When P.J. Fleck and his Gophers coaching staff drew up their game plan for Saturday night's contest at Oregon State, front and center was feeding the Beavers a large dose of Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks, with the hope that that running game would wear down the opponent and control the clock.
And the game went just the way Minnesota's staff wanted on a rainy night at Reser Stadium, with the Gophers basically grinding the Beavers into submission in the second half of a 48-14 rout.
But an interesting development happened during the march to march all over the field. Fleck and the Gophers just might have found their No. 1 quarterback.
Senior Conor Rhoda, who's been in a job share with sophomore Demry Croft, asserted himself effectively and efficiently, completing seven of eight passes for 158 yards and a touchdown — and an eye-popping 22.6 yards per completion.
"We didn't ask him to do a ton in the pass game, but we needed to run the football,'' Fleck said. "He executed well. He led better than he ever has.''
Fleck would not commit to saying Rhoda won the No. 1 job over Croft. But a second-quarter sequence displayed the separation that Rhoda has reached in the QB battle.
After Oregon State had trimmed Minnesota's lead to 17-7 with a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, Fleck sent out Croft for his second possession of the game. On second-and-10 from the Gophers 26-yard line, Croft tried to run but fumbled under rainy conditions. Instead of falling on the ball, he tried to pick it up. The Beavers recovered, and three plays later trimmed Minnesota's lead to 17-14.
Momentum had swung to Oregon State's favor. Rhoda quickly swung it back.
