The threat of a winter storm hitting the Twin Cities on Friday and Saturday prompted the Gophers to move up their spring football game two days to Thursday night. And — free from the mess that rain, snow and high winds would create — the Gold and Maroon teams put on an offensive show at TCF Bank Stadium.
Rodney Smith touched the ball six times and amassed 126 yards and a pair of long touchdowns, and true freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad passed for 186 yards and a TD as the Gold team defeated the Maroon team 24-20. But in front of an estimated crowd of 2,500, redshirt freshman quarterback Tanner Morgan of the Maroon team showed why he's the likely front-runner to be the starter by leading a touchdown drive in the final 1 minute, 21 seconds of the second quarter and nearly doing so in the final 58 seconds of the fourth.
The game ended with the Maroon at the Gold 19-yard line and Morgan throwing an incomplete pass after getting hit by defensive tackle Sam Renner.
"That wasn't drawn up to have the spring game go down to the last second, last possession. That was a lot of fun," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said.
Morgan completed 18 of 28 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those scores went to junior receiver Tyler Johnson, who made a spectacular one-handed catch for a 33-yard TD with 21 seconds left in the first half and a 23-yarder in the third quarter. He finished with six receptions for 120 yards.
Fleck saw a lot to like — and areas to improve — from Morgan and Annexstad, an early enrollee who went 11-for-18. Most important was their resolve.
"I saw them make really good passes, really good decisions. I saw them make some not-so-good decisions," Fleck said. "What I did see from those two is the responses. … One would take their team down the field, and the other would do the same thing."
The third quarterback who played, sophomore junior college transfer Vic Viramontes, split time with Annexstad with the Gold team but struggled. Viramontes went 1-for-3 for 1 yard, rushed six times for 21 yards, and fumbled twice. His second fumble led to a Maroon touchdown early in the third quarter, and he saw only one more series.