The Elite, The Meh & The Ugly – Rhode Island

Blowout are underrated

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss to get back in the win column with a 48-0 rout of the Rhode Island Rams (1-1).

The Elite

Max Brosmer. At this time last year, head coach P.J. Fleck had grounded his offense. After racking up 44 pass attempts in the season opener, the Gophers lined up against an inferior opponent in Week 2 and ran the ball down their throat, totaling 296 rushing yards on 56 carries. They only completed 10 passes for a total of 117 passing yards. Fleck could have easily taken the same approach against Rhode Island this year, especially with star running back Darius Taylor returning to the fold. But with the ground game struggling to gain traction early in the game, Fleck did something he almost never does: He let his offensive coordinator air it out.

His quarterback rewarded him, finishing 24-of-30 for 271 passing yards and two touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. utilized a variety of quick pass concepts to help Brosmer get into a rhythm, and Brosmer distributed the ball around the field, with 12 different players recording at least one reception. This is the Max Brosmer we were promised.

Minnesota’s first touchdown drive. The offense came alive on their third possession of the game, which saw Brosmer drop back for nine(!) pass attempts on a 13-play drive. He was 7-of-9 for 78 passing yards on the drive and both of his incompletions were dropped passes. It was Darius Taylor who capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, but Brosmer and six different pass catchers — in addition to clean pass protection, I should add — did most of the work.

The Gopher defense. They did exactly what they’re supposed to do against an inferior opponent: Suffocate them. Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s unit dominated from start to finish. Not only did they pitch their first shutout since Oct. 29, 2022, but the defense didn’t allow the Rams to reach Gopher territory until late in the fourth quarter. The Minnesota defense was also opportunistic, forcing four turnovers, including a sensational interception by Aidan Gousby, a strip sack by Deven Eastern, and a 25-yard pick six by Jack Henderson.

Koi Perich’s first career interception. The one turnover I didn’t mention belonged to true freshman safety Koi Perich. Cody Lindenberg tipped a pass that Perich then snatched out of the air for his first career interception. The Esko native also returned a punt late in the game, giving life to those who hope and pray that one day Fleck will allow a playmaker to return punts.

Dragan Kesich. After perhaps the worst game of his collegiate career in Week 1’s loss to North Carolina, Kesich received a vote of confidence from Fleck on the Gophers’ opening drive and was brought in to attempt a 53-yard field goal. He nailed it, giving Minnesota 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Kesich missed a 55-yard attempt before halftime, but that would have been a career-long field goal for him, so I’m not too upset about that miss. The Gophers need Kesich to resemble his reliable old self this season and this was a step in the right direction.

The Meh

The season debut of Darius Taylor. Once news broke that Taylor had been cleared to play after missing the season opener with a leg injury, I think most assumed he would run wild against a Rhode Island defense that had allowed 170 rushing yards to Holy Cross the previous week. But Taylor was limited to 64 rushing yards on 14 carries with one touchdown.

The Ugly

The offensive line. One of the chief contributing factors to Taylor’s ho-hum performance — or perhaps the chief contributing factor — was the offensive line. Clearly Fleck and offensive line coach Brian Callahan felt a change needed to be made after Week 1, with Quinn Carroll returning to right tackle after starting the season at right guard. But the early results of that change were not encouraging, as the Minnesota Movers struggled mightily to open up running lanes against the Rams’ defensive front. They were better in pass protection for the most part and once the Gophers starting picking apart Rhode Island through the air, Rhode Island loosened up the box, but this offensive line needs to get a lot more physical before conference play.