Gophers blown out 42-13 by No. 8 Oregon

EUGENE Ore The Gophers have played three ranked teams in road primetime games on three different networks this season They have not been must-see TV In October Minnesota got blown out by No Ohio State on NBC and smoked by No Iowa on CBS On Friday the U got pushed aside by No Oregon - on FOX It s a good thing the Gophers don t have another ranked organization scheduled and that Big Ten games are no longer on ABC anymore In those three games Minnesota has been outscored by a combined - including a never-close loss Friday at Autzen Stadium Going into the fourth quarter the stadium blared Shout with a great number of Ducks players joining students and fans in the ubiquitous wedding song dance During that timeout Gophers players didn t leave their huddle along the sideline and maroon-and-gold fans in two end-zone sections sat on their hands Minnesota - - Big Ten were a -point underdog and that was equaled at halftime with the Ducks up - Minnesota didn t count a touchdown against any of those ranked gang until Friday s third quarter and th quarter overall with Drake Lindsey finding Javon Tracy on a transiting course for a -yard connection After trailing - at the half that quality drive of plays and yards cut the Ducks lead to - It was the faintest of comebacks No Oregon - - didn t punt until their backups were in the battle in the fourth The Ducks displayed the mismatches they create in speed and strength all night but especially in the second quarter One of the starkest examples of speed came when running back Jordon Davison went untouched on a -yard touchdown run And the most-glaring example of power came when Noah Whittington appeared to be wrapped up by more than half of Minnesota s defense but the Ducks tailback kept churning and finished off a -yard TD run While Oregon continued to roll after a close win at Iowa last week the Gophers had a bye week to prepare for the Ducks They dialed up more trick plays on offense including getting the ball to Koi Perich for the first time in months It didn t matter with Oregon outgaining Minnesota - including - in the first half The Ducks scored touchdowns on four of five possessions in the first half Their only setback was an unforced fumble on a hook-and-ladder trick play that defensive end Karter Menz recovered The Gophers had to grind out yards on seven plays to set up Brady Denaburg s -yard field goal After Whittington s long TD Minnesota s best drive yards over plays included three third-down conversions but they couldn t get a fourth and settled for a -yard field goal Oregon wasn t done churning out another long touchdown drive capped by Kenyon Sadiq s -yard touchdown catch Related Articles Gophers AD Mark Coyle points out inconsistency in Michigan State Michigan punishments Gophers running back Darius Taylor in line to return vs Oregon Women s hockey No Gophers pull away from Bemidji State How former Gophers have performed in the NFL this season LOVB plans to start professional volleyball organization in Minnesota