Minnesota 23, Colorado State 20

September 12, 2015 - Hughes Stadium - Fort Collins, CO

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NCAAF  FINAL               1ST  2ND  3RD  4TH   OT    TOTAL
                           ---  ---  ---  ---   --    -----
        MINNESOTA             0    6    7    7    3      23
        COLORADO STATE        7    0    3   10    0      20   FINAL


        SCORING SUMMARY

     
        1ST QTR: CSU  - TD, DALYN DAWKINS 17 YD RUN (WYATT BRYAN KICK), 11:05
        2ND QTR: MINN - FG, RYAN SANTOSO 35 YD, 2:51
                 MINN - FG, RYAN SANTOSO 50 YD, :13
        3RD QTR: MINN - TD, DREW WOLITARSKY 38 YD PASS FROM MITCH LEIDNER
                            (RYAN SANTOSO KICK), 13:42
                 CSU  - FG, WYATT BRYAN 26 YD, 3:05
        4TH QTR: CSU  - TD, JOE HANSLEY 49 YD PASS FROM COLEMAN KEY (WYATT
                            BRYAN KICK), 14:23
                 MINN - TD, KJ MAYE 22 YD PASS FROM MITCH LEIDNER (RYAN SANTOSO
                            KICK), :55
                 CSU  - FG, WYATT BRYAN 37 YD, :00
       OVERTIME: MINN - FG, RYAN SANTOSO 18 YD
                                                                                



Extended Box


NCAAF                 1  2  3  4 OT  F 
                      -  -  -  - --  --
Minnesota             0  6  7  7  3  23 
Colorado State        7  0  3 10  0  20  FINAL 


 Colorado State-Dawkins 17 run (Bryan kick)
 Minnesota-FG Santoso 35
 Minnesota-FG Santoso 50
 Minnesota-Wolitarsky 38 pass from Leidner (Santoso kick)
 Colorado State-FG Bryan 26
 Colorado State-Hansley 49 pass from Key (Bryan kick)
 Minnesota-Maye 22 pass from Leidner (Santoso kick)
 Colorado State-FG Bryan 37
 Minnesota-FG Santoso 18


                      Minnesota   Colorado State 
First downs                  23          14 
Rushed-yards             41-180      41-172 
Passing yards               233         142 
Sacked-yards lost           1-0         1-4 
Return yards                  9          38 
Passes                  23-45-0     16-32-2
Punts                    9-47.2      9-49.6 
Fumbles-lost                2-2         3-2 
Penalties-yards            8-60       10-86 
Time of possession        29:52       30:08 


Individual Statistics 
RUSHING: Minnesota-R Smith 21-108, Leidner 11-47, R Williams 6-20, Streveler 3-5. 
Colorado State-Dawkins 19-92, Oden 8-30, Jarrells 7-28, Key 2-7, X Williams 2-7,
Stevens 2-6, Hansley 1-1.


PASSING: Minnesota-Leidner 23-45-0-233. Colorado State-Stevens 8-19-2-51,
Key 8-13-0-91.


RECEIVING: Minnesota-Wolitarsky 9-114, Maye 6-54, E Carter 3-32, Hart 1-14,
Wozniak 2-12, Lingen 1-9, R Smith 1-(-2). Colorado State-Hansley 2-59, S Walker 1-23,
S Long 2-20, Dawkins 4-18, X Williams 4-16, Gaines 2-6, Masters 1-0.


Att: 32,500
                                                                        


Game Story


FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Colorado State coach Mike Bobo saluted his
players for giving it their all against the Minnesota Gophers, saying
"they played hard, and I mean hard, for 60 minutes."

The problem was the 61st.

Defensive tackle Scott Ekpe stripped running back Dalyn Dawkins on
the first play of overtime and Ryan Santoso kicked an 18-yard field
goal as Minnesota escaped Colorado State with a 23-20 win Saturday.

"He's the toughest guy on this football team pound for pound," Bobo
said. "Just an unfortunate incident."

Dawkins was trying to gather a pass but a linebacker wasn't blocked
on the screen and he never had a chance.

"Right when I turned around, I got hit," Dawkins said.

The officials ruled it a fumble, but the ball never hit the ground,
so it was actually an interception. Either way, it was Minnesota's
ball.

"I had those situations happen in practice this fall and they always
seemed to get away," Ekpe said. "This time it actually stuck."

Rodney Smith ran five times for 24 yards to the 1, then Santoso
ended it.

It took that extra time for the Gophers (1-1) to get acclimated to
the altitude and shake off both their tough loss to TCU in their
opener and the scrappy Rams who were playing without their superstar
receiver and his backup.

The game was dominated by defense until the final minute of
regulation when both teams finally found a rhythm.

After converting just 4 of 17 third downs, the Gophers converted a
fourth-and-6 pass play from their 40 on their way to the go-ahead
touchdown with 55 seconds left -- a 22-yard pass from Mitch Leidner
to KJ Maye that put Minnesota ahead 20-17.

Leidner completed 23 passes but misfired 22 others.

"He had some problems," Gophers coach Jerry Kill said. "How can I
make a statement against him when he takes us down the field for
the lead late in the game? He handled the end of the game pretty
good. Winning is all that matters."

Backup quarterback Coleman Key, subbing for ineffective starter Nick
Stevens, led CSU quickly downfield and Wyatt Bryan calmly kicked a
37-yard field goal at the end of regulation after Kill failed to ice
him by calling back-to-back timeouts.

Key also hit Joe Hansley on a crossing pattern for a 49-yard touchdown
to put CSU ahead 17-13 early in the fourth quarter.

The Rams (1-1) sorely missed All-American receiver Rashard Higgins,
who hurt an ankle in the opener and sat this one out. His replacement,
Jordon Vaden, lasted just three snaps before leaving the game with a
right hip injury.

With the Gophers missing two safeties, the game became a grind-it-out
affair.

"Everyone watching that game knows we're not a team to push around,"
said Dawkins, who ran for 92 yards and a TD. "We're going to fight
to the end, the very, very end."

Then, the ball and the game slipped from their grasp.