The Minnesota Gophers Football team has had over a week to recover and recharge after getting spanked by Athan Kaliakmanis and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 26-19. It was a reminder about the competitiveness of Big Ten football and how no game is a given. As they approach their final two games of the regular season, they are searching for the tonic to enable them to play four quarters of football without a letdown.
That potion has been elusive, and a solution has to be found that will enable them to successfully close out their conference schedule and end the year with another bowl win. With a record of 6-4 and two daunting conference games on the schedule, what must the Gophers continue to do well, and what must they improve upon during the final push to Bowl season?
Gophers Offense, What’s Working and What’s Not
In what has been reported for most of the season, quarterback Max Brosmer has been an absolute Godsend to Gophers’ coach P.J. Fleck’s team. Talented, poised, and a natural-born leader, he has been a spark that the offense has needed for a long time. Max is 218-325, with 2,251 yards passing and 14 touchdown passes with only four interceptions. He exudes confidence in the huddle, and his teammates look to him for leadership.
Max has thrown to a cadre of receivers, including All-Big Ten receiver Daniel Jackson (63 receptions) and fellow wideout Elijah Spencer (39 receptions). A master of reading through his progressions, Brosmer has been adept at hitting his secondary receivers like running back Darius Taylor (45 receptions) and tight end Jameson Geers (23 receptions). And after a spate of dropped passes early in the season, this group has exercised improved ball control in the past five games.
What hasn’t been working? A heavily penalized offensive line has forced Brosmer to scramble for his life at times and failed to open up spaces for Taylor and Marcus Major to run through. Senior tackle Aireontae Ersery has played well, but the play of the Gophers’ interior offensive line has been inconsistent. And while Taylor has had bursts of consistency and has overall good statistical numbers, he has already missed one game with a hamstring injury and was hobbled by an ankle injury suffered in the Rutgers game. Keeping him healthy will be one of the keys to finishing out the 2024 season with a flourish.
The Defense: Another Mixed Bag
The Gophers defense this season has been a tale of two units. They have been a nationally ranked team in several pass-defense categories but have stumbled trying to contain some of the premier running backs they have faced this year. And they face two good ones on Saturday in Penn States’ tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. This versatile tandem can beat you on the ground and through the air. Minnesota linebackers Cody Lindenberg and Maverick Baranowski will have their hands full, keeping pace with this dynamic duo.
And the ball-hawking Gophers secondary was stymied in their last game by their former teammate Kaliakmanis. In an interesting twist of fate, Kaliakmanis and the Scarlet Knights offense immediately went after one of the strengths of this Minnesota team, veteran cornerbacks Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson, and they and the rest of the secondary got lit up to the tune of three passing touchdowns two weeks ago. Will Penn State quarterback Drew Allar employ the same strategy this week? The opportunistic Gophers defense still ranks fourth in the nation with 16 interceptions, led by Freshman Koi Perich with five.
Special Teams: Is this a Broken Record?
Kicker Dragan Kesich has been on fire lately, hitting his last eight field goal attempts after a sluggish start. He also leads the conference in the percentage of kickoffs that result in touchbacks with 81.8%. And Perich has breathed new life into the punt return game, averaging 12.9 a return, which ranks second in the conference. Punter Mark Crawford, who isn’t known for booming kicks, is in the middle of most conference statistical categories. The return coverage teams have been just average, and Perich is still finding his footing as a kick returner with a 19.9 average return.
I’ll be back later in the week to preview Saturday’s Minnesota/Penn State game.
