The Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-5) are at risk of losing four of their final five games after suffering a miserable 38-35 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats (6-5) on Saturday at Wrigley Field.
The Elite
The Gopher defense. Northwestern came into the game ranked 52nd in rushing offense (169.4 rushing yards per game), 116th in passing offense (171.3 passing yards per game), and 108th in scoring offense (21.9 points per game). Against Minnesota, the Wildcats surpassed all three averages with 220 rushing yards,
305 passing yards, and 38 points. Quarterback Preston Stone saw zero pressure from the Gophers’ defensive front and played pitch-and-catch with wide-open receivers who had no trouble with Minnesota’s soft zone coverage. No sacks. No turnovers (by the defense, at least). Northwestern only punted once in the entire game.
Danny Collins is Robb Smith 2.0. Touted as a cross between previous Minnesota defensive coordinators Joe Rossi and Corey Hetherman, Collins has been anything but, bearing more of a resemblance to P.J. Fleck’s first (and worst) defensive coordinator, Robb Smith. Under Collins this season, the Gopher defense has routinely allowed opposing offenses to outperform their season averages, culminating in rock bottom at Wrigley Field. Northwestern came into the game averaging 18.9 points per game against Big Ten opponents, and they more than doubled that against Minnesota, racking up 525 yards of total offense in the process.
You can tell me it’s a talent issue, but it’s not. Anthony Smith, Koi Perich, Kerry Brown, Deven Eastern, and Maverick Baranowski are all talented. Emmanuel Karmo, Karter Menz, and Za’Quan Bryan may be inexperienced, but they are talented. There is too much talent for this defense to be playing this poorly. They are not being put in positions to make plays, and that falls squarely on the defensive coordinator.
Brady Denaburg. When you lose by three points, it is hard to forgive two missed field goal attempts by your kicker. Denaburg missed a 48-yard attempt in the second quarter and then missed a 40-yarder as time expired at the end of the game. At this point, my issue is not with Denaburg. He is who he is. My problem is with the head coach refusing to accept that Denaburg is who he is. When your kicker has not been reliable from beyond 40 yards all season, you cannot continue to operate on offense as if you have a reliable kicker.
P.J. Fleck lost this game back in January. He lost it when he decided to hand defensive play-calling duties to a 34-year-old safeties coach with no defensive coordinator experience. He lost it when he decided to recruit Brady Denaburg out of the transfer portal, in spite of the fact that he had been removed as Syracuse’s starting kicker four games into the 2024 season after missing three of his first six field goal attempts.
0-5 on the road. For the first time since 2011, the Gophers will finish the season without a road win.
The Meh
The Minnesota offensive line. After surrendering a sack against a three-man rush on the Gophers’ opening drive of the game, the offensive line deserves credit for keeping quarterback Drake Lindsey clean the rest of the game. But as has been the case all season long, they gave running backs Darius Taylor and Fame Ijeboi very little room to operate on the ground. The pair combined for 66 yards on 15 carries.
The Elite
Drake Lindsey. The Minnesota quarterback was cookin’ on Saturday, finishing 20-of-30 for 264 passing yards and a career-high four touchdowns. I continue to be impressed with the redshirt freshman signal caller.
Javon Tracy. The former Miami (Ohio) wide receiver only had four receptions in the game, but three of them went for touchdowns. Tracy was the big-play threat the Gophers have desperately needed in the passing game.
Koi Perich’s kickoff returns. One of the most disappointing aspects of this season has been the absence of Perich’s playmaking ability as a returner on special teams. His 93-yard kickoff return in the second quarter provided a much-needed spark as Minnesota trailed 10-0, setting up their first touchdown drive of the game. Then his 44-yard return in the final minute of the game gave the offense great starting field position.
