The Minnesota Gophers are starting a tradition that you don’t want your team to start: choking on homecoming. Last year the Gophers entered their homecoming game with a big 30-0 road win over Colorado. They then proceeded to lose to Bowling Green (14-10) in a massive upset. This year the Gophers went on the road and beat the Spartans 34-7 only to turn around again on homecoming and choke against Purdue 20-10.
In reality, Minnesota should have won this game, which is why this loss is so frustrating. The defense played well (and only looked bad because the offense couldn’t do anything) having three turnovers and really shutting down Purdue’s offense for most of the game. Mohamed Ibrahim was out, and the offense couldn’t seem to function without him. Morgan had three interceptions and struggled to pass the ball with dropped passes and some miscues. With that let’s look at my takeaways from this week.
Costly Mistakes
Three interceptions, a missed field goal, and a dropped touchdown; any one of these would hurt a team, all three will kill you. That’s what happened to the Gophers today. Minnesota missed a 28-yard field goal, Tanner Morgan threw three picks and Michael Brown-Stephens dropped a would-be touchdown. Minnesota just had bad luck today. Minnesota’s three interceptions were killers. First, a deflected pass at the line of scrimmage, then a tipped pass that hit wide receiver Michael Brown Stephens in the hands (which should have been a touchdown) that was intercepted, then a bad throw by Morgan in the fourth quarter that sealed the Boilermakers upset. It was just not the Gophers’ day. Every opportunity they had just ended in disaster. It was frustrating for Gophers fans to watch this team falter in a game they very well should have won.
Questionable Play Calling
The offensive play calling today was not good and at times puzzling. Going for it on fourth-down on your own 29-yard line, on your third possession down 7-0, crazy.
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I really don’t get the idea here by P.J Fleck. This just wasn’t a smart move, costing them three points. Then at the end game is another playing calling issue. Purdue kicked a field goal to put Minnesota down three with 4:57 left in the fourth and the Gophers got the ball back. Instead of doing what they are great at, which is running the ball, eating up the clock, and putting together a long drive resulting in points, they decide to come out throwing.
On first down, Tanner Morgan throws a pass to Bryce Williams for a loss of one. The next play is an incomplete pass creating third and 11. What happens on third down but an incomplete pass? Down three with 4:57 and you do a three and out in 59 seconds. Instead of trying to establish a drive from your own 25 and march down the field, you have two incomplete passes and only take a minute off the clock, unacceptable.
Unable To Give The Defense Rest
This is what really hurt the Gophers in the end. After their touchdown drive to start the second half, the Gophers had three consecutive drives that went four plays and a punt in 2:58. Then six plays in 3:33, followed by a drive of three plays in 59 seconds. After their last drive, Purdue in two plays scored a touchdown with 3:13 left in the game, pretty much sealing their upset victory. The Gopher’s defense is not used to being out on the field this long and it showed. This wasn’t because they struggled, but because the offense was unable to produce and sustain drives that gave them rest and kept them fresh like they have done all season.
Ibrahim’s Absence Was Noticed…In A Bad Way
Mohamed Ibrahim did not play today, and it seemed like no one knew until the second drive that he was out. It was said that Ibrahim missed today’s game due to an ankle injury he suffered last week against Michigan State. He was limited at practices and eventually, medical staff said he wouldn’t play and that was that. Unfortunately, for the Gophers it did not go well without him. Minnesota’s offense struggled greatly when it came to running the ball. The Gophers only had 47 yards rushing compared to their 294.5 yards per game average.
Forced to throw the ball, Minnesota made an abundance of mistakes, including three interceptions and a dropped touchdown (that resulted in an interception). The offense had 304 yards, 14 first downs, and three turnovers, and possessed the ball for 27:38. Minnesota just could not get into the rhythm no matter how hard they tried. This really showed how important Ibrahim is to the offense and the fact that the Gophers really had no game plan for if he didn’t play. Now that they know what their offense will look like when he is out, they should be able to game plan a lot better if he misses any more games this season.
The Defense Still Looked Great
Okay, forget that 68-yard rush in the fourth quarter. It was late in the game when the defense was gassed by the fact that the offense couldn’t stay out there for more than three-to-six plays. They did great. The Gophers stifled Purdue for most of the game until they couldn’t carry the offense any longer. They got takeaways, with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. If it wasn’t for a pair of unfortunate touches they would have two more fumble recoveries on botched punts.
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They were able to pressure Aidan O’Connell, getting a pair of sacks on the quarterback. The defense did what it needed to do. Both of Purdue’s touchdowns shouldn’t have happened. The first only happened because of a terrible pass interference call that gave Purdue a first and goal at the two. The last touchdown happened because Minnesota had three consecutive drives consisting of three, two, and one minute, giving them no rest by the end. Don’t go blaming the defense on this loss, this is all on the offense and play-calling. The offense only got three points off the three turnovers. All the opportunities that the defense got the offense went to waste. The defense stepped up today in a game when the offense couldn’t and that’s why Minnesota lost today.
There Is No Cause For Concern…Yet
I’m honestly not too concerned yet. Not having Ibrahim was a big blow and something I think the offense and team were not ready to handle. Thankfully there are some positives like the defense, and we have a bye week now to really work on what went wrong instead of having to get ready for another opponent next week. There is also a lot of football still to be played. I still see a possibility of reaching the Big 10 championship game, maybe even a Rose Bowl appearance, who knows but going 10-2 or 9-3 heading into the bowl season still seems realistic. Maybe it’s just my blind optimism, but don’t start selling yet, this team could still do something special in 2019.
A Look A Next Week
This coming week the Gophers have off. This is at a good time given the loss and Ibrahim’s injury. After their bye week, they travel to Champaign to take on Illinois (4-1) who beat Wisconsin on the road 34-10 today.
