By admin 
MINNEAPOLIS – The opportunity was right there for the taking.
The Minnesota Gophers had a Saturday home date against Mississippi State, a team from the Southeastern Conference that’s not a blue bloods of that league, but a team like Minnesota that’s seeking some upward mobility.
Beat the Bulldogs at Huntington Bank Stadium, and the Gophers would have something going – maybe even an ingredient that could help produce a special season like 2019.
That thought disappeared in less than an hour of real time after the 2:38 p.m. kickoff. By halftime, Mississippi State had touchdowns on all four of its possessions and was well on its way to a 38-13 beatdown of the Gophers in front of 48,048 gold-clad fans who were hoping for revelry but instead endured misery.
“[Mississippi State] dictated the terms of the fight,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “They dictated the terms of how the game went, and we did not do that.”
That was apparent from the start when the Bulldogs (2-0) won the coin toss, chose to receive the football and were frolicking in the end zone only five plays and 1:48 later. With quarterback Kamario Taylor running a no-huddle offense, Mississippi State had the Gophers’ heads spinning, adding scoring drives of 75 and 72 yards that took only 2:36 and 2:38 for a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter.
“The tempo of their offense was executed at high level, and we weren’t at times, and it showed,” Gophers linebacker Maverick Baranowski said. “All we can do is learn from it and get better.”
It didn’t get better, though, because Taylor was picking apart the Gophers (1-1). The dual-threat sophomore completed 16 of 22 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 13 times for 86 yards. He guided an offense that amassed 479 yards, and had six plays of 25 or more yards.
The Gophers finish nonconference play Saturday against Akron before opening Big Ten play a week later at Washington.
“We’ve got to be better in a lot of areas,” Fleck said. “It’s not one area.”
One of the most glaring spots in need for improvement were the sloppy play that led to an uncharacteristic 12 penalties for 115 yards. Under Fleck, the Gophers have been one of the nation’s least-penalized teams, tying for the fewest penalties called against in 2022 and 2023 and ranking fifth in that category last year.
On Saturday, however, the SEC officiating crew saw a lot that they didn’t like from the Gophers.
In the first half, the crew whistled Minnesota for seven penalties covering 80 yards. Minnesota’s offensive line was charged with five penalties in the first half: a holding and a chop block on guard Greg Johnson, a holding and a false start on tackle Daniel Shipp and a holding on center Ashton Beers.
“We had the most penalties we’ve ever had since I’ve been a head coach for 14 years,” Fleck said. “That’s not our style to win football games.”
Along with cleaning up the penalties, Fleck will have to find a way to get his running game going. The Gophers rushed for only 13 yards Saturday – the Bulldogs had 252 -and Fleck acknowledged on KFXN-FM that senior Darius Taylor was banged-up in the Eastern Illinois game. Taylor carried six times for 15 yards and caught one pass for 5 yards but was used sparingly after the first quarter. Fleck said the senior’s status is “day-to-day.”
Taylor’s limitations hurt the Gophers chances because putting together long, clock-eating drives would have kept Kamario Taylor & Co. on the sideline. Minnesota’s first possession took 16 plays and ate 10:11 off the clock but led to only a 44-yard field goal by Luke Drzewiecki. An 11-play march led to Drzewiecki’s 41-yard field goal that made it 28-6 as time expired in the first half, but Minnesota’s offense never visited the end zone.
“When one of your playmakers is banged up, it’s obviously a challenge,” said quarterback Drake Lindsey, who completed 31 of 48 passes for 279 yards.
Minnesota’s lone touchdown came on Aydan West’s fumble recovery in the end zone after Joey Gerlach strip-sacked Kamario Taylor.
The challenge for the Gophers now is to pick up the pieces of this loss and find an alternate path to where they want to be.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 2:33 AM.