The Minnesota Golden Gophers got plenty of help from the USC Trojans on their latest drive, with a personal foul penalty against the Trojans starting them at their own 47-yard line. However, a fairly impressive drive wound up netting the Gophers only a field goal, as they trail USC 12-3 in the season opener.
Quarterback Marqueis Gray got the drive going with a 17-yard fade to Da'Jon McKnight to move the Gophers into Trojan territory. A third down conversion to Malcolm Mouton kept the drive alive, and another personal foul against USC moved the Gophers down to near the USC 10-yard line. However, Gray's pass to Marcus Jones came up just short of the end zone, and Minnesota coach Jerry Kill decided to play it safe and get his team on the board. Chris Hawthorne connected on the field goal from 21 yards out, and the Gophers got their first points of the 2011 season.
With four minutes remaining in the second quarter of play, the Minnesota Golden Gophers trail the USC Trojans by a score of 12-3.