The Gophers lost to the Iowa State Cyclones 14-13 Thursday night in the Insight Bowl, the third straight loss for the Gophers in this bowl and their fourth straight bowl loss overall. Iowa State turned the ball over four times, but the Gophers were only able to convert them into three points. The Gophers also struggled in the redzone – two turnovers inside the ISU 20 and a missed 34-yard FG was the difference in the game.

The game opened with Iowa State driving down the field with ease, until they got to the Gophers 26 yard line. On a 4th and 1, instead of trying for a FG, the Cyclones went for it and the Gophers stopped them. On the ensuing Gopher drive Adam Weber hit DaJon McKnight for a 41-yard gain, and the Gophers would convert with a 36-yard Eric Ellestad FG to take a 3-0 lead. McKnight was the player of the game for the Gophers, hauling in 7 receptions for 124 yards. Look for big things for him in the future.

Both offenses were lethargic for the next quarter until Iowa State went on a 71-yard drive and scored a TD to go up 7-3 with 4:35 to go in the first half. In that drive the Gophers allowed ISU to convert on two 3rd and 14s. The Gopher offense responded, putting together several nice completions and getting a 1st and 10 on the ISU 20 yard line. But on the next play Weber threw an interception when Troy Stoudermire cut inside and Weber threw to where Stoudermire was. Iowa State then drove 89 yards in six plays, scoring on a 38-yard TD pass with 23 seconds remaining to take a 14-3 lead into half.

After going three-and-out on the first possession of the second half, the Gopher offense finally started to come to life after a fumble recovery at the Gophers 32. The Gophers mixed the pass with the run, driving down to the ISU 17 yard line. But for the first time all season, Ellestad missed a FG in the 34-yard range, and the score remained 14-3.

After a three-and-out by ISU came a mini-turning point in the game. After appearing to go three-and-out, the Gophers faked a punt from their own 37 yard line. Blake Hauden hit Kyle Theret who was wide open to the right, and Theret scampered along the sidelines for 40 yards. On the next play, Weber hit Nick Tow-Arnett off a beautiful play action fake for a 23-yard TD pass. The Gophers were down 14-10 and things were starting to look up.

ISU fumbled again on their next possession, and the Gophers recovered at their own 46. The Gophers drove the field, but the drive stalled at the Iowa State 4 yard line. Ellestad hit a 21-yard FG to pull the Gophers within 14-13 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The big drive of the game came when the Gophers took over on their own 1 yard line with 7:11 remaining in the game. But on the first play, Weber hit McKnight for a 19-yard gain, and later in the drive MarQueis Gray (who also had 3 receptions for 34 yards on the day) had a 28-yard run. After four more positive plays the Gophers had a 1st and 10 from the ISU 17 yard line with just over 3:00 remaining, but MarQueis Gray fumbled when trying another run, and the Cyclones recovered. ISU would go on to run for two more first downs to seal the victory.

Overall the game was pretty even, with the Gophers ending up with a 435 to 431 total yards advantage. In the end the difference was that the Gophers could not take advantage of the opportunities given to them. They were able to force 4 turnovers, but could only convert 3 points. They had 2 redzone turnovers of their own, and had a missed FG. If the Gophers would not have botched away their opportunities they could have won comfortably.

Even though the offense ended up with 435 yards, it’s clear the there is still much work to be done. Weber did improve in the second half, but in the first half he looked like the same struggling QB he’s looked like for much of the year. The Gophers ended up with 123 rushing yards, but most of those did not come until the passing game took off. For a team that wants to have the running game be their identity, they still have a long way to go there.

Defensively I was a little disappointed, but you have to credit the Gophers defense for only allowing two scores in the game. Unfortunately they were not able to come through at the end to give the Gopher offense the ball one more time.

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