Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. USC Trojans Recap

USC 32, Minnesota 21

A win is a win, no matter if it is by one point or by 70 points. USC (3-0) has struggled to begin the season, but held off a sluggish start to defeat Minnesota (1-2) 32-21.

The Trojans continued their sloppy play with seven penalties for 72 yards on Saturday. USC leads the nation in penalties this season with 31 penalties for 321 yards through three games. On a high note, they have won 11 straight games against the Big 10 and held Minnesota to only 83 yards rushing. Minnesota star running back Duane Bennett was held to 8 yards on 7 rushes. Sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley led the Trojan air attack going 17-26 for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns. USC’s power running game showed up in fine form this weekend; Allen Bradford rushed for 131 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown.

The Gophers came out strong, leading for almost the entire first quarter. DeLeon Eskridge scored on a one yard run with 7:15 left in the first quarter to give Minnesota the lead 7-0. USC would answer with 1:47 left in the first quarter, on a three yard rush by Marc Tyler tying the game 7-7. The Trojans would strike soon after, taking a 13-7 lead on a 53 yard pass from Matt Barkley to Ronald Johnson with 11:53 left in the half.

Minnesota quarterback, Adam Weber, threw a 31 yard touchdown pass to Da’Jon McKnight with 5:47 left in the third quarter to give the Golden Gophers a 14-13 lead. The lead was short lived though, only 8 seconds. On the ensuing kickoff Robert Woods took the kick 97 yards for a touchdown to give USC a lead that would last.

The Trojan defense played a major role in this weekend’s matchup. Senior defensive tackle Jurrell Casey paced USC with 9 total tackles. Junior linebacker Chris Galippo also had a good day, recording one interception and one sack. For the Golden Gophers, freshman cornerback James Manuel had seven total tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Player of the game: Robert Woods had 155 all purpose yards and one touchdown on a 97 yard kickoff return to give the Trojans a 19-14 lead in the third quarter.

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