There are many ways to win a football game, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers used several of them to beat Auburn in the Outback Bowl. The Gophers completed key passes when they needed them, they ran the ball with authority, and - best of all - they converted first downs over and over to produce long drives, keep Auburn's offense off the field, wear down the Auburn defense and control the clock. The Gophers had scoring drives of 12 plays for 92 yards, 9 plays for 75 yards and they ended the game on a 16 play, 68 yard drive the chewed over 8 minutes. Thus, they ran about 30 more plays than did Auburn.
The Gophers won despite losing a fumble early in the first quarter at their own 4 yard line and allowing a 96 yard kick return for a TD.
This was a team with a lot of two- and three-star players although they did have a receiver (Johnson) and a safety (Winfield) who will probably be selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Their QB, Tanner Morgan, was not highly rated and has played way above expectations. He'll be back next year, too.
They threw out of the wildcat formation to the tight end for the go-ahead TD. They threw again to the TE on 4th and 1 from the Auburn 41 to pretty much seal the win.
The Gopher offensive coordinator quit two weeks before the game to take the same job at Ped State. The bastard couldn't even wait until after the bowl game. Nevertheless, the Gophers receivers coach devised a wining scheme and called a very smart game that kept Auburn on its heels.
A huge amount of credit goes to third-year head coach PJ Fleck. If Notre Dame ever has a chance to get this guy, they should. He's probably the hottest prospect in college football now. He's a character, but he wins, like Holtz.