SB Nation Minnesota - Gophers At Rebels: Minnesota Defeats UNLV, 30-27, In Three Overtimes

Derrick Wells Earns Big Ten's Defensive Player Of Week

2012-09-04T14:29:40Z

Derrick Wells has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, earning the award after a crucial interception in the third overtime of the Golden Gophers' game against the UNLV Rebels. The defensive back's second interception of the game set up a 32-yard field goal that gave Minnesota the 30-27 win. Wells also had eight tackles, six of them solo, and two passes broken up.

Wells, a sophomore, won the award in his first game as a starter. He is the first player from Minnesota to win the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week award since defensive back Kim Royston received the award on Nov. 28, 2011.

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Minnesota Vs. UNLV: Reaction To MarQueis Gray's Play In Close Win

2012-09-02T21:58:27Z

It didn't come easy, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers outlasted the UNLV Rebels 30-27 in triple overtime to begin the season 1-0.

While the win was nice, many fans were expecting big things out of the Gophers and were disappointed with the play of some including quarterback MarQueis Gray. The folks over at The Daily Gopher broke down the play of the signal-caller that had a less-than-stellar day.

"Everybody was unhappy with Q's overall performance, but he didn't back down from the challenge and in the end made the plays we needed to win in OT. But early in the game he was inaccurate and jumpy. He didn't look like the Senior leader her is supposed to be."

As for positives, they give kudos to the wide receiving unit, that showed up in a big way in the win.

"Even with the unfortunate injury of Jamel Harbison there are a lot of weapons and depth in this group. 8 different (non-RB) receivers had at least 1 catch, led by DCT with 4. AJ Barker? That's an exciting development. 3 catches for 101 yards. And KJ Maye? I can't wait to watch this guy for the next 4 years."

All in all, the game was a learning experience that should help the Golden Gophers get their act together before conference play begins.

For more on the Golden Gophers, visit The Daily Gopher.

Jamel Harbison Injury: Gophers Wide Receiver Will Be Forced To Redshirt

2012-09-02T17:57:22Z

Wide receiver Jamel Harbison will redshirt the 2012 season after the Minnesota Golden Gophers freshman tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Thursday's victory against the UNLV Rebels. Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that it was disappointing considering the promise of the 5'11" receiver.

"The good Lord is probably telling us we need to redshirt him anyway," Kill said of Harbison. He added later, "Am I disappointed? Yeah, I think Jamel had a chance to be one of our premier offensive players. At the same time, I know I've got him for four years."

Because the injury came so early, Harbison won't lose a year of eligibility when he returns. A freshman out of Charlotte, N.C., Harbison didn't have a catch in Thursday's 30-27 double-overtime victory. He rushed one time for two yards and was tackled hard on that play, Kill told the paper.

The coach did not know if the injury occurred on that specific play or not.

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Gophers At Rebels: One Last Look Back At The Season Opener

2012-08-31T16:55:53Z

The Minnesota Golden Gophers managed to survive Thursday night's season opener, knocking off the UNLV Rebels in three overtimes in Las Vegas. The stat sheet shows that the Gophers probably should have won by a significantly larger margin than the three points they were victorious by, but our friends at The Daily Gopher can tell you exactly why that wasn't the case.

When you look at most of the numbers, this looks like a game where the Gophers played great. If I were to tell you that (Marqueis) Gray would complete 56.7% of his passes for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception; I think we'd all be pretty pleased with those numbers. Donnell Kirkwood ran the ball great leading a Gopher rushing attack that gained 226 yards. The defense held UNLV to 13 points and 222 yards in regulation while generating three total turnovers. In total we outgained our opponent 478 to 275. The defensive line did a nice job getting pressure on the QB getting 2 sacks and a number of hits on the passer. On paper we sort of dominated.

But the Gophers continually got in their own way. Gray's numbers look good on paper but he had two beautiful opportunities to hit wide open receivers for easy touchdowns, one to John Rabe on the first possession and the one to (Andre) McDonald when the DB fell down. Complete one of those and we don't play OT, complete them both and I would have gone to bed an hour earlier. Troy Stoudermire bobbles a punt and follows that up with a PI penalty that gives UNLV their lone regulation touchdown. Add to those plays 11 penalties, Gray's interception, TERRIBLE punting, lack of contain defensively and you created an environment for UNLV to stick around and nearly win that game.

Yes, the Gophers came out with a victory on Thursday night. However, with all due respect to UNLV, if they look the way they did last night when it comes time for Big Ten action, it's going to be a long season for Jerry Kill's squad. Among the 11 penalties that the Gophers committed last night were a couple of personal fouls that allowed drives to be extended, and when you're a team that has the razor-thin margin for error that the Gophers have, those sorts of things simply can't become a trend.

As The Daily Gopher said, Marqueis Gray did look pretty good on paper, racking up 337 yards of offense (269 passing yards, 68 rushing yards), but he could have had so much more and made things a lot easier for the Gophers had he not missed a couple of wide open receivers during the course of the game. Hopefully Gray can get a better handle on his accuracy during the course of the season.

Defensively, after a shaky first series, the Gophers did a pretty good job. UNLV's lone touchdown came when they started inside the Minnesota 35 after Stoudermire's muffed punt, and for the most part Minnesota's defense really controlled things. Safety Derrick Wells was particularly impressive with eight tackles and two interceptions, including the big one in overtime that allowed the Gophers to win it with Jordan Wettstein's field goal in the third overtime. Wells has a lot of potential at safety, and it will be interesting to see how he and the defense will develop as the season progresses.

Yes, it wasn't especially pretty, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers are 1-0, and headed back to the Twin Cities to prepare for the 2012 home opener against New Hampshire. It's always better to win ugly than to lose pretty, and the Gophers are quite happy to have gotten that first game under their belts with a W.

Gophers At Rebels Final Score: Minnesota Defeats UNLV, 30-27, In Three Overtimes

2012-08-31T06:52:23Z

The Minnesota Golden Gophers finally ended their season opener in Las Vegas, to positive results. In the third overtime, the Gophers defeated the UNLV Rebels by a score of 30-27.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in each of the first two overtimes after finishing regulation tied at 13. The Rebels got the ball first to start the third overtime, and it looked like they would put up a third consecutive score, but on a Nick Sherry pass into the end zone, safety Derrick Wells nabbed his second interception of the evening (and the third for the Gophers on the evening overall) to put the Gophers in the driver's seat.

The Gophers then got the ball at the UNLV 25-yard line and, after three consecutive Donnell Kirkwood runs, brought Jordan Wettstein in to attempt a 32-yard field goal for the win. Wettstein's kick was good, and the Gophers moved their record to 1-0 in the first game of the season for the Big Ten Conference.

The Gophers will host New Hampshire at TCF Bank Stadium a week from Saturday for their 2012 home opener.

We'll have a longer recap for your reading pleasure up shortly.

Gophers At Rebels Update: Third OT On Tap For Minnesota And UNLV

2012-08-31T06:41:53Z

We've got some more free football ahead in Las Vegas, as the UNLV Rebels and the Minnesota Golden Gophers are tied at 27 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The second overtime started the same way the first overtime ended, with Marqueis Gray finding John Rabe for a touchdown. This one was for 25 yards, and Rabe was wide open on the play, basically walking into the end zone after the catch.

UNLV then got the ball back, and Tim Cornett continued to do the damage for UNLV. More accurately, the Gophers damaged themselves, as they stopped Cornett on UNLV's first play for no gain, but a late hit penalty moved the ball to the Minnesota 11-yard line. The Gophers forced a fourth down for the Rebels, but Nick Sherry was able to scramble and find Devante Davis in the back of the end zone for the tying touchdown.

So, we go to a third overtime in Las Vegas with the UNLV Rebels and the Minnesota Golden Gophers tied at 27. From this point forward, each touchdown must be followed by a two-point conversion attempt rather than being allowed to attempt a standard extra point.

Gophers At Rebels Score Update: Teams Exchange Touchdowns, Go To Second OT

2012-08-31T06:34:48Z

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and UNLV Rebels have exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime at Sam Boyd Stadium, and so they will go on to a second overtime tied at 20.

UNLV got the ball first, and the Tim Cornett show continued, as he carried the ball three times for 25 yards, the last carry being an 18-yard touchdown to give the Rebels a 20-13 lead.

The Gophers answered right back thanks to Marqueis Gray. Gray scrambled for three yards on Minnesota's first play, and a 15-yard late hit penalty moved the ball to the UNLV 10-yard line. Two plays later, Gray found John Rabe for a 10-yard touchdown pass, and the game was tied again at 20.

So, with that, we will move on to a second overtime with the teams tied at 20. This time, Minnesota will get the ball first and the Rebels will have to attempt to answer whatever Minnesota might do.

Gophers At Rebels Update: Free Football In Las Vegas

2012-08-31T06:22:39Z

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and UNLV Rebels are heading to overtime in the season opener, as the teams are tied at 13 at the end of regulation.

Looking at the stat sheet, you wouldn't think the Gophers would need overtime, having nearly twice as many yards as the Rebels (429 to 222), but numerous mistakes by Minnesota have allowed UNLV to stay in this one, and that's why we're looking at overtime.

There was a bit of excitement at the end of regulation, as a Gopher punt bounced off of the UNLV returner at around the 10-yard line and bounced into the end zone. None of the Gopher defenders could get on it, however, and so it went out of the end zone for a touchback. UNLV ran one play into the line, and settled for the overtime period.

After regulation, the UNLV Rebels and Minnesota Golden Gophers are tied at 13. The Gophers won the overtime coin toss and elected to go on defense first.