Gopher defense shows out and shuts out Nevada in non-conference finale

The defense forced three turnovers and recorded four sacks

Backed by a dominant defense, the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-1) wrapped up their non-conference slate with a 27-0 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-3) on Saturday.

The Gopher defense has been elite through the first three games of the season, only allowing one touchdown in 12 quarters of play. They limited Nevada to 172 yards of offense, forced three turnovers, and racked up four sacks. Their shutout of Nevada, coupled with last week’s shutout of Rhode Island, marks the program’s first back-to-back shutouts since 1962.

The Gophers’ opening drive culminated in a 52-yard field goal by Dragan Kesich, giving Minnesota a 3-0 lead. After the two teams exchanged punts, rush end Jah Joyner pressured Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis into throwing an errant pass that safety Kerry Brown turned into a diving interception. It only took two plays — including a 39-yard screen pass to wide receiver Daniel Jackson — for the Gophers to enter the red zone. But three straight passes all came up short of the end zone and Minnesota settled for a 21-yard field goal to make it a 6-0 advantage.

The Wolf Pack tried to cut that lead in half with a 42-yard field goal attempt but Danny Striggow and Anthony Smith burst through the middle to tip the ball, which fell well short of the uprights.

With the offense struggling to gain traction, Kerry Brown stepped up — or more specifically, stepped in front of a Nevada receiver — once again to create a scoring opportunity. His second interception of the game set up the Gophers inside the red zone. Two plays later, Brosmer connected with Darius Taylor for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

The Minnesota defense forced another three-and-out, giving their offense two minutes to extend their lead. Max Brosmer and co. obliged, marching 69 yards in seven plays. Taylor’s four-yard push-the-pile touchdown run gave the Gophers a 20-0 halftime lead.

The Wolf Pack offense approached midfield on their opening drive of the second half but were ultimately turned away by Minnesota, sparked by a second down sack split between linebacker Maverick Baranowski and nickel back Jack Henderson. Nevada’s punt pinned the Gophers deep inside their own territory and a holding penalty against left tackle Aireontae Ersery made it worse, putting them at their own 5-yard line. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Wolf Pack gave them new life and set up an 80-yard touchdown run by Darius Taylor.

Outside of that touchdown, it was a second half to forget for the Minnesota offense, but the Gopher defense worked hard to preserve the shutout. Nevada’s best drive of the game came in the fourth quarter. The Wolf Pack reached the Minnesota 16-yard line before cornerback Ethan Robinson intercepted Lewis in the end zone for the defense’s third turnover of the game.