UCLA spent Saturday turning Minnesota’s mistakes into big plays, and the Bruins’ passing game eventually blew the game open in a 34-20 win at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, filling in for starter Nico Iamaleava, lit up the Gophers with 303 passing yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scores came in the fourth quarter, both on 75-yard strikes to Aidan Mizell, and both came when Minnesota’s secondary lost track of him.
The result kept eighth-ranked UCLA unbeaten at 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten. The Bruins are one of only three undefeated teams left in the nation, along with Utah and Miami (Fla.). Minnesota dropped to 5-3 and 3-2, leaving the Gophers one win short of bowl eligibility after a second straight loss.
For Minnesota, the frustrating part was that the turnover battle actually went its way. The Gophers finished plus-1, but they managed only three points off two takeaways. Special teams also hurt badly, with two missed field goals and a blocked punt.
The Gophers did briefly pull even at 17-17 in the fourth quarter. After Lindsey hit Noah Jennings for 27 yards, he found tight end George Rohl on a pop pass for a 4-yard touchdown.
But the tie lasted only one play before Dieffenbach hit Mizell deep for the first of his two long touchdowns. Minnesota then answered with a 36-yard field goal from Luke Drzewiecki, only to watch UCLA strike again on the next snap.
That second Mizell touchdown came after cornerback Aydan West couldn’t stay with him downfield.
Minnesota’s kicking issues were a constant theme. Drzewiecki missed two 56-yard attempts, and both misses turned into UCLA touchdowns on either side of halftime. One of those came after the Bruins took over with good field position, then Wayne Knight broke free for a 31-yard run before Dieffenbach found Noah Fox-Flores for a 27-yard touchdown and a 17-10 lead.
The Gophers had actually tied the game at 10-10 just before halftime. On the final play of the first half, Drzewiecki connected from 38 yards. That drive was made possible by linebacker Maverick Baranowski’s interception of Dieffenbach at the UCLA 44 with 55 seconds left.
Minnesota’s earlier touchdown came from Darius Taylor’s 3-yard run in the second quarter. That score was set up by a third-and-5 conversion when Lindsey escaped pressure, rolled right and hit tight end Jacob Simpson for a 21-yard gain, Simpson’s first catch of the season.
But UCLA’s offense kept finding space, and Minnesota’s defense kept giving it up. The Bruins averaged 18.9 yards per pass attempt on Saturday, far above the 6.4 yards per attempt Minnesota had allowed this season, which ranked 31st nationally.
The opening drive was a warning sign. A coverage bust left Semanj Morgan wide open over the middle for a 54-yard gain, and although Minnesota stiffened from the 16, UCLA still took a 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal.
On the next possession, Drzewiecki’s 56-yard try sailed wide right for his first miss in 15 attempts this season. UCLA then capitalized on the short field, moving 18, 28 and 12 yards before Knight scored from a yard out to make it 10-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.
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Gophers Let St. Thomas Make This Rivalry Opener Uncomfortable
The first meeting between Minnesota and St. Thomas as Division I programs in nearly a century had the feel of a neighborhood rivalry finally getting its long-awaited stage. Minnesota hosted the Tommies in a regular-season game and came away with a 76-62 win, but it was not the kind of comfortable night the Gophers might have wanted in front of a familiar crowd.
St. Thomas made things interesting with a second-half comeback attempt before Minnesota steadied itself at the line and closed it out. Isaac Asuma led all scorers with 20 points, and the Gophers free throw shooting proved to be one of the difference-makers in a game that briefly threatened to turn into a much messier opener than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Minnesota Let A Huge Upset Chance Slip Away Late Against UCLA
Minnesota had a real shot to turn a big home opportunity into something even bigger, but the game slipped away late against No. 5 UCLA. The Gophers were still hanging around before Ty Dieffenbach flipped the momentum in the fourth quarter, connecting with Aidan Mizell on a pair of long touchdown strikes that helped the Bruins pull away for a 34-20 win and stay unbeaten atop the Big Ten.
The loss will sting for Minnesota because the defense had kept things within reach, and the offense never found enough answers after halftime. Wayne Knight added 109 rushing yards and his 15th touchdown of the season for UCLA, while the Gophers also left points on the field when Luke Drzewiecki missed two long field-goal tries, a costly detail in a game that was still there to be taken. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Just Showed An Offensive Twist Fans Will Want To Track
Minnesota got a useful early-season look at a different kind of offensive balance in a 76-62 win over St. Thomas, with Isaac Asuma, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and Nolan Groves all giving the Gophers something to build on. Asuma led the way with 20 points, while Crocker-Johnson added 16 points and 10 rebounds as Minnesota opened up an 18-point halftime lead and showed it could score in more than one way.
Groves also gave the Gophers a lift with 15 points, and the performance was enough to withstand a second-half push from St. Thomas. For a team still sorting out its rotation and scoring options, the bigger takeaway may be that Minnesota had multiple players who could carry stretches of the offense, a development worth watching as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]