The Elite, The Meh & The Ugly – Michigan

The second half was better than the first half

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-3) rallied late but came up short in their upset bid of the No. 12-ranked Michigan Wolverines (4-1), dropping a 27-24 loss on the road.

The Elite

The Gopher defense. I think the defense deserves a lot of credit, especially in the second half. The 21-3 halftime deficit was due in large part to the short fields created by a fumble and a blocked punt, and the Minnesota defense was able to limit Michigan to six points in halftime to keep their team in the game. Wolverine running back Kalel Mullings got his yards but he didn’t run wild, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan also started the game 3-for-3 on third downs but were 3-for-12 the rest of the game as the Gopher defense stiffened up.

Ethan Robinson. Minnesota was without starting cornerback Justin Walley for the second straight week, but his counterpart Ethan Robinson has been the picture of consistency in the secondary. The Bucknell transfer helped spark the Gophers’ rally in the second half, intercepting Michigan quarterback Alex Orji in the third quarter to set up Minnesota’s first touchdown drive of the game.

Koi Perich’s 61-yard punt return. Ethan Robinson may have provided the initial spark, but Koi Perich stoked the flame with his 61-yard punt return in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. It was only a matter of time before the true freshman made a play on special teams and he delivered in a big moment for the Gophers, gifting the offense a much-needed short field.

Daniel Jackson’s touchdown catch. What a catch. On a drive that saw Minnesota convert two fourth downs, the biggest play came on 1st & 10 from the Michigan 12-yard line, as quarterback Max Brosmer connected with wide receiver Daniel Jackson in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The pass was initially ruled incomplete and the defender in coverage was flagged for defensive pass interference, but as the replay review would make clear, Jackson made an incredible catch and allowed his team to cut the deficit to three points.

The Meh

Max Brosmer. The Gophers’ quarterback started the game 11-of-18 for 116 passing yards with one interception. But after Robinson’s interception in the third quarter, the Minnesota offense started picking up the tempo and Brosmer settled into a groove, leading three straight touchdown drives. He was 16-of-22 for 142 passing yards and one touchdown during that stretch. Maybe the Gophers should pick up the tempo more often? What do I know…

The field goal before halftime. I feel like this is an appropriate place to put this, because while I would have preferred that Minnesota try for a touchdown rather than a field goal with :02 left on the clock after Brosmer’s 44-yard Hail Mary pass to Nick Kallerup before halftime, I have to admit I was impressed by how quickly the field goal unit got set up without the luxury of a timeout.

The Ugly

The Minnesota offensive line. This was one of the worst offensive line performances I’ve ever seen. They surrendered five sacks, only gave Darius Taylor enough running room to total 36 rushing yards on 13 carries, and were flagged for two holding penalties and three false start penalties. As a unit, the offensive line has been flagged for 15 penalties through the first five games. They are averaging three penalties per game! This offensive line — with three senior starters — is a disaster and I don’t have the first clue how to fix it this season.

Turnovers. 27 yards. That is the sum total of two of Michigan’s three touchdown drives. Early in the second quarter, the Gophers were trailing 7-0 when safety Zeke Berry stripped Daniel Jackson of the football, setting up a 16-yard touchdown drive. Later in the second quarter, the Wolverines blocked a Mark Crawford punt to set up an 11-yard touchdown drive and extend their lead to 21-0. You can’t afford to make catastrophic mistakes like that if you’re hoping to pull an upset.

The offsides penalty. Minnesota recovered an onside kick in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, only to have the game-changing play negated by an offsides penalty against Matt Kingsbury. Michigan recovered the second onside kick attempt and ran out the clock to close out the game. Upon closer examination, it does not appear Kingsbury was offsides, and FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira said as much on the broadcast. After the game, former football coach and current FOX analyst Chris Petersen went a step further:

“I’m sick to my stomach right now, I really am. I just hate to see this when the officials are making something up. Like I don’t know why they would throw that flag. To me, these are always close calls, that ball’s kicked. That’s not egre- … what are we doing, let the kids play.”

To be clear, we don’t know for certain what would have transpired had Minnesota had taken over at the Michigan 38-yard line with 1:37 left on the game clock. But it certainly stings that they were robbed of the opportunity. The Gophers also made a number of consequential mistakes earlier in the game that dug them a 21-0 hole. So what’s done is done. On to the next game.

Seven straight losses to Power 4 opponents. This team needs a win.