For halftime thoughts, check Austin’s blog thread 3RD Quarter: Minnesota x, Indiana x – The Hoosiers have found a way to move the ball a little better against the Gophers, which is based around picking on sophomore defensive back Ryan Collado. Collado was put in the game after Marcus Sherels hurt his shoulder (he appeared to dislocate it and get it popped back in on the sideline), and has been burned several times. – On the whole, though, the defense has remained stellar. VanDeSteeg had another 10-yard sack, part of a Gopehrs defensive stand that – The Gophers continued to struggle in the red zone. Having driven to the Indiana 17-yard line, DeLeon Eskridge was hit by safety Nick Polk and the ball squirted out, recovered by Indiana. Polk was one of the safeties questionable for today’s game, but he’s made some pretty big plays. – Eric Decker has 12 catches for a career-high 175 yards. After Troy Stoudermire fumbled a punt return and hasn’t shown great judgement on when to fair catch the ball, Decker was even put in to fair catch a punt. – If the Gophers don’t win this game, the story will be their red zone offense, though. They finished the first half with more than twice as much time of possession as Indiana, yet were tied. 1ST Quarter: Minnesota 0, Indiana 0. – This game, which was supposed to be the highest scoring Big Ten game this weekend (according to Vegas over/under lines) has turned into something of a defensive battle. The Gophers defense, with the help of a 10-yard sack from Willie VanDeSteeg at teh end of the quarter, held the Hoosiers to just four total yards in the first. – Scary moment in the first quarter, with Adam Weber having to be helped off the field while hopping violently to avoid putting any weight on his right leg. But he got on the bike for a while, jogged some, and was back on the field the next drive, though a bit of a limp remained. – Against a thin Indiana secondary, the Gophers are going with a very pass heavy offense, particularly to Decker. Decker was stifled by Ohio State last week but against Indiana is giving him more room, and the Gophers are trying to exploit it with a lot of short, quick passes. Six of their first seven plays were short passes. – Jay Thomas is getting his first real playing of the season. – The Gophers failed to score with a first-and-goal from the eight yard line. They went away from picking at the soft Indiana coverage and got two short runs from DeLeon Eskridge. Weber was sacked on third down, which led to his injury, and has he was limping around the sideline, Joel Monroe booted one off the left upright.