Sid Hartman: Gophers stun doubters with rout

Based on the performance of the Gophers football team in losing 30-7 to Texas Christian and completing one of seven passes in beating San Jose State 24-7, nobody in their right mind expected coach Jerry Kill's team not only to beat the Wolverines but to dominate them both offensively and defensively like no Maroon and Gold team had done since the days of Bernie Bierman and Murray Warmath.

This is certainly not one of the great Michigan teams, with coach Brady Hoke on the hot seat, but still the Las Vegas sportsbooks had the Gophers as nearly a two-touchdown underdog.

The 30-14 Gophers victory in Ann Arbor was a big surprise, especially considering Michigan had won 22 of the previous 23 meetings.

Yes, some fans and even some media members campaigned for Kill to give up coaching when the Gophers coach was experiencing problems with seizures a year ago.

Kill told reporters at Michigan Stadium after the game about how happy he was for his players, adding that they have been relentless and have been through a lot.

He also mentioned what he said at halftime with the Gophers leading 10-7.

"I told them we were going to get out there quickly, because I didn't want them lying around. And the second thing I said — I said you did a great job in the first half, but I said before the game, don't ever look at the scoreboard, you're at the University of Michigan. If we're up 14, you better play hard, and if we're down 14, you better play hard. There are X amount of plays in a game, and 10-12 are the difference, and that's why you've got to play hard all the time."

Kill, whose record has improved each year with the Gophers, and the entire coaching staff expected big things this season, but those expectations had to be tempered after they lost some 10 players at various periods to injury and didn't have a healthy quarterback in Mitch Leidner. He still wasn't 100 percent healthy Saturday, but the Lakeville South product completed 14 of 22 passes for 167 yards and also ran for a 10-yard touchdown.

Also missing time to injury was standout tight end Maxx Williams, who came back Saturday and caught four passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Even though Michigan had lost to Notre Dame and Utah, the Wolverines had limited their first four opponents to 80.3 yards per game rushing, good enough for ninth in the country.

But on Saturday, David Cobb had 111 yards rushing himself at halftime with the blocking of an offensive line that was playing like it was expected to for the first time this season. Cobb wound up with 183 yards, an average of 5.7 per carry. In addition, the senior caught three passes for 50 yards, including a key one of 33 yards.

"It was a lot of emotion coming from him," Cobb said of Kill. "He has so much passion and love for us, and he wants to see us do well."

The Gophers as a team rushed for 206 yards to 83 for Michigan. And they passed for 167 yards to 88 by Michigan, and 39 of those Wolverines yards came in the last 11 minutes, 27 seconds with Devin Gardner at quarterback.

The Gophers defense had limited Michigan to 106 yards of offense until Gardner, the deposed starter, replaced Shane Morris, who completed only seven of 19 for 49 yards. The unit lived up to the praise of coaches who expected the defensive players to be much improved. Michigan on the day had two touchdowns, eight punts and two turnovers. The Gophers were the first team to outgain the Wolverines this year.

Now, with two weeks before their next game against Northwestern, the Gophers can rest, and overnight they have become a contender to do some damage in the Big Ten.

A lot of people thought that Christian Ponder's days with the Vikings were over, but with the season-ending injury to Matt Cassel, Ponder is now the No. 2 quarterback and could play at a moment's notice.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner said the former Vikings starter is getting better.

"I think he has improved, and I also think when I watch games from last year, he played better than people give him credit for," Turner said. "I think he has been a pro about it and moved on."

What does Ponder need to improve if he gets in the game? "The biggest thing for any quarterback is eliminating negative plays," Turner said. "We saw that in the game against New England, Matt made a couple bad decisions and gave them the ball on a short field, you can't do that. You eliminate negative plays."

And if rookie starter Teddy Bridgewater were to get hurt, there could be a lot of embarrassed people among the Vikings fans and media, because Turner believes Ponder can do what he did in 2012, when he led the team to a 10-6 record and the playoffs.

Jottings
• Tim Allen, who was the director of football operations under Glen Mason both with the Gophers and at Kansas, is now in the same role at Michigan State, working with his son Brett, who is a graduate student assistant with the defense. And his youngest son, Brandon, is an excellent high school athlete being recruited by D-I schools for both basketball and football.

• Former Vikings great Chuck Foreman recently got a very nice honor when he had a football field named after him at Frederick High School in Maryland, his alma mater. The Frederick News-Post reported that Foreman said in his speech, "I really don't have the words in my heart to tell you how appreciative I am."

• Even though the Vikings are hampered by injuries and the absence of Adrian Peterson, online sportsbook Bovada still has them ahead of the Rams, Titans, Buccaneers, Jaguars and Raiders in Super Bowl odds.

• Former Vikings coach Mike Tice has gotten a lot of credit for the great protection that quarterback Matt Ryan has gotten this season for the Falcons. Tice is in his first season as the Atlanta offensive line coach.

• Speaking of credit, a lot should go to the Bears coach Marc Trestman, the former Gophers quarterback from St. Louis Park whose team lost its opener at home against the Bills only to rally and win two difficult road games at San Francisco and the New York Jets.

• Former Gophers baseball player A.J. Pettersen, who recently retired after four seasons in the Twins minor league system, was named the baseball coach at Chanhassen High School.

• Gaston Diedhiou, the 6-9 Gophers basketball recruit who was not admitted to the university despite passing the NCAA clearinghouse, could be eligible to play in January.