Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Oct 22, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Oct 22, 2016

Sophomore Emmit Carpenter kicked a 28-yard field goal with six seconds remaining and sophomore running back Rodney Smith scored two touchdowns, one on a kickoff return, as Minnesota produced a 34-32 victory over Rutgers on Saturday in Big Ten play at Minneapolis.

Smith rushed for 111 yards to go with the 94-yard kickoff return and senior defensive end Hendrick Ekpe had two sacks, including a forced fumble on one to set up a touchdown. Senior quarterback Mitch Leidner passed for 156 yards with one interception and sophomore running back Shannon Brooks rushed for 87 yards and one score for the Golden Gophers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten).

Scarlet Knights sophomore quarterback Giovanni Rescigno passed for 220 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his first career start. True freshman cornerback Damon Hayes returned an interception for a touchdown for Rutgers (2-6, 0-5), which has lost five straight games.

The Scarlet Knights took their only lead of the game late in the fourth quarter after Golden Gophers senior Drew Wolitarsky fumbled a punt and Rutgers senior Isaiah Johnson recovered at the Minnesota 23-yard line. Three plays netted just one yards before junior kicker David Bonagura hit a 40-yard field goal to give Rutgers a 32-31 lead with 4:01 remaining.

Minnesota answered by driving 59 yards on 13 plays to set up Carpenter's decisive field goal.

The Scarlet Knights trailed by 18 after the opening period but pulled with 21-17 on Rescigno's 37-yard pass to senior receiver Andre Patton with 13:29 left in the third quarter. Carpenter kicked a 39-yard field goal to push the lead back up to seven before Hayes intercepted Leidner and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown with 6:29 to play.

But the Scarlet Knights didn't tie the score following Hayes' pick-six as Bonagura clanked the point-after off the left upright to keep Rutgers behind 24-23. Smith returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to give the Golden Gophers a 31-23 lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter.

Rutgers closed within 31-29 when Rescigno threw an 18-yard touchdown down to redshirt freshman receiver Jawuan Harris with 11:54 left in the contest. The Scarlet Knights again missed an opportunity to tie as Rescigno's two-point conversion pass was incomplete.

The Golden Gophers scored three first-quarter touchdowns while building a 21-3 advantage.

Brooks scored a 1-yard run to cap Minnesota's game-opening 10-play, 67-yard drive before Rutgers got on the board when Bonagura kicked a 28-yard field goal.

Smith scored on a 6-yard run to make it 14-3 with 1:55 remaining in the quarter. Ekpe sacked Resicgno and forced a fumble and the Golden Gophers took over at the Rutgers' 18-yard line and tacked on Leidner's 2-yard keeper with 21 seconds left in the quarter.

Rescigno tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to senior running back Justin Goodwin to cut the Scarlet Knights' deficit to 21-10 with 7:51 left in the half.