The Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-1) rallied from a 14-0 first-half deficit to defeat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-2) and open Big Ten conference play with a 31-28 win on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.
The Elite
Drake Lindsey. Facing a Robb Smith-coached defense allowing an average of 151.5 rushing yards per game, you’d be forgiven for expecting a P.J. Fleck-coached team to pound the ball. But the ground game never gained traction, and Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. decided to put the game on the shoulders of their redshirt freshman quarterback. Fortunately, Lindsey was up to the challenge. He was 31-of-41 (75.6%) for 324 passing yards and three touchdowns, and distributed the ball to nine different pass catchers.
Lindsey went deep in the second quarter with a 78-yard pass to Jalen Smith, breathing life into a team searching for a spark. Coming out of the locker room after halftime, Harbaugh let his quarterback cook with an up-tempo passing game that saw him go 9-of-11 for 76 passing yards and a touchdown pass to tie the game. On the Gophers’ game-winning drive, Lindsey was 6-of-7 for 72 passing yards and a touchdown.
The Minnesota pass rush. There were a lot of doubts about whether the Gophers’ defensive line could consistently pressure Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. They were MIA in the first quarter, but the next three quarters were a different story. Minnesota turned up the heat and finished with seven sacks, and the defensive line was responsible for five of them. Anthony Smith led the way with 1.5 sacks, and Jaxon Howard, Karter Menz, Deven Eastern, and Rushawn Lawrence combined for the other 3.5 sacks.
Kerry Brown. The Gophers were able to turn the tide of the game in the span of three minutes thanks in large part to two plays in the second quarter: Drake Lindsey’s 78-yard pass to Jalen Smith, and Kerry Brown’s interception. Brown took an errant pass from Kaliakmanis and weaved through 28 yards of traffic to set up the Minnesota offense at the Scarlet Knights’ 8-yard line. The game-tying score came on the very next play.
The blocked field goal. In a game decided by three points, the 22-yard chip shot field goal blocked by Rushawn Lawrence on the Scarlet Knights’ opening drive looms large. What a critical play.
Koi Perich. After the ugliest game of his collegiate career in the loss to Cal, the Gophers’ homegrown All-American responded well, finishing second on the team with 11 total tackles, including a third down sack. Perich certainly needs to clean up his special teams play, muffing (but also recovering) a kickoff return and a punt return, but he also provided a spark in the closing seconds of the first half with a 56-yard kickoff return.
No revenge for Athan Kaliakmanis. After throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Duff to give Rutgers a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, the former Gopher quarterback put his hand to his ear and gestured toward the Minnesota student section. It was all downhill from there for Kaliakmanis, who spent the rest of the game being terrorized by the Gopher defense. He completed only 57 percent of his passes (11-of-19) the rest of the way, was sacked six times, and threw an interception. I’m sure it was a quiet ride home to Piscataway.
The Meh
The Minnesota secondary. This was one of the most talented trios of wide receivers the Gophers will face all season, and the secondary was able to hold NFL prospect Ian Strong to a season-low 46 receiving yards. Unfortunately, that created more opportunities for K.J. Duff and D.T. Sheffield, both of whom recorded 70+ receiving yards and a touchdown. It was an up-and-down performance, but more up than down in the end.
Brady Denaburg. I know special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky brought in Denaburg after coaching him at Syracuse, but I don’t think he is a Big Ten kicker. Denaburg came to Minnesota with a poor track record on field goal attempts of 40 yards or more (3-for-9). He is now 0-for-2 from 40+ yards as a Golden Gopher, including a 50-yard attempt before halftime against Rutgers. Either Minnesota needs to give another kicker a shot — Alexandria native Daniel Jackson comes to mind — or Fleck needs to adjust his expectations, because playing for field goals with an unreliable kicker is going to leave a lot of points on the field.
The Ugly
The first quarter. This was not the first quarter Gopher fans were hoping to see coming off a bye week. The Minnesota offense picked up one first down and totaled a combined 26 yards on their first two possessions, both of which ended with a punt. The Gopher defense looked unprepared, surrendering a combined 133 yards on their first two drives and allowing Athan Kaliakmanis to start 8-of-8 for 99 passing yards and a touchdown.
The Minnesota run defense. I don’t even want to know how many missed tackles the Gophers had in this game, because I already know the answer: Too many. Missed tackles were how Rutgers running back Antwan Raymond was able to average 6.2 yards per carry, as he racked up 161 rushing yards on 26 carries.
The Gophers’ ground game. Even with the extra week to recover, star running back Darius Taylor was once again unavailable due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week 2 against Northwestern State, and the fact that he didn’t even participate in pregame warm-ups is not a good sign for next week. Marshall transfer running back A.J. Turner was also ruled out for the season after a leg injury suffered against Cal in Week 3. Without them, the Gophers’ run game ground to a halt, even against a porous Rutgers defense. Fame Ijeboi led the way with 12 carries for 37 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Cam Davis tallied a meager eight yards on three carries.
Short yardage plays. It was a problem in Week 1. It’s still a problem in Week 5. You’re not going to get very far in the Big Ten if you can’t pick up yards on the ground on 3rd & 2 and 4th & 1.
