Minnesota shuts out New Mexico State, Aggies 0-2 with UTEP game next week

The only drama in the leadup to the Minnesota/New Mexico State game on Thursday was whether or not Gophers head coach PJ Fleck would shake Aggies head coach Jerry Kill’s hand in Kill’s return to Minnesota.

Fleck ended that drama pre-game and his team took care of the rest.

"I'm a professional, I've been a class act my whole life," Kill said. "PJ worked with me. Sometimes in the heat of the battle and when you have your best friend get fired, I think you react. With that being said, my wife was here, my granddaughter was here. It was a surreal moment.

"This place was great to me, the community was great to us. ... We gave everything we had and more and I crashed and burned and that's my fault. I'm very happy (Fleck) has continued to build it and take it to the next level."

Minnesota dominated in its season opener, beating the Aggies (0-2) 38-0 at Huntington Bank Stadium. It was the first time the Aggies have been shut out since a 44-0 loss to Louisiana Tech in 2011.

The Aggies looked like a team that played a game on Saturday, running 17 plays in the first half for 49 yards of offense and trailing 24-0 at halftime.

"They are a Big Ten physical football team," Kill said. "I think they may be better than what people think.

"We played a lot of freshmen on defense. We will get there. Defensively they didn't quit on us and played until the last second. Offensively, we have to figure it out."

Minnesota rushed 30 times for 174 yards in the first half with running back Mohamed Ibrahim rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Aggies junior college transfer Diego Pavia started on Thursday at quarterback and was 2 for 5 passing for 10 yards and one first down before he was replaced by freshman Gavin Frakes on the Aggies third possession. Frakes was 0 for 1 in the first half, but both quarterbacks had catchable passes dropped.

Chris Bellamy dropped a Pavia pass near midfield and tight end JJ Jones dropped a Frakes pass under pressure on third down that would have moved the chains.

"At the end of the day, if we want to win football game, we have to catch the ball," said Aggies receiver Justice Powers, who had the Aggies longest play from scrimmage late in the game. "We shouldn't have any drops. That one of the things we harp on in practice that if it touches our hands, we don't care how bad of a ball it was we have to catch it. We have to dang near go back to the basics. We have to catch the freaking ball, man."

Minnesota outgained NM State 485-91 with 297 rushing yards and the Gophers were 11 for 14 on third down while the Aggies were 2 for 9 on third down. The Aggies were held to 38 rushing yards on 21 attempts (1.8 yards per carry).

Frakes got the Aggies into Minnesota territory for the first time with a 34-yard pass to Justice Powers in the fourth quarter. Powers high pointed the ball down the sideline and brought the ball down at the Minnesota 22. But Frakes (2 for 7 for 43 yards) was intercepted in the end zone on a pass intended for Chris Bellamy.

While the stats and score were lopsided in Minnesota's favor, three dropped balls on offense and missed tackles on defense are areas where the Aggies can improve before facing UTEP in El Paso next weekend.

"It was a tough physical game," said Aggies safety Bryce Jackson, who led the Aggies with nine tackles. "The short week didn't really help at all, but we have to be ready to play.

"There has definitely been some missed tackles and missed opportunities. Our job is to watch the film and watch what we can improve on and learn so we don't take two losses without learning from our mistakes."

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Minnesota shuts out New Mexico State, Aggies 0-2 with UTEP game next week