The Minnesota Golden Gophers have had their share of opportunities in the second half of their contest against the UNLV Rebels, but they haven't cashed in on them, and their most recent error might end up costing them in a big way.
On Minnesota's last drive, they were moving downfield before a sack of MarQueis Gray left the Gophers with 3rd-and-17 from the Minnesota 43. Gray dropped back to pass, and the defender that was covering freshman Andre McDonald fell down, leaving McDonald wide open. Unfortunately, Gray managed to overshoot McDonald by a good eight yards, and the Gophers were forced to punt.
On the ensuing UNLV drive, the Gophers forced a punt, but the ball bounced off of Troy Stoudermire's chest, and the Rebels recovered at the Minnesota 33. A pass interference penalty, a run by Tim Cornett, and a pass from Nick Sherry to Anthony Williams put the Rebels down at the Minnesota 5. When it looked like the Gophers might be able to get a stop, a roughing the passer penalty on D.L. Wilhite gave the Rebels a fresh set of downs at the 2-yard line.
Two plays later, Cornett found his way into the end zone from a yard out, and the Rebels took a 10-7 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Gophers are still dominating the stat sheet, but have simply shot themselves in the foot too many times in the second half. Jerry Kill's bunch needs to turn that around if they want to get out of Sam Boyd Stadium with a victory.