The 18th Michigan in Minneapolis beat the Golden Gophers 49-24 on Saturday night to capture the Little Brown Jug, taking them to No. 21 Minnesota in all four quarters. The Gophers announced just before the kickoff that they would play without opening players in all three stages of the game, including the right defender, offensive action, linebacker, both kicker positions and punter. Each absence became apparent during the game, as the Wolverines improved to -44-4 with their third straight win in the series against their rivals since 1968.
Ironically, it was Minnesota who struck first, taking a 7-0 lead after blocking the Michigan Punt. Wolverine responded immediately with a 70-yard touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet through a foul on the second level of the Minnesota defense. Michigan’s defense continued to put pressure on Minnesota QB tenor Morgan, and a blitz on the right side of the Minnesota line – where the starters were missing – resulted in Morgan being kicked and the ball going out of Donovan Jetter, who took it home. Minnesota stopped the bleeding from a field goal drive to make it 14-10, but Michigan returned that next scuba kick – remember the missing kickoff expert – setting up another touchdown of 65 yards.
After Michigan took a 28-17 lead at the end of the first half, Minnesota had a chance to close the gap. Knowing the Gophers would start the second half with the ball and play without his punter, coach PJ Flack decided to run a fake punt at Minnesota 30 on the fourth down. He failed, and made another touchdown after a few plays to give Michigan a 35-17 lead in the locker room.
The third quarter showed signs of life for the Gophers, as they opened the second half with a touchdown drive but couldn’t stop the Wolverines from reacting kind of. The whole night was a theme as the Michigan crime stopped itself more than the Minnesota defense. With the exception of a turnaround at the end of the fourth quarter, Michigan could not score only once after its first possession when it missed a field goal. He missed three overall, so at least the Michigan coach should be angry about something this week.
CBS Sports has a Michigan-Minnesota game coming up soon.
