Gophers currently have the #1 pass defense in the nation

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People have called the Gophers a running team for years because they call lots of running plays at decent efficiency.

The Gophers are first and foremost a pass defense team since Tracy Claeys showed up and it has mostly continued across coaches and teams. The secondary, especially the safeties, has been the Gophers best unit overall since the Tyrone Carter days.
 


Our overall pass defense this year has benefited from going against the likes of Iowa and Michigan but what they did against USC showed that they are legit.

We have had some pretty amazing secondaries through the years, especially when you factor in the struggles we have had in getting consistent pressure on opposing QBs most years.
 



For some extra context, here's where our past and future opponents currently rank for passing offense:

North Carolina: 50
Rhode Island: 76 (FCS ranking)
Nevada: 99
Iowa: 127
Michigan: 129
USC: 20

UCLA: 95
Maryland: 12
Illinois: 84
Rutgers: 102
Penn State: 57
Wisconsin: 78

Average opponent ranking for games played (excluding Rhode Island since they are FCS): 85
Average opponent ranking for future games: 71

So the second half of the schedule (as it stands right now) will be a slightly tougher challenge for our passing defense that the first half was.

Maryland being the toughest passing offense we're slated to face this year was a bit of a surprise to me.
 



Taji34 said:
For some extra context, here's where our past and future opponents currently rank for passing offense:

North Carolina: 50
Rhode Island: 76 (FCS ranking)
Nevada: 99
Iowa: 127
Michigan: 129
USC: 20

UCLA: 95
Maryland: 12
Illinois: 84
Rutgers: 102
Penn State: 57
Wisconsin: 78

Average opponent ranking for games played (excluding Rhode Island since they are FCS): 85
Average opponent ranking for future games: 71

So the second half of the schedule (as it stands right now) will be a slightly tougher challenge for our passing defense that the first half was.

Maryland being the toughest passing offense we're slated to face this year was a bit of a surprise to me.
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Yeah this feels like a little bit of a Glen Mason stat ... where the Gophers always seemed to have some high ranking something ... and then the preseason would end.

Granted this is much farther along in the season.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Yeah this feels like a little bit of a Glen Mason stat ... where the Gophers always seemed to have some high ranking something ... and then the preseason would end.

Granted this is much farther along in the season.
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I think its fair to say this:

I watched the Wisconsin game and USC could not be stopped in the 2nd half. They threw at will everywhere. It was a windy night, but we held them way under what they normally expect. I thought we'd get torched far more often. We also kept everything underneath and did not give up any bombs. Thought the pass defense looked great. I also liked Koi back there. Can't see how he doesn't start the rest of the way.
 

Taji34 said:
For some extra context, here's where our past and future opponents currently rank for passing offense:

North Carolina: 50
Rhode Island: 76 (FCS ranking)
Nevada: 99
Iowa: 127
Michigan: 129
USC: 20

UCLA: 95
Maryland: 12
Illinois: 84
Rutgers: 102
Penn State: 57
Wisconsin: 78

Average opponent ranking for games played (excluding Rhode Island since they are FCS): 85
Average opponent ranking for future games: 71

So the second half of the schedule (as it stands right now) will be a slightly tougher challenge for our passing defense that the first half was.

Maryland being the toughest passing offense we're slated to face this year was a bit of a surprise to me.
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Of our upcoming opponents, all but one extreme outlier (Maryland) are materially worse in the pass game than USC, which we just held to 17 points. If we tighten up our run defense some (LB play), and stay healthy, I like our chances in the 2nd half of the schedule … especially if PJ lets Brosmer be Brosmer.
 




I'm still shocked USC decided to pass as much as they did against us when it felt like for a while they were getting basically a guaranteed 7-8 yards on every run. Credit to our D they did tighten that up late in the game and forced USC to throw more which plays into our strengths as the numbers display.
 

Gophers1992 said:
I'm still shocked USC decided to pass as much as they did against us when it felt like for a while they were getting basically a guaranteed 7-8 yards on every run. Credit to our D they did tighten that up late in the game and forced USC to throw more which plays into our strengths as the numbers display.
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Yeah that was weird, they had the run.

And man ... teams have beat us with the run in the past ...

No run?
 

The Gophers have actually faced two very solid passing teams in USC and UNC. Max Johnson at UNC got hurt late in the Gopher game and was a good transfer QB with good seasons at TAMU and LSU. Maryland might be the only team left that's anywhere near those two.

In the end, it depends on what Hetherman decides to prioritize on defense. I'm more worried about the Gophs giving up big yards in the running game.
 

It is very very rare for any team to have lock down pass and run defenses. Very very rare.
 



btowngopher said:
Perich, Brown, Walley, and Robinson all have legit shots to be draft picks.
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These guys were flying around...covering people, hittin' people...very fun to watch!
The scheme is aggressive versus the keep things in front of you passive approach where you just keep backing up..
 

Yeah that number 4 for usc was gaining yds in every touch.
 

Sparlimb said:
I think its fair to say this:

I watched the Wisconsin game and USC could not be stopped in the 2nd half. They threw at will everywhere. It was a windy night, but we held them way under what they normally expect. I thought we'd get torched far more often. We also kept everything underneath and did not give up any bombs. Thought the pass defense looked great. I also liked Koi back there. Can't see how he doesn't start the rest of the way.
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The pass defense did look very good against USC and I was glad that USC went to the pass as much as they did because they were shredding us on the ground.
 




Taji34 said:
For some extra context, here's where our past and future opponents currently rank for passing offense:

North Carolina: 50
Rhode Island: 76 (FCS ranking)
Nevada: 99
Iowa: 127
Michigan: 129
USC: 20

UCLA: 95
Maryland: 12
Illinois: 84
Rutgers: 102
Penn State: 57
Wisconsin: 78

Average opponent ranking for games played (excluding Rhode Island since they are FCS): 85
Average opponent ranking for future games: 71

So the second half of the schedule (as it stands right now) will be a slightly tougher challenge for our passing defense that the first half was.

Maryland being the toughest passing offense we're slated to face this year was a bit of a surprise to me.
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Athan Kaliakmanis and the 102nd ranked Rutgers passing offense vs the Gophers is going to be fun. The Gophers might play with 11 men in the box on every down.
 

I think it's been a bit of a weird year as there are teams that are sitting at spots where they don't typically sit, especially rushing Defense. There are a few teams that are in our neighborhood below 50 in rushing that you might not expect:

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Luckily for us, some of our future opponents like the Illini (61), Wisky (65) and Rut (84), Purdue (131 -OUCH) haven't been great Rushing Defenses either. However, it will be interesting to see how we attack UCLA this weekend and Maryland the next game. UCLA actually sits at 25th in rushing after playing some good teams, but the reverse is that they are 124th in Pass Def. The same goes for Maryland at 33rd Rush & 120th Pass Def. So, will PJ possibly still try to pound the rock or will he go the path of least resistance and give Max a shot at lighting them up?
 

Gophers1992 said:
I'm still shocked USC decided to pass as much as they did against us when it felt like for a while they were getting basically a guaranteed 7-8 yards on every run. Credit to our D they did tighten that up late in the game and forced USC to throw more which plays into our strengths as the numbers display.
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Some USC commentators had the exact same thought. Why go almost exclusively to the pass in the 4th Q when the Goph’s D has had so much trouble stopping USC’s running game? It was a second-guessable strategy, for sure. Played into the Gophers’ strength on D. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Of our upcoming opponents, all but one extreme outlier (Maryland) are materially worse in the pass game than USC, which we just held to 17 points. If we tighten up our run defense some (LB play), and stay healthy, I like our chances in the 2nd half of the schedule … especially if PJ lets Brosmer be Brosmer.
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Would be nice to think somebody has the power to tighten up the run defense with better LB performance. Truth is, nobody can. Our LBs are who they are and they are routinely being shoved out of gaps, leaving big running holes.

Cody is good-sized and strong, so this has been a great surprise to witness. Not sure if he's physically 100% or not but he's not playing as well as previous seasons.

Mav and Williams aren't big enough and just not strong enough to shed blockers.

Fleck did a good job in the portal but he clearly overlooked the need to shore up our LB corps.
 

Spaulding!No! said:
Yeah that number 4 for usc was gaining yds in every touch.
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Gopher LBs simply couldn't fill gaps. They were being routinely shoved to the side. The guy had five yards before risk of being touched on some plays.
 

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