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Orange At Gophers Update: Minnesota Fails To Cash In On Nassib's Mistake

A bit of a crazy start at TCF Bank Stadium, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers attempt to push their record on the season to 4-0 at the expense of the Syracuse Orange.

On the opening kickoff, Syracuse's return man appeared to step out of the end zone before taking a knee in the end zone. It could have been called a safety against the Orange, but instead the officials gave Syracuse the ball at the 25-yard line as a touchback.

However, on the first play from scrimmage for Syracuse, a pass from quarterback Ryan Nassib went off of the hands of the hands of the intended receiver and into the hands of Minnesota's Cedric Thompson for an interception.

The Gophers attempted to drive the ball downfield, but an offensive pass interference call on Isaac Fruechte pushed the ball back. Max Shortell found A.J. Barker in the end zone, but the ball was jarred out of his hands by a Syracuse defender.

Minnesota brought Jordan Wettstein in for a field goal attempt, and after a false start penalty turned it from a 39-yard attempt into a 44-yard attempt, and Wettstein pushed it wide to the right.

So, the Gophers were unable to take advantage of the early mistake by Syracuse, and a little less than three minutes into the ball game, we're still scoreless.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.