Minnesota got a shot in the arm with the addition of energetic head coach P.J. Fleck, poaching him from Western Michigan in the offseason. The Golden Gophers are still years away from contending, even in the Big Ten’s other (West) division, but this group plays hard on every snap.
They’re just not very good yet.
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown said this would likely be the best run-blocking offensive line the Wolverines had seen this year, yet for a team that’s trying to run the ball as an identity, the Gophers have only averaged 4.0 yards per carry.
Still, they put up 142 rushing yards on a stingy Iowa team last week, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Demry Croft, replacing Conor Rhoda, averaged 15.4 yards per completion.
At the same time, he completed only 9 of 29 passes.
“Offensively, I thought we ran the ball well,” Fleck said after the game. “However, we didn’t execute well enough. It came down to execution. We had guys open down the field, open for big plays, but dropped the ball or overthrew it.
“The plays were there to be made; we just didn’t make them.”
They’ll probably have an even harder time Saturday night in Ann Arbor against the Big Ten’s top defense.
Here are Michigan’s keys to a win over the Golden Gophers:
Make the Gophers throw — and cover Tyler Johnson when they do: Johnson is literally Minnesota’s only receiving threat, having caught 31 passes for 591 yards (19.1 per grab) and seven touchdowns this year. No other receiver has more than 104 receiving yards, and tight end Nate Wozniak picked up 50 of his 104 on one of his seven receptions.
The Gophers still ran the ball well in two of their four losses, going for 227 yards in a 31-17 loss to Purdue, in addition to what they did at Iowa last week — but this is a different challenge. They also aired it out 29 times against the Hawkeyes in an effort to be more two-dimensional.
Run the ball well: This one won’t be as easy as it seems. Minnesota is a solid defensive football team, seventh in the Big Ten in allowing 132.8 rushing yards per game, and ranks sixth in scoring defense (18.8 points allowed per game) and sixth in total defense (316.8 yards allowed per game). Michigan State, though, gashed them. LJ Scott ran for 194 yards, Madre London 74, and the Spartans are average at best offensively.
U-M, however, has elevated its running game, and now (apparently, hopefully) has more of a passing threat in redshirt freshman Brandon Peters to keep defenses more honest. The Wolverines are now third in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 193.4 yards per game on the ground, though they’re only sixth in yards per carry (4.4). But the return to power football has been very good against mediocre defenses, and sets up play-action for Peters.
Keep Brandon Peters protected: Peters looked the part of a top-level quarterback on a number of his throws against Rutgers, completing 10 of 14 passes, but he was rarely pressured. The Wolverines dominated on the ground in gashing the Scarlet Knights for 330-plus yards and protected well on the occasions on which Peters had to throw.
Expect teams to start coming after Peters, though, starting Saturday. Minnesota will likely throw a number of looks at him to try to confuse him, and the Gophers’ run defense is much better than Rutgers’ unit. Chances are the coaches will continue to keep it somewhat simple and put him in positions to succeed, but the guys up front — and the running backs — need to do their part in pass protection to keep him comfortable.
Even so, we love what we’ve seen in his ability to throw on the run.
The Breakdown: Minnesota isn’t a very good football team, but an average Michigan State team came to The Big House and beat the Wolverines at night in bad weather. U-M needs to do a good job protecting the ball and can’t afford to fall behind, especially if it’s raining as expected.
Michigan has a great opportunity to continue to improve against two overmatched foes (Maryland is up next) and to get Peters some confidence before a critical road game at Wisconsin. He’s provided a spark and energized the fan base, and now he has a chance to take this team to new heights.
TheWolverine.com Staff Picks
TheWolverine.com Senior Editor Chris Balas: Michigan 31, Minnesota 10
Time to take the next step and crescendo toward a season-ender with Ohio State that could be really fun.
The Wolverine Senior Editor John Borton: Michigan 31, Minnesota 14
The Little Brown Jug is settling in for another nice, long run in Ann Arbor.
(Bonus pick: Michigan 24, Ohio State 20)
TheWolverine.com Recruiting Editor Brandon Brown: Michigan 30, Minnesota 13
All eyes will be on Brandon Peters, and that’s how he likes it. Peters has been described as a gamer since he was in high school, and he’ll have chance to show that on Saturday night, under the lights, battling for The Little Brown Jug.
TheWolverine.com Staff Writer Austin Fox: Michigan 27, Minnesota 10
Most of the intrigue in this game surrounds redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters and deservedly so. It won’t necessarily be pretty, but the defense will dominate once again and U-M’s offense will do enough to get the job done.
TheWolverine.com Staff Writer Andrew Vailliencourt: Michigan 31, Minnesota 13
Is Brandon Peters for real? We’ll learn a lot about the redshirt freshman signal-caller this week. Michigan is anxious to make up for its previous poor performances in night games. The Wolverines roll.
TheWolverine.com Analyst Doug Skene: TBD
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