San Jose State Spartans vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Sep 20, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 20, 2014

Minnesota 24, San Jose State 7: David Cobb rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns to lead the ground-oriented Golden Gophers to the home win over the mistake-prone Spartans.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Streveler added 161 rushing yards and a TD in his first start replacing injured starter Mitch Leidner for Minnesota (3-1), which took advantage of five turnovers and two missed field goals by San Jose State (1-2). Streveler completed only one pass in seven attempts for seven yards and an interception, but Minnesota rushed for 380 yards on 58 attempts – the second straight season in which it topped the 350-yard mark in a home win over the Spartans.

Quarterback Blake Jurich was 14-of-29 for 161 yards with a touchdown, a pair of interceptions and a fumble for San Jose State, which had its lowest-scoring game since a 57-3 season-opening loss to Stanford in 2011. Tyler Winston caught nine passes for 94 yards and the Spartans’ lone TD while Jarrod Lawson rushed for 56 yards on 18 carries in his first game back from a two-game suspension.

The teams traded missed opportunities and turnovers in a scoreless third quarter before a lightning delay interrupted play for 63 minutes with 11:38 remaining in the contest. Minnesota, which overcame two turnovers and a season-high 10 penalties for 80 yards, put the game away on Cobb’s 16-yard touchdown run with 3:21 remaining.

The Gophers started fast with defensive back Damarius Travis intercepting Jurich on the second play of the game, and Minnesota scored on each of its first two possessions to build a quick 10-0 lead. The Spartans trimmed the lead to 10-7 before the teams traded turnovers during the final 30 seconds of the second quarter deep in San Jose State territory, and Minnesota took advantage of Eric Murray’s diving sideline interception to score on Streveler’s 1-yard sneak on the final play of the half for a 17-7 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Jose State racked up a 625-78 passing-yards advantage against Minnesota in the last two seasons but was outscored 67-31 in the Gophers’ sweep, including a 43-24 loss a year ago. … The win was Minnesota’s ninth straight home victory over a non-conference opponent since suffering a 37-24 loss to FCS power North Dakota State in 2011. … The Gophers are now 20-0 under coach Jerry Kill when leading or tied at halftime and 0-22 when trailing at the break.