The Minnesota Golden Gophers found great success against Colorado Saturday, out-gaining the Buffaloes 443-63 in total offense en-route to a 30-0 victory.
The Gophers’ defense started out fast, holding Colorado to zero yards of total offense in the first quarter. The Gophers best chance of scoring in the quarter came when kicker Matthew Trickett missed a 24 yard field goal on their opening offensive drive, but there were ultimately no points to show for the clinical first quarter, ending 0-0 after 15 minutes of play.
Redshirt-sophomore running back Trey Potts opened up the game’s scoring when he capped off an eight-play, 82 yard drive with a 13 yard touchdown to begin the second quarter. A missed Trickett extra point gave the Gophers’ a 6-0 lead.
It continued to be tough sledding for Colorado, as the Minnesota defense continued to make plays. Senior defensive lineman Thomas Rush recorded his first sack of the season, forcing the Buffaloes to punt the ball away.
After a deep 39 yard pass to redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Dylan Wright, Trey Potts added another touchdown in the Gophers’ favor extending their lead to 13-0.
It continued to be a defensive battle, as the first half closed out with no more points scored, and Minnesota took its 13-0 lead into the locker room.
As the third quarter began, it looked like it would be another slow second half for the Gophers after Matthew Trickett missed his second field goal of the day on the team’s first offensive drive of the half.
After exchanging punts back and forth, a forced fumble from graduate-senior Jack Gibbens on the following Colorado drive, led to the Gophers regaining momentum.
Trey Potts was spelled by true-freshman running back Bucky Irving on the proceeding drive and for much of the game, but it was Potts who added his third touchdown of the day growing Minnesota’s lead to 20-0.
The fourth quarter saw the Gophers’ offensive line continue to perform at a high level giving the team’s skill position players every opportunity to make plays. A made field goal from Matthew Trickett and redshirt-freshman running back Ky Thomas’ first career touchdown resulted in a 30-0 Gophers victory.
Redshirt-senior wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell led the team with four catches and 79 receiving yards in his first game of the season back from injury. Trey Potts performed very well for the second consecutive game, totaling 26 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns.
Minnesota now extends its non-conference winning streak to a nation’s-best 21 games, as it moves to 2-1 on the season.
The Gophers will have their final non-conference test next week, as they welcome Bowling Green to Huntington Bank Stadium in the team’s annual Homecoming game, kicking-off at 11:00 a.m. local time.