The Little Brown Jug found its way to Minneapolis for the first time in 19 years, but it left as quickly as it came.

Minnesota’s football team made things interesting with a fourth-quarter comeback, but No. 6 Michigan proved too much for the Gophers in a 28-14 win Saturday.

Coach Glen Mason said he was proud of his team’s performance against a talented Wolverines squad.

“I thought we played one of our better ballgames,” Mason said. “Obviously, we made some mistakes, but we made some adjustments and I’m really proud of how the team got better as the game went on.”

With 4:12 remaining in the game and Minnesota trailing 28-7, the Gophers put together a five-play, 84-yard drive, capped by a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Bryan Cupito to senior wide receiver Logan Payne.

The catch, which was Payne’s second 21-yard score in the contest, set up an onside kick attempt that bounced off a Wolverines blocker and was recovered by the Gophers at the Minnesota 44-yard line.

Minnesota (2-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) took the ball and marched 49 yards down the field inside the Michigan 10-yard line, but four incomplete passes ended the Gophers’ hopes, and sent the Jug back to Ann Arbor.

“We play them tough every year,” Cupito said. “If we play every game like we played against Michigan we should have a good season.”

Minnesota’s offensive outburst late in the fourth quarter was a stark contrast to Michigan’s fiery start.

The Wolverines drove 80 yards on 10 plays to open the contest. Junior quarterback Chad Henne hooked up with junior wide receiver Adrian Arrington for a 16-yard score.

Arrington snagged another Henne touchdown pass two drives later – that one for 37 yards – to put the Wolverines up 14-0 with 14 minutes to play in the first half.

Minnesota responded to the score by orchestrating a drive that attacked Michigan’s biggest strength: its run defense.

During the possession, junior running back Amir Pinnix slashed through a Wolverines defense that was ranked

No. 1 in the nation, allowing just 18.5 yards per game on the ground. #_Photo_32379_right

Pinnix touched the ball six times and ran for 37 yards on the possession before Cupito hit Payne for his first score.

“I think every game is a learning experience,” Pinnix said. “Michigan is a great team, but we wanted to put the emphasis on playing hard and I think we did that today.”

But Michigan (5-0, 2-0) is ranked sixth nationally for a reason.

The Wolverines responded with ease offensively. Henne orchestrated an 82-yard drive in 4:19, which ended with a 41-yard touchdown reception by sophomore wide receiver Mario Manningham.

Manningham, who became just the second Michigan player in school history to earn back-to-back Big

Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards, caught five passes for 131 yards and one touchdown.

Henne’s three first-half touchdown passes were set up by a stellar Wolverines running game.

Michigan’s offensive line, which averages 306 pounds, proved too much for the Gophers’ defensive line, which averages 265 pounds.

That size discrepancy helped Michigan rack up 234 yards rushing. Junior running back Mike Hart picked up 195 of those yards.

Hart touched the ball 31 times, but his ability to create third-and-short situations for the Michigan offense gave the Wolverines an opportunity to pick up crucial third down conversions throughout the ballgame. #_Photo_32381_right

“Our third-down defense – it needs to get better,” Mason said. “When you get them in that situation, you should be able to get off the field. But that’s something we can fix.”