College football: Defense keys Gophers’ 10-7 win

By Andy Greder
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - When quarterback Mitch Leidner threw behind and incomplete to an open Drew Wolitarsky in the second quarter Saturday, fans at TCF Bank Stadium booed the Gophers’ struggling offense.
When Leidner was sacked in the fourth quarter, boos echoed again from the announced crowd of 52,823. The crowd’s loudest boo, though, came when Minnesota nursed a three-point lead and gave the ball to Rodney Smith on third down and 19.
But the Gophers defense did enough to overcome Leidner and the offense’s struggles in Minnesota’s 10-7 win over Kent State.
It was a deflating win, with the fewest points scored in a victory since 2006 when Minnesota beat North Dakota State 10-9.
Saturday, the Gophers defense had a shutout. The Golden Flashes’ only score coming on a forced fumble and 80-yard fumble recovery by cornerback Demetrius Monday, who stripped Minnesota freshman wide receiver Rashad Still after a nine-yard completion from Leidner.
Leidner threw two first-half interceptions and slightly redeemed himself with an easy swing pass to KJ Maye for a 14-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead at halftime.
Leidner finished 17 of 27, 62 percent completions, for 184 yards.
The Gophers (2-1) improved to 1-9 in games with three or more turnovers in the coach Jerry Kill era. The last time Minnesota won with three turnovers was 42-35 over Purdue in Sept. 2005.
The Gophers looked to Saturday’s game against a Mid-American Conference foe as a point of demarcation in the coach Jerry Kill era. With the win, Kill’s program reached 27-27 in his fifth season.
But for this program to turn into a consistent winner after going 9-16 in Kill’s opening two seasons, they need better quarterback play.
Leidner entered Saturday’s game with a 153 pass-attempt streak without an interception, which was believed to be the third-longest streak in FBS. His run ended after 157 attempts when Leidner threw a little short to Eric Carter
On the next possession, Leidner again under-threw a jump ball to Rashad Still on a deep pass, and Monday intercepted it again.
Leidner’s last two-interception game came in the 31-24 loss to Ohio State last November.
The Gophers offense struggled with 288 total yards, including 104 yards rushing. Rodney Smith had 30 carries for 73 yards and a 2.4 yards per carry average.
The Gophers defense, however, gave up 142 total yards and forced Kent State to go 4 of 20 on third and fourth down.
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