total rushing yards this season is the
most for a Minnesota quarterback in back-to-back games since Billy Cockerham had 233 in 1999.
“The kid has really been unflappable out there,” Brewster said about Weber’s poise as a freshman. “I can’t tell you how much admiration I have for the way he’s played.”
Chambers position change
Sophomore Mike Chambers switched from wide receiver to cornerback earlier this fall after the team was feeling light in the secondary. After last week’s game, Brewster switched Chambers back to receiver, and it seems to be the right call.
Chambers grabbed three balls for 33 yards against Miami (Ohio), while also running for 38 yards on a key reverse play early in the game.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter with the score favoring Minnesota 14-12, Miami (Ohio) had the ball on the Gophers 20-yard line and was primed to take their first lead of the game.
On the second play of the quarter, Miami (Ohio) quarterback Mike Kokal threw a pass into the end zone on third and nine which was picked off by senior cornerback Jamal Harris for a touchback.
The next drive was the biggest of the game for the Gopher offense, starting from their 20- yard line. With the momentum on their side, quarterback Adam Weber marched Minnesota down the field with just four plays, the final resulting in a 59-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Eric Decker.
“Mike (Chambers) did some good things today,” Brewster said. “He did a really nice job. He wanted to come back over to offense, he really feels like he’s an offensive player. We just felt like we needed the help so bad on defense that we needed to take a look at him over there.”
Pinnix gains over 100 again
Minnesota senior running back Amir Pinnix gained 126 yards on 28 carries Saturday. One week ago Pinnix also carried the ball 28 times, while amassing 168 yards.
Pinnix has now rushed for over 100 yards in five consecutive games. Only running back Lawrence Maroney has ever had a longer streak for the Gophers at seven games during his time at Minnesota from 2003-05.
Pinnix also moved into 11th place in the all-time rushing list at Minnesota with his 126 yards pushing his career total to 2,170 Saturday, passing Ricky Foggie. Pinnix needs only 18 more yards to move into the top 10.
