Keeping themselves grounded: Gophers neglect passing game, still roll
MINNEAPOLIS -- As Saturday's game between Minnesota and San Jose State drew nearer to its conclusion, those in attendance seemed to be asking themselves the same question:
Can the Gophers win without completing a single pass?
The answer to that question likely would have been yes, if not for a seven-yard completion by redshirt freshman Chris Streveler to Drew Wolitarsky late in the fourth quarter with Minnesota already up 10 points with less than seven minutes remaining. That would be the only pass Minnesota completed all game, though, as Streveler was 1-for-7 for seven yards in his first career start.
When Streveler did find an open Wolitarsky with just over 6:30 to play in the game, those fans who returned to their seats after an hour-long weather delay erupted in cheers, almost sarcastically, as the Gophers finally completed a pass.
One completion. Seven yards. That was all Minnesota had for a passing attack Saturday. On this day, though, the Gophers were more concerned about numbers of a different sort: their 24-7 win.
"It feels good to just go out there and help the team get a W, to be honest," Streveler said. "I don't really care whether I do it running or passing or whatever it may be. . . . It doesn't really matter how we get it done, as long as we get it done."
The lack of pass completions didn't matter in the end, thanks to 380 total rushing yards by the Gophers -- including 207 from running back David Cobb and another 161 yards on 18 carries by Streveler. But as Minnesota now prepares for Big Ten play, its passing offense (which averages a mere 99.75 yards per game through the air) continues to be an area of concern from those on the outside looking in.
The Gophers, meanwhile, don't seem too worried.
"All I care about is winning," said Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill, whose team improved to 3-1 with Saturday's victory. "I think we averaged (6.6 yards) every time we touched the ball running. The coverage we were getting and nobody on the quarterback, you take what they give you."
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner had started the Gophers' first three games of the season but has dealt with multiple injuries early in the season. He was hobbled during practice this week with a toe injury and although he suited up for warmups Saturday, he never saw the field.
That left it up to Streveler, a redshirt freshman making his first career start. Streveler did play in each of Minnesota's first three games and completed a touchdown pass last Saturday at TCU. But coming off the bench and starting a game are two different things.
Luckily for Streveler, he didn't need to make plays with his arm -- Minnesota started off the game with 14 consecutive run plays before Streveler attempted his first pass, an incompletion to sophomore Donovahn Jones. Instead, Streveler let his legs do the work. He showed off his speed throughout the course of the game, breaking off a number of long runs. His longest of the day was a 30-yarder at the start of the third quarter that put him over the 100-yard mark for the game.
On a handful of his 18 carries, Streveler wound up taking hits at the end of the play -- and he was also the deliverer of the punishment a few times, as well.
"Contact is probably my favorite part of football over anything else, which is not the quarterback thing," Streveler said. "Everybody's different. I love getting hit. I love hitting people. That's never really been an issue."
Streveler may have to dole out a few more hits next Saturday in Ann Arbor as the Gophers open up Big Ten play against the Michigan Wolverines. It remains to be seen if Leidner will be healthy enough to take the field; he went through practice this week but realized by Thursday that he wasn't going to be healthy enough to play against San Jose State. Minnesota is also hopeful that tight end Maxx Williams -- who wasn't in uniform on Saturday -- will be healthy enough to return against the Wolverines.
Regardless of which quarterback is under center next weekend, he'll likely have to complete more than just one pass. Against the Spartans on Saturday, though, one completion was enough to earn a win.
"I think you always go into the game with the pass plays you like, expecting to run," Streveler said. "They were giving us the zone read that we were running. If it's not broke, why try to fix it?"
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