Photo By Brian Curski
Written By Sam Ekstrom
It’s rare for the Gophers to be bowl eligible before the calendar turns to November. Even rarer, to see them atop the Big 10 standings.
With a come-from-behind 39-38 win over Purdue accompanied by an Iowa loss to Maryland, the Gophers remained the only undefeated team in the brand new Big Ten West.
The support is undeniable for this team that continues to improve every year under head coach Jerry Kill. Saturday’s homecoming game might have provided the most energy in TCF Bank Stadium all season – and that includes three regular season Vikings games.
Despite early-season adversity that included key injuries, an at-times-anemic offense and a 30-7 loss to TCU, the Gophers have found a way to survive and advance week to week through their first three conference games.
But have the Gophers proven enough to be considered a threat as the temperatures get chillier and the playoff race heats up?
If this were the National Football League, the 6-1 record would speak for itself. But with less parity in the college game, a 6-1 mark requires a deeper look.
Half the Gophers’ wins came in the non-conference season to Eastern Illinois, Middle Tennessee State and San Jose State. A quick look at their respective schedules shows that these three teams aren't doing anything special this year. None of them have any victories against major conference foes.
The Big 10 wins have all come against sub-.500 teams: Michigan (3-4), Northwestern (3-4) and Purdue (3-5).
The road win at Michigan was convincing and earned the team a year with the Little Brown Jug, but Michigan was coping with a quarterback controversy between Shane Morris and Devin Gardner, and the team was already coming off a loss against Utah.
Northwestern was fresh off an upset win over Wisconsin when they came to Minnesota, but the Wildcats had also lost to Northern Illinois earlier in the year. Minnesota beat them 24-17 on a late kick return touchdown in a game that was tight the entire way.
Then we come to Purdue, a team that went winless in the Big 10 last season. On Saturday, the Boilermakers took the lead in the second quarter and did not surrender it until Gophers kicker Ryan Santoso saved the day with a 52-yard field goal in the closing minutes.
By the skin of their teeth, the Gophers stayed undefeated in the Big 10.
“Sometimes you’ve got to outscore people, sometimes it’s 17-0,” said Coach Kill after the game. “At the end of the day, we played great as a team. We picked each other up on each side of the ball.”
Minnesota gets one more “tune-up” game against lowly Illinois before the defining portion of their season. The Gophers close the slate with four games against winning teams: Iowa and Ohio State at home, Nebraska and Wisconsin on the road.
You can’t fault the Gophers for their conference schedule. They’ve taken on three middling teams and gotten the job done, even if heart rates had to jump for a few moments. The victory over Purdue displayed a gutty resolve that was missing in Gopher teams of the past.
“You’ve gotta make plays in critical times, and we made plays in critical times,” said Kill.
The Gophers made plays, both offensively and defensively, to beat the Boilermakers. There’s no doubt about that. What does spark some doubt is whether or not the Gophers can sustain their offensive success using a largely one-dimensional rushing offense against the Big 10’s more formidable defensive fronts.
The Gophers are sixth in the conference in rushing but dead last in passing with just over 126 passing yards per game. Quarterback Mitch Leidner has as many touchdown passes (5) as he does interceptions, and his completion percentage (54.1) is near the cellar of the conference.
Running back David Cobb said he “never gets tired” after touching the ball a Herculean 36 times against Purdue for a total of 194 yards. The senior has made a habit of managing huge workloads with at least 30 carries in each of the last four games and 170 yards per game in that span. However, he’s yet to face some of the elite D-lines in the conference. Iowa’s Drew Ott leads the conference in sacks, Ohio State’s Joey Bosa is a tackle for loss machine and Nebraska’s pass defense is so strong they’ll be able to sell out against Cobb.
The matchups against Ohio State and Wisconsin have also been historically frustrating for the Gophers. Minnesota only has one win against Ohio State in the last 33 years and hasn’t beaten Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium for 20 years.
Odds are the Gophers are not elite, but they’re not bottom of the barrel either. Winning three straight in the Big 10 is an accomplishment at any time of any season. Kill has created a culture of winning that may carry over into the critical games. Plus, the team has something meaningful to play for beyond a spot in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The Gophers enter November in pursuit of a Big 10 title.
“A sign of a good group of kids is how you fight back,” said Kill.
So when the Gophers face adversity against an elite team in a hostile environment, how will they respond? That’s yet to be determined.
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket. He has previously served as a play-by-play broadcaster in Iowa and South Dakota and has covered Minnesota sports since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights.