The Minnesota Golden Gophers certainly didn't make things easy on themselves, but they did manage to hold off a furious, last-minute rally by the Miami (Ohio) University Redhawks on Saturday afternoon to get Jerry Kill his first win as the head coach of the Gophers by a final score of 29-23.
The last few minutes saw some pretty crazy action, to say the least. The Gophers failed on a 4th-and-9 attempt from the Miami (Ohio) 34-yard line late in the game, giving the Redhawks the ball with good field position. From there, junior quarterback Zac Dysert moved the Redhawks down the field, converting a big 4th-and-10 play to keep the Redhawks' final drive alive. However, on Miami's final offensive play, Dysert attempted to force one to Chris Givens in double coverage, and Kim Royston broke up the pass to preserve the Minnesota victory.
We'll have a more in-depth recap of this one later on, but for now, the Gophers have emerged with their first victory of the 2011 season in a thriller over the Miami (Ohio) University Redhawks by a final score of 29-23.