The Scarlet Knights will face their first road test of 2025 when they visit Minnesota on Saturday. The Golden Gophers are 2-1 on the season and coming off their first bye of the season. They defeated Buffalo
23-10, FCS Northwestern State 66-0, and then lost to California on the road 27-14, a result that looks even less impressive following the Golden Bears getting blanked by San Diego State 34-0.
However, every game takes on a life of its own in college football, as Greg Schiano often says during his press conferences. Despite the loss, Minnesota is favored by 5.5 points at home against the Scarlet Knights and will be no easy opponent to face, especially given their recent loss and given that they are coming off a bye week.
This game will also mark a homecoming for former Gophers Athan Kaliakmanis and Kirk Ciarocca, in addition to P.J. Fleck starting his coaching career with Rutgers under Schiano, and Robb Smith serving as Fleck’s defensive coordinator from 2017 to the middle of 2018. Despite all of the connections, it will be business as usual for both teams on Saturday in a critical matchup for both programs’ bowl hopes.
The Gophers’ defense will be a strong one for a good Rutgers offense to battle, as they got off to a strong start against Cal by forcing a punt from midfield on the first drive before forcing another punt near midfield on a combo sack from defensive lineman Nate Becker and linebacker Matt Kingsbury in the first quarter.
This appears to be a trend for Minnesota, as they later sent a blitz to California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and forced another Cal punt early in the second quarter, trailing 7-0. With Iowa successfully bringing pressure to Kaliakmanis in the second half, and the situation at left tackle getting more and more clouded due to injuries, this will be something that the Rutgers offensive line will need to contend with.
The other key players to watch out for on Minnesota’s defense are defensive lineman Anthony Smith and safety Koi Perich. In this play, Smith wins his pursuit of Sagapolutele and brings him down, jarring the football loose out of bounds as well. This sack resulted in a 16-yard loss for California and put the Golden Bears behind the sticks.
Former Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis will have to make decisions quickly in the pocket, especially considering he is not as mobile. If there were one thing that Kaliakmanis could do a better job of this season, it would be getting the ball out quicker, as he sometimes holds on to the football too long. With a pass rush like this one, that could be a much bigger problem than it has been in the past.
Perich was first-team All-Big Ten last season with 46 total tackles and five interceptions as a true freshman, as well as having more than 500 total return yards. With Kaden Wetjen scoring a kickoff return touchdown for Iowa last week, the Knights will have to contend with Perich in multiple ways on Saturday. Limiting special teams mistakes and costly penalties will be critical for Rutgers, as both contributed to Rutgers’ brutal loss to the Hawkeyes last Friday night.
On the offensive side of the ball, running back Fame Ijeboi will be one to watch out for. With the Gophers getting the ball back at their own 2-yard line, Ijeboi had a career-long rush of 27 yards to give Minnesota breathing room to operate their offense. In addition, Gophers’ star running back Darius Taylor is expected to return this game after being out with an injury against Cal. He had 30 carries for 141 yards against Northwestern State and 986 total rushing yards in 2024. With the Scarlet Knights’ run defense being particularly concerning, stopping the run will be critical for Rutgers’ chances of winning this game.
In the passing game, Le’meke Brockington will be a big focus for the Knights’ back seven. On this play, redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey finds Brockington over the middle on a well-timed pass just ahead of the first-down line to push the Gophers into Cal territory. Lindsey followed that up with a 20-yard pass to Brockington to set Minnesota up at the California 12-yard line. Running back Cam Davis punched it in from a yard out to tie the game at 7, but the Bears operated quickly to set up a field goal, which put them up 10-7 at halftime. Rutgers could take advantage in a similar situation with their own quick-strike offense if need be.
Minnesota got the ball back to open the second half, and after the Gophers got close to Cal territory, Lindsey threw an interception to Hezekiah Masses. Although Anthony Smith stalled the ensuing Bears drive, this is a potential weakness for the Golden Gophers. Lindsey has shown his potential, but as a first-year starter, he has been prone to making mistakes. If the Rutgers defense can capitalize on a takeaway, it can set up the offense with shorter fields and give them extra possessions.
The Gophers’ defense did just that here, giving Lindsey another chance, and he took advantage by finding Brockington for another gain of 23 yards. Iowa tight ends and receivers found open space in the middle and deep parts of the field all night, and this could be another potential issue for the Scarlet Knights against the Minnesota receivers and tight ends.
Tight end Jameson Geers capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown with a high-pointed catch from Lindsey in the end zone to put the Gophers up 14-10 late in the third quarter. Brockington finished the night in Berkeley with eight catches for 106 yards.
Cal proceeded to go on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead 17-14 heading to the fourth quarter, while a promising Minnesota drive stalled out with Cam Davis getting tackled in the backfield for a three-yard loss on a third-down run play and a missed field goal from Brady Denaburg from 51 yards out.
On the ensuing punt, the football bounced quickly towards Perich, who muffed it as he tried to pick it up. Aiden Manutai scooped it up for the Bears, and Cal capitalized on its field position inside the Gophers’ ten-yard line and took a 24-14 lead on Minnesota. The Gophers missed the left side of the field on the quarterback rollout as Sagapolutele found Jordan King for a wide-open Golden Bears touchdown. Last week, Iowa scored on a similar play where Mark Gronowski scampered around the right side untouched against the Scarlet Knights.
The Golden Bears’ defense forced two turnovers on downs, with the Gophers trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. On the first drive, Lindsey connected with wideout Javon Tracy for 25 yards to get to midfield, but was unable to get much further as multiple passes sailed incomplete or were broken up by the Cal secondary.
Cal tacked on another field goal to push the lead to 27-14, and penalties on Minnesota’s offense pushed the Gophers way behind the sticks on their desperation drive in the final minute of the game. A 14-yard Cam Davis run on fourth down could not move the chains, and the Golden Bears took a knee to end the game.
After two weeks of sitting on the loss, the Golden Gophers are ready to turn the page, while the Scarlet Knights have had the past week to shake off a frustrating but not devastating loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on a grand stage in Piscataway, both at the stadium and on national television. With eight games left to go in the season, this win will likely be the most attainable out of the critical Iowa-Minnesota-Washington stretch we have been harping on all offseason. Rutgers needs a bounce-back win in the worst way, and this game is there for the taking.
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