MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota had the flash early amid the whoopla of playing the first game Saturday night in its new stadium.
The Golden Gophers also had the power at the end on the way to salvaging a 20-13 win over Air Force. Kicker Eric Ellestad clinched the win with a 39-yard field goal with 6:13 left in the game.
Minnesota came to life in the fourth period, scoing an offensive touchdown and then returning quarterback Tim Jefferson’s fumbled 52 yards by linebacker Nate Triplett that put the Gophers ahead 17-10 with 11:46 left in the game.
A sellout crowd of 50,805 turned out to usher in football to TCF Bank Stadium.
The Falcons made it interesting at the end, settling for a 31-yard field goal by Erik Soderberg on fourth down at the Minnesota 13. The Falcns used a 20-play drive to pull within seven with 1:03 lerft in the game. An onside kick failed at the AFA 45-yard line and the Gophers ran out the cloick.
After allowing the Falcons to score the first touchdown in the new stadium, the Golden Gophers came back with DeLeon Eskridge’s 7-yard run with 13:18 left in the game. That tied the score at 10.
Air Force was in for a rough final 15 minutes.
The Falcons mounted a threat to begin the second half, but when the going got tough near the goal line, they fizzled. An 11-play, 51-yard drive was stopped on a fourth-down try by receiver Jonathon Warzeka at the Minnesota 8-yard line, a half-yard from a first down.
Then it was up to Air Force’s defense aided by two critical holding penalties against the Golden Gophers to give the Falcons offense another chance.
This time, quarterback Tim Jefferson set up Minnesota’s defense perfectly for a 37-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kevin Fogler and a 10-3 lead with 2:28 left in the third period. Jefferson lured the Minnesota defense up with five straight running plays.
