The Minnesota Gophers had no problem with Ohio Valley Conference representative Eastern Illinois (EI), dismantling the overmatched Falcons 59-7. In a game that was never in doubt, Minnesota dominated in every phase, rolling up 495 yards of total offense, led by an outstanding performance by wide receiver Javon Tracy, while EI could only muster 110. Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck’s starters played less than three quarters as the game was already out of reach.
The Falcons, who snapped a seven-game losing streak last week with a 28-14 win over Murray State, have not won a game against an FBS opponent since 2016. Minnesota scored on four of their first five possessions while EU could only muster a lone second-quarter touchdown.
Gophers Dominate Early
After the Gophers first drive stalled, edge T.J. Bush sacked Falcons quarterback Cole LaCrue to end EI’s first drive. Minnesota then took possession on its own 49. With a drive heavy on Darius Taylor and TJ Thomas runs and a couple of Taylor receptions, Darius took a direct snap and scored from one yard out to put the Gophers up 7-0.
The Falcons punted the ball away on their second possession right into the waiting arms of the Gophers Tracy. He took the ball up the right sideline 87 yards, untouched, to make the score 14-0 Minnesota. Starting on their own 34-yard line on their next possession, Gophers’ quarterback Drake Lindsey hit wide receiver Noah Jennings for two receptions to the EI 27-yard line. From there, Taylor ran through a gigantic hole in the middle of the line all the way to the end zone for Minnesota’s third score.
Minnesota Continues Their Offensive Ways
Taking advantage of some Gophers defensive lapses, the Falcons marched down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in an eight-yard reception by EI running back Tyren Buggs to cut the Minnesota lead to 14. Key plays on the drive were a 30-yard pass from LaCrue to Buggs and a 17-yard scramble by LaCrue.
But the Gophers came right back with Lindsey hitting Tracy with a long pass along the right sideline. Javon broke several tackles, bringing the ball down to the Falcons’ three-yard line. From there, Taylor punched it in to extend Minnesota’s lead to 28-7.
And right before the half, Lindsey would hit Tracy in the left flat for a 17-yard reception to the Gophers four-yard line. From there Lindsey would find tight end Pierce Walsh for a four-yard score, and Minnesota would head into the locker room with a 35-7 halftime lead.
No Second Half Let Down
After a three-and-out by the Falcons on their opening drive of the half, once again, Tracy wove his return magic for another Gophers score. Taking the ball on his own 11-yard line, he broke one tackle and wove down the left sideline all the way to the end zone to up the Gophers lead to 42-7. On Minnesota’s next possession, Lindsey went 3-for-4 for 60 yards, but Thomas would fumble the ball away at the EI 18-yard line, stalling the drive.
When the Falcons got the ball back, they were faced with a third and one from their own 18. But Theorin Randle and Maverick Baranowski stuffed Buggs for a two-yard loss, forcing a Falcons punt. The Gophers would march down the field 45 yards on seven plays, with the drive ending with a Daniel Jackson 31-yard field goal. The third quarter would end with Minnesota leading 45-7.
Gophers Finish Up
The Gophers would add two fourth-quarter scores. First, backup quarterback Max Shikenjanski would roll in from two yards out, putting Minnesota up by 45. Then, with 25 seconds left in the contest, running back Xavier Ford would punch it in from a yard out to seal the deal. Final score: Minnesota 59, Eastern Illinois 7.
Summary
Lindsey would finish 19-24 for 264 yards and one touchdown pass. Taylor led all rushers with 56 yards on 14 carries and three rushing td’s. Tracy paced all receivers with five catches for 98 yards and, of course, all returners with his two electrifying punt returns for touchdowns. Baranowski led the defense with six tackles, and Bush garnered the only Minnesota sack.
Post-Game Comments from P.J. Fleck
New Leaf News: P.J., talk about the consistency of your team. Six for six in the red zone, two penalties, zero sacks allowed.
P.J. Fleck: “There’s a formula to win here in our program and in our culture. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be tweaked, it can’t be modified; it can’t be adapted, but we have a strategic way that we win here. And if you win the ball, you win the tackling battle, and you win explosive plays, you do really well inside the green zone, and you can win those four-point plays in there. You can do really well in the middle eight. You can win a lot of football games. It doesn’t matter who you are.
“But here at the University of Minnesota, we believe in that, and we believe in playing as hard as we possibly can. And I think the consistency of that has been shown over 10 years. But again, this is one game. You know, Coach Wilkerson’s (Chris) a great dude from Eastern Illinois, and I even told him after the game, I have so much respect for him.
“Our handshake at the end, I just wanted to make sure he understood one thing, just so everybody doesn’t take that out of context. I said, listen, I played a lot of players and felt like I had to play a lot of players, and nobody’s trying to score or do this or that, but this is how we develop our football team at the University of Minnesota.
“And that’s what I get paid to do: develop our football team. You saw twos in there, you saw threes in there, you saw freshmen in there. If we’re a developmental program, I have to develop those players. And the only way I’m going to be able to develop those players is getting them on the field in those situations. So, again, no disrespect to anybody with that.
“But there’s 60 minutes of football, and I’ve got to keep developing our football team. He’s got to do the same thing. All the coaches around the country have to do that because you just never know when you’re going to need those people to play. So, the consistency of that has stayed the same since I’ve been the head coach here too. We’re really proud of being 1-0.“
Upcoming
Minnesota takes on the Mississippi State Bulldogs next Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Bulldogs should be a tough test for the 1-0 Gophers. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 pm CDT kickoff.
