Croft Leads Comeback but Gophers Fall

(by Jonathan Lewis MSU Contributor)

The Gophers fell to 0-3 in the Big 10 after a 30-27 loss to Michigan State last night. The Gophers weathered a lightning delay, and a quarterback change to give the 21^st ranked team in the nation a run for its money. But despite the comeback the Gophers still fell short. Here is a look at what went well and what didn’t.

Good: Demry Croft replaced an ineffective Connor Rhoda and led a second half surge for the Gopher offense. Croft threw three touchdown passes, all to Tyler Johnson, who had 108 yards receiving. Croft was able to get the Gopher offense rolling after Rhoda struggled to even receive the snap cleanly. It will be interesting to see who Coach Fleck decides to go with as his starter next week. The Gopher secondary did a good job of keeping the Spartan passing attack in check. Also worth noting is the Gophers never gave up and despite being down by a large margin they made a comeback in the 4^th quarter, something that I’m sure caught coach Fleck’s attention.

Bad: Connor Rhoda played himself out of consideration as the starting quarterback. Rhoda looked great during the nonconference schedule, but has been completely overwhelmed by Big 10 play. Give credit to the Gophers for pulling him in favor of Croft, who actually moved the ball downfield when he came in. The Gopher rushing attack once again struggled to gain any ground and is mostly due to continued injuries on the offensive line. The Gophers will need to try to get the rushing attack going for the rest of the year but getting starting lineman will help with that. The Gopher defense played well against the pass but was awful against the run. Michigan State ran for 245 yards on 50 carries. That will be a big issue for the Gophers as they continue to play tougher and tougher competition in the Big 10.

What’s Next: The Gophers will host Illinois on Saturday at 2:30. Illinois is 2-4 on the season, and 0-3 in Big 10 play.