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Fiesta Sports Foundation

Rate Bowl History

Mark Francis
Mark Francis

32nd Annual Game, 2021

  • Teams West Virginia vs. Minnesota
  • Score 18-6, Minnesota
  • Date December 28, 2021
  • Attendance 21,220

Biography

Minnesota brought its nationally-ranked defense into the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl to earn its fifth consecutive Bowl victory, with an 18-6 win over West Virginia. Ranked No. 4 in the FBS in yards allowed per game, the Golden Gophers defense held the Mountaineers to a single touchdown and 206 offensive yards, including only six yards in the first quarter.

The first score of the game came in the second quarter, when the Gophers handed the ball to 6-9, 380-pound offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, who barreled his way through the West Virginia defense to score a two-yard touchdown, the first of his career. Afterwards, Minnesota would not be satisfied with a single extra point, adding a two-point conversion instead.

Mountaineers QB Jarret Doege responded with a rushing touchdown of his own to bring the score to 8-6, but West Virginia's two-point attempt to even the score failed.

The Gophers put points on the board using players of all shaped and sizes, the next score coming from 5'11, 205-pound Ky Thomas, who raced into the endzone on a five-yard rush. Gophers kicker Matthew Trickett scored the final points of the game with an impressive 49-yard field goal to give Minnesota its first Guaranteed Rate Bowl victory in four appearances. Thomas earned the Offensive Player of the Game title for his 144 rushing yards and touchdown. Safety Tyler Nubin was named Defensive Player of the Game after eight tackles and an eight-yard sack.

 

  • Stadium:

    Chase Field

  • Attendance:

    21,220

  • Offensive Player of the Game:

    Ky Thomas, RB, Minnesota

  • Defensive Player of the Game:

    Tyler Nubin, DB, Minnesota

  • Head Coaches:

    Neal Brown - West Virginia, P.J. Fleck - Minnesota

  • Weather:

    52 degrees, mostly cloudy

Quarter Scores

Scoring 1 2 3 4 F
WVU 0 6 0 0 6
UM 0 15 3 0 18

Yardstick

WVU UM
15 First Downs 17
27-66 Rushes - Yards 51-249
140 Passing Yards 109
18-31-1 Passes 8-13-1
7-299 Punts - Yards 3-131
3-0 Fumbles - Lost 1-1
4-20 Penalties - Yards 3-27

Individual Statistics

Rushing
WVU Tony Mathis 13-56, Justin Johnson Jr. 5-35, Jarret Doege 8-(22)
UM Ky Thomas 21-144-1TD, Mar'Keise Irving 19-129, Daniel Faalele 1-2-1TD, Tanner Morgan 6-(-15)
Passing
WVU Jarret Doege 18-131-140-1INT
UM Tanner Morgan 8-13-109-1INT
Receiving
WVU Tony Mathis 5-24, Reese Smith 4-38, Sam James 3-40, Winston Wright 3-16, Bryce Ford-Wheaton 2-15, Sean Ryan 1-7
UM Daniel Jackson 3-19, Dylan Wright 2-58, Chris Autman-Bell 1-16, Derik LeCaptain 1-11, Michael Brown-Stephens 1-5

How They Scored

WVU UM
0 8 Daniel Faalele 2 yd rush (Brock Annexstad rush)
6 8 Jarret Doege 1 yd rush (Bryce Ford-Wheaton pass from Jarret Doege failed)
6 15 Ky Thomas 5 yd rush (Matthew Trickett kick)
6 18 Matthew Trickett 49 yd field goal