Sauter Era Off To A Great Start - majesty95's Dynasty

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Sauter Era Off To A Great Start

Posted on July 31, 2011 at 02:09 PM.

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Cory Sauter era of Minnesota Golden Gopher football got off to a great start Saturday afternoon as the Gophers stunned USC 45-31 at The Coliseum. The win was Minesota's first over USC since 1955. It also marked their first ever win in Los Angeles.

Sauter's new run-n-shoot offense delivered on expectations early as MarQueis Gray hit freshman Marcus Jones for a 62-yard touchdown pass just 52 seconds into the game. While the offense struggled at times, the Gophers put up 479 yards of total offense including 214 on the ground.

The new 4-2-5 defense struggled to stop the high powered Trojan offense giving up 539 yards (414 passing) to USC. However, the Gopher defense was resilient forcing seven Trojan turnovers.

Marcus Jones was the player of the game in his first ever appearance for Minnesota haling in seven passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Gray and backup Tom Parish combined to go 14-of-24 for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Halfback Duane Bennett piled up 160 yards rushing on 19 carries and added a touchdown.

The win did not come without sacrifices however as Gray left the game in the second quarter with a broken tailbone. He is expected to miss 10 weeks.

Next week the Gophers will get a chance to put their new offense, defense, and quarterback on display in front of the home fans as they host New Mexico State at TCF Bank Stadium.