Gophers throw for over 300 yards and racked up points!
Something snapped on Saturday and the Gopher offense decided to no longer operate like the Gopher offense.
The first quarter of the Rhode Island game looked very much like business as usual. PJ Fleck-led Gopher teams love to run the ball with a vanilla offense, limit mistakes and typically come away with a win that is much closer than it should be.
Their opening drive was run the ball for 8 yards (plus a 15-yard penalty), one chunk play through the air, run for 0 yards, run for 1 yard, pass on third and long that resulted in a scramble for 0 yards. But thanks to the penalty, the Gophers were able to hit a 53-yard field goal to go up 3-0. This certainly was a familiar Gopher drive and the quarter ended with a slim, 3-0 lead over FCS Rhode Island.
Now the Gophers begin the 2nd quarter with the ball and a 3rd and 9 situation. Third and 9 because of an incomplete pass followed by a run for 1. And this is when the aliens took over PJ Fleck’s body. That, or he decided to let go of the tight reigns of the offense. At that point in the game (and really through the first five quarters of the season), Max Brosmer continued to look tight and uncomfortable throwing the ball. It very much felt like he needed several pass plays called in a row to let him get comfortable and gain some confidence.
The next six plays were pass plays. Five of them completed to five different receivers for 62 yards and the ball was quickly moved to the Ram’s 5-yard line where Darius Taylor ran it in for a touchdown. Now leading 10-0, the rout was on and the passing game was just getting warmed up.
I’m not sure which is more surprising, Brosmer lighting up the Rams through the air or the Gopher offensive staff continuing to let him do it. But 12 different Gophers caught a pass on Saturday as Brosmer spread the ball around, hitting the guy who was open and taking what the defense was giving him. He threw for 271 yards, 2 touchdowns and was incredibly efficient completing 24 of 30 attempts.
The North Carolina game was a missed opportunity, or perhaps a string of missed opportunities. But there were moments where the Gopher offense was trying to be more than “three yards and a cloud of dust.” It was poor offensive line play and penalties that thwarted their attempts to be more balanced. Now that Minnesota cleaned up some unforced errors and frankly had a chance to get into a rhythm against a weaker opponent, they flexed their passing game. And it was beautiful. But will we see it again?
I continue to believe that Iowa is the barometer for this team. This 3 quarters of “fun” Gopher football was just 3 quarters of fun Gopher football. What do they do next week against Nevada? Do they continue to use the pass to set up Darius Taylor? Do they put it out there for Iowa to see that this offense is different and they better be read in 2 weeks?
Or do they recoil back into their shell until they feel they “have” to pass the ball?
Next week is going to be interesting against an opponent that is at least a step up from Rhode Island. Then we get Iowa.
Iowa is good, their defense is elite. This Gopher offense has a chance to be different if PJ lets it be.