The bottom fell out of Gophers’ defense in 2023 and the Minnesota skidded to a 6-7 season, so their ability to bounce back under new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman represented the bigest question mark going into this season.

So far, so stifling.

With a 27-0 win over Nevada on Saturday, the Gophers’ D has produced two straight shoutouts, following a 48-0 suffocation over FCS-level Rhode Island a week ago. Even North Carolina was held to 252 yards yards in the U’s 19-17 loss in the season opener.

It’s the Gophers’ first consecutive shutouts since 1962.

Minnesota (2-1) was a 17-point betting favorite Saturday and used three interceptions and four sacks to frustrate the Wolf Pack.

Nevada (1-3) was picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference this season and was held to under 200 yards Saturday.

Gophers running back Darius Taylor produced the most electric play of the game in the third quarter. He broke tackles in the box, bounced it to the outside and then cut it all the way back to the other sideline on an 80-yard touchdown run.

Taylor’s run tied for the sixth-longest rush in program history, joining two gallops from Laurence Maroney in the 2004 season.

Kerry Brown, a second-year safety, produced his first two collegiate interceptions, and Minnesota scored 10 points off the takeaways.

Nevada was driving in the fourth quarter, but cornerback Ethan Robinson’s interception in the end zone helped preserve the shutout.

Brown’s second pick came on a great read of Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis’s eyes in the first half. He stepped in front of a post route to pick it off and return it 16 yards.

Two plays later, Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer threw underneath to Taylor, who made a Nevada defender miss and scored from 10 yards out to make it 13-0.

The Gophers offense got the ball back at its own 32 with 1:55 left in the second half. With seven straight drop backs, including a 22-yard completion to Jameson Geers, the U was in position for Taylor to score a rushing TD from 4 yards out for a 20-0 lead at the half.

With the U defense playing lights out, the game was out of reach at the halfway point.

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Five people were injured in a crash Saturday, at 10:34 a.m. on Stacy Trail near Falcon Avenue in Stacy Minnesota, according to a press release from the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency Communications Center began received calls detailing  a “head-on” type crash, Saturday. Responders determined five people were injured, four of which were in the same vehicle.

An adult male suspect is currently detained at a local hospital and alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the crash, according to the release.

A 6-year-old girl, who was a rear passenger in one of the vehicles, was flown from the scene to a trauma center, according to the release. She is currently in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. All other injured parties were taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive.

More information is expected once the suspect is medically cleared, though the investigation is ongoing.

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When Carlos Correa was first diagnosed with plantar fasciitis back in July, the star shortstop was initially hopeful he could come back right after the All-Star break after spending a few days off his feet.

It quickly became clear that that wasn’t going to happen. Correa missed the next 51 games because of the right heel pain. Saturday, he finally returned to the Twins’ lineup, a big boost for a team that got Byron Buxton back a day earlier.

“It feels right,” Correa said of his foot. “It feels right to get back in there, in the swing of things. Realistically, I’m not going to go play every game from now on, right? I’m going to miss some games here and there. We have a great team with (manager) Rocco (Baldelli) and the athletic trainers. We’re going to know how to manage this going forward, but we want to be out there as much as possible and get ready for this late run.”

Earlier in the week, Correa had mentioned a new treatment in the training room that had helped get his foot back to the point where he felt like he could finally play once more. While he won’t be out there playing pain-free, he’s made enough improvement to convince Baldelli and the training staff that he’s ready to return.

Correa did not go on a a rehab assignment — Baldelli said they simply ran out of time for that — and instead got live at-bats at Target Field over the past week against Twins minor league pitchers.

“I think he basically got to a point where he just said, “I’m going to give this everything that I have. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to play,’” Baldelli said. “Is the heel issue resolved? No, it’s not. It’s still there. But it’s better than what he was dealing with last week, last month.”

Correa was in the midst of an All-Star season when he got injured, hitting .308 with a .896 OPS and a 148 OPS+, a mark that is 48 percent better than the league average hitter.

He felt like he was playing his best right before the injury and that’s one of the things that hurt the most, he said.

“Hopefully, we can hit the ground right away running and go out and perform,” Correa said. “It sucked to go down at the level I was playing, but it’s what happened. We have to deal with it and now we have to focus on the now, go out there and help the team win games.”

Game 18

Saturday marked the Twins’ 148th game of the season. It was just the 18th that Correa, Buxton and Royce Lewis were all in the same lineup.

The talented trio has been on and off the field this season because of various injuries.

Lewis got hurt in the very first game season, straining his quad, which forced him to miss two months. He later had an adductor strain that kept him off the field.

Correa had an oblique strain before dealing with plantar fasciitis for the past two months and Buxton recently missed a month because of hip inflammation. Knee inflammation also kept him off the field earlier this year.

“This is good for us,” Baldelli said. “I mean this is what we were hoping for. Obviously every game we’re hoping for this, but we finally have these guys back. Now we have to work them back into shape as quickly as possible so they can go out there and play like they can play but seeing them all in the lineup, allowing them to go out there and play with each other, hopefully build off the energy each one of them brings and all the positive things they’re going to do, you start bringing that together and I think nothing but good can come from it.”

Briefly

Rookie outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Correa. … David Festa will take the ball for the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds. Festa gave up four runs in four innings the last time he pitched. He has lost each of the last four of his decisions stretching back to Aug. 23. … The Twins have listed Pablo López, Zebby Matthews, Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson as their probable starters for their upcoming series in Cleveland.

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