PHOENIX, Ariz. – Minnesota used a punishing ground game and some stifling defense to defeat West Virginia 18-6 in this year’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl game played at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.
Offensive Player of the Game Ky Thomas ran 21 times for 144 yards and backup Mar’Keise Irving added 129 yards in helping the Golden Gophers improve to 3-0 in bowl games under coach P.J. Fleck.
Overall, the Golden Gophers ran 51 times for 249 yards and possessed the football for more than 38 minutes in a performance that really typified their 2021 season. Minnesota came into today’s game ranking fourth in the country in time of possession and total defense, and both of those areas really shined tonight.
“I thought they kind of grinded out a win,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “It’s a credit to them and that’s kind of how they played all year.”
West Virginia quarterback Jarret Doege was sacked five times and managed only 140 yards through the air against a Minnesota pass defense giving up 184.7 yards per game. Overall, the Mountaineers produced just 206 total yards and their longest play from scrimmage was Reece Smith’s 15-yard second quarter reception.
WVU was without 1,000-yard rusher Leddie Brown, who opted out of the bowl game to get a head start on his NFL career, and was forced into using backup offensive linemen and even defensive tackle Akheem Mesidor at tight end because of injuries and transfers.
“Offensively it was a struggle,” Brown said. “We were down some personnel but we’ve got to be better. They knew we were down some personnel and they probably had some information on us that a normal opponent wouldn’t have.”
The first half was pretty much dominated by the Golden Gophers, although they had just a 15-6 lead to show for it at intermission.
Minnesota’s first two offensive possessions ended at the Mountaineers’ 15 without any points. The first unsuccessful drive was a result of Matthew Trickett’s missed field goal, and the other came when Thomas fumbled and it was recovered by Charles Woods at the 6.
Defensive end Taijh Alston was credited with the strip.
Meanwhile, West Virginia’s first six offensive plays were all passes and netted just 6 yards. Following a short Tyler Sumpter punt that gave Minnesota possession of the football at its own 46, an Irving 16-yard run got the ball to the WVU 38. Another Irving run to the far side of the field for 23 yards took the ball to the WVU 2 where two plays later, offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, lining up at fullback, bulled his way into the end zone.
Holder Brock Annexstad took the conversion snap and ran the ball into the end zone for the 2-point conversion giving Minnesota an 8-0 lead with 14:19 remaining in the second quarter.
WVU followed with its best offensive series of the game. The Mountaineers, taking over at their 25, marched 75 yards in 14 plays and eventually got into the end zone when Doege reached the far pylon on his fourth-and-goal scramble. Two Minnesota defensive penalties, one a pass interference penalty called in the end zone on Tyler Nubin, aided the drive. West Virginia’s longest play of the drive was Doege’s 14-yard pass over the middle to Sam James.
WVU’s defense forced a three and out, but the offense stalled at its own 35 and the Mountaineers were forced to punt. Minnesota took over at its own 39 and two plays later, Thomas broke free at the 45, cut back against the grain and ran 50 yards to the Mountaineer 9. Two runs, the second by Thomas from the 5, got Minnesota back into the end zone. Trickett’s conversion kick was successful, giving the Golden Gophers a 15-6 lead with 2:14 to go in the half.
On West Virginia’s ensuing possession, short Doege sideline passes moved the ball to the 40, and WVU briefly managed to avoid a turnover when Smith fumbled his 15-yard reception and Tony Mathis Jr. recovered the football at the Minnesota 34. But three plays later, on third and 11 from the 35, Doege’s pass down the middle of the field under heavy pressure was intercepted by Michael Dixon at the 16.
The Gophers took a knee and ran out the clock.
After an exchange of possessions to begin the third quarter, Minnesota extended its lead to 18-6 when Trickett kicked a 49-yard field goal to cap an eight-play, 39-yard drive.
That was the only scoring of the second half.
Minnesota (9-4) did have an opportunity to tack on a late touchdown with the ball sitting first-and-goal at the West Virginia 3, but Fleck had Morgan kneel down four times, running out all but four seconds of the game clock.
“I thought our guys competed,” Brown said. “I was not disappointed with their effort. I thought we fought really hard to finish the year to get an opportunity to play in the postseason and it’s going to help our program moving forward.
“It’s disappointing because we’ve got a really small group of guys who played their last game and it hurts. It’s really the first time in my head coaching career we’ve experienced a loss in our last game and it’s a sad locker room, especially those guys who have given a lot to this program,” added Brown, who drops to 4-1 in bowl games as a head coach.
Defensive end Esezi Otomewo had two sacks, while Boye Mafe, Jah Joyner and Nubin were each credited with sacks.
Nubin, who led the Gophers with eight tackles, was named Defensive Player of the Game. West Virginia was 4 for 13 on third down, 0 for 2 on fourth down and averaged just 3.6 yards per play.
Minnesota was the third top-10 ranked defense West Virginia faced this season. Oklahoma State finished the regular season ranked third giving up 278.4 yards per game, and Iowa State was 10th allowing 310.3 yards per contest.
“If you look at our schedule, we’ve played some elite defenses and Minnesota was an elite defense,” Brown said. “And we’ve played about four other ones, but we’ve got to be better on that side of the ball against those elite defenses to give ourselves a chance to win, and it starts with me.”
Redshirt freshman Tony Mathis Jr., getting his first career start at running back, ran 13 times for 56 yards and caught a team-best five passes for 24 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Lance Dixon produced a game-best 11 tackles for the WVU defense. Woods came up with both Mountaineer turnovers; he also intercepted a Morgan pass along the far sideline early in the fourth quarter.
Dante Stills and Jackie Matthews were credited with sacks.
“I thought defensively we hung in there,” Brown said. “We forced two takeaways and they got some yards rushing the football, but we hung in there and really gave us a chance to win.”
West Virginia concludes its season with a 6-7 record under third-year coach Neal Brown.
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