On a beautiful September day in Minnesota the state’s flagship university was pretty good-looking on the football field. The University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers downed Middle Tennessee State 35-24 after zooming to a four touchdown lead by halftime.
It was senior running back David Cobb who led the Minnesota offense, scoring two touchdowns and averaging more than seven yards per carry.
David Cobb has the most rushing yards (220) for a #Gophers running back since Laurence Maroney had 258 against Wisconsin in 2005.
— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) September 6, 2014
David Cobb's 220 rushing yards are the 12th-most in a game in #Gophers history.
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) September 6, 2014
The first half of the game was a rout, as the Gophers stormed to a 28-0 lead. Minnesota’s defense held Middle Tennessee in check and even outscored them, thanks to Jalen Myrick’s interception return for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.
With the running game and defense having scored, quarterback Mitch Leidner got in on the act a little later, lofting a 27-yard touchdown pass to Maxx Williams.
This embed is invalid
It was Cobb, though, who stood out for the Gophers, breaking his career high for yardage before the third quarter had ended. His 48 yard touchdown run stifled Middle Tennessee’s momentum after the Blue Raiders scored the first ten points of the second half.
Leidner’s stat line on the afternoon was a modest one. He completed 5 of 11 passes for 67 yards with one TD and one interception. Leidner came out of the game in the 4th quarter, reportedly with pain in his left knee.
Streveler replaces Leidner at QB on this drive for the #Gophers. @jgkfan says Leidner having trouble with his drop backs due to knee pain.
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) September 6, 2014
The Gophers have won their first two games of the season and have two more non-conference games before their first Big Ten contest. Next Saturday they’ll be in Fort Worth to face Texas Christian University with kickoff at 3 p.m.
