Gopher's Defense end Regular Season ranked 8th in the Nation (5th in B1G) for Total Defense

Taji34 · Dec 7, 2024

The thread about Corey Hetherman getting a contract extension to stay with the Gophers got me curious where we ended the regular season Defense wise according to the stats. I know the raw stats don't really account for how good/bad the opponents of a particular team were, but I still think they are useful. Getting my stats from ncaa.com.

Total Defense:
We ended up 8th for total defense, 5th in the B1G. Here is the top 10 + stats:

Rank	Team	G	Plays	YDS	YDS/Play	OFF TDS	OPP TDS	YPG
1	Ohio State	12	706	2893	4.10	13	14	241.1
2	Indiana	12	711	2938	4.13	20	21	244.8
3	Texas	12	743	2966	3.99	13	15	247.2
4	Penn State	12	713	3201	4.49	16	16	266.8
5	Tennessee	12	772	3339	4.33	18	20	278.2
6	NIU	12	728	3372	4.63	22	24	281.0
7	Oregon	12	729	3405	4.67	21	22	283.8
8	Minnesota	12	732	3491	4.77	24	24	290.9
9	Notre Dame	12	786	3561	4.53	20	20	296.8
10	Army West Point	12	678	3575	5.27	24	24	297.9

Pretty Good company to be in, all things considered!
For some additional context, here is the Total Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 37
Rhode Island: 58 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 79
Iowa: 113
Michigan: 128
USC: 24
UCLA: 117
Maryland: 67
Illinois: 90
Rutgers: 73
Penn State: 20
wisconsin: 100

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 77

Passing Yards Allowed:
So there isn't a "Passing Defense" Category on ncaa.com, but I think Passing Yards Allowed can be used to evaluate our "Passing Defense"

We ended the regular season ranked 16th, 7th in the B1G:

Rank	Team	G	OPP CPL	OPP PASS	OPP PASS YDS	OPP PASS TDS	YDS/ATT	YDS/COMP	YPG
16	Minnesota	12	210	355	2140	11	6.03	10.19	178.3

For some additional context, here is the Passing Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 59
Rhode Island: 62 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 86
Iowa: 130 (worst outside of the service academies)
Michigan: 129
USC: 11
UCLA: 46
Maryland: 15
Illinois: 83
Rutgers: 90
Penn State: 40
wisconsin: 100

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 71.7

Rushing Defense:
We ended the regular season ranked 22nd, 8th in B1G:

Rank	Team	G	OPP RUSH	OPP RUSH YDS	YDS/RUSH	OPP RUSH TDS	YPG
22	Minnesota	12	377	1351	3.58	13	112.6

For some additional context, here is the Rushing Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 32
Rhode Island: 52 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 67
Iowa: 20
Michigan: 69
USC: 81
UCLA: 130
Maryland: 117
Illinois: 79
Rutgers: 50
Penn State: 25
wisconsin: 78

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 68

Here's how we ranked in each category during the PJ Fleck Era (previous years ranks from sports-reference.com):

Year	DC	Total Defense	Passing Yards Allowed	Rush Defense
2017	Robb Smith	30	11	73
2018	Robb Smith (First 9) Joe Rossi (Last 4)	54	51	77
2019	Joe Rossi	9	9	22
2020	Joe Rossi	71	35	102
2021	Joe Rossi	3	8	8
2022	Joe Rossi	9	15	16
2023	Joe Rossi	56	59	64
2024	Corey Hetherman	8	16	22

Gopher_In_NYC · Dec 7, 2024

Taji34 said:
The thread about Corey Hetherman getting a contract extension to stay with the Gophers got me curious where we ended the regular season Defense wise according to the stats. I know the raw stats don't really account for how good/bad the opponents of a particular team were, but I still think they are useful. Getting my stats from ncaa.com.

Total Defense:
We ended up 8th for total defense, 5th in the B1G. Here is the top 10 + stats:

Rank Team G Plays YDS YDS/Play OFF TDS OPP TDS YPG
1 Ohio State 12 706 2893 4.10 13 14 241.1
2 Indiana 12 711 2938 4.13 20 21 244.8
3 Texas 12 743 2966 3.99 13 15 247.2
4 Penn State 12 713 3201 4.49 16 16 266.8
5 Tennessee 12 772 3339 4.33 18 20 278.2
6 NIU 12 728 3372 4.63 22 24 281.0
7 Oregon 12 729 3405 4.67 21 22 283.8
8 Minnesota 12 732 3491 4.77 24 24 290.9
9 Notre Dame 12 786 3561 4.53 20 20 296.8
10 Army West Point 12 678 3575 5.27 24 24 297.9

Pretty Good company to be in, all things considered!
For some additional context, here is the Total Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 37
Rhode Island: 58 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 79
Iowa: 113
Michigan: 128
USC: 24
UCLA: 117
Maryland: 67
Illinois: 90
Rutgers: 73
Penn State: 20
wisconsin: 100

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 77

Passing Yards Allowed:
So there isn't a "Passing Defense" Category on ncaa.com, but I think Passing Yards Allowed can be used to evaluate our "Passing Defense"

We ended the regular season ranked 16th, 7th in the B1G:

Rank Team G OPP CPL OPP PASS OPP PASS YDS OPP PASS TDS YDS/ATT YDS/COMP YPG
16 Minnesota 12 210 355 2140 11 6.03 10.19 178.3

For some additional context, here is the Passing Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 59
Rhode Island: 62 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 86
Iowa: 130 (worst outside of the service academies)
Michigan: 129
USC: 11
UCLA: 46
Maryland: 15
Illinois: 83
Rutgers: 90
Penn State: 40
wisconsin: 100

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 71.7

Rushing Defense:
We ended the regular season ranked 22nd, 8th in B1G:

Rank Team G OPP RUSH OPP RUSH YDS YDS/RUSH OPP RUSH TDS YPG
22 Minnesota 12 377 1351 3.58 13 112.6

For some additional context, here is the Rushing Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 32
Rhode Island: 52 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 67
Iowa: 20
Michigan: 69
USC: 81
UCLA: 130
Maryland: 117
Illinois: 79
Rutgers: 50
Penn State: 25
wisconsin: 78

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 68

Here's how we ranked in each category during the PJ Fleck Era (previous years ranks from sports-reference.com):

Year DC Total Defense Passing Yards Allowed Rush Defense
2017 Robb Smith 30 11 73
2018 Robb Smith (First 9)
Joe Rossi (Last 4) 54 51 77
2019 Joe Rossi 9 9 22
2020 Joe Rossi 71 35 102
2021 Joe Rossi 3 8 8
2022 Joe Rossi 9 15 16
2023 Joe Rossi 56 59 64
2024 Corey Hetherman 8 16 22

Impressive!

This is a

️

️ post/info - thanks for the effort.

BTChamp · Dec 7, 2024

Sure can't complain.

mcrow47 · Dec 9, 2024

Yeah, it was the strong point of the team, no doubt. Not sure what it will look like next year with a lot of key players graduating.

STPGopher · Dec 9, 2024

mcrow47 said:
Yeah, it was the strong point of the team, no doubt. Not sure what it will look like next year with a lot of key players graduating.

I think excitement of the unknown is what keeps us interested season after season.

A_Slab_of_Bacon · Dec 9, 2024

Yay Cory!

TwistingMyMelon · Dec 9, 2024

Taji34 said:
The thread about Corey Hetherman getting a contract extension to stay with the Gophers got me curious where we ended the regular season Defense wise according to the stats. I know the raw stats don't really account for how good/bad the opponents of a particular team were, but I still think they are useful. Getting my stats from ncaa.com.

Total Defense:
We ended up 8th for total defense, 5th in the B1G. Here is the top 10 + stats:

Rank Team G Plays YDS YDS/Play OFF TDS OPP TDS YPG
1 Ohio State 12 706 2893 4.10 13 14 241.1
2 Indiana 12 711 2938 4.13 20 21 244.8
3 Texas 12 743 2966 3.99 13 15 247.2
4 Penn State 12 713 3201 4.49 16 16 266.8
5 Tennessee 12 772 3339 4.33 18 20 278.2
6 NIU 12 728 3372 4.63 22 24 281.0
7 Oregon 12 729 3405 4.67 21 22 283.8
8 Minnesota 12 732 3491 4.77 24 24 290.9
9 Notre Dame 12 786 3561 4.53 20 20 296.8
10 Army West Point 12 678 3575 5.27 24 24 297.9

Pretty Good company to be in, all things considered!
For some additional context, here is the Total Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 37
Rhode Island: 58 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 79
Iowa: 113
Michigan: 128
USC: 24
UCLA: 117
Maryland: 67
Illinois: 90
Rutgers: 73
Penn State: 20
wisconsin: 100

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 77

Passing Yards Allowed:
So there isn't a "Passing Defense" Category on ncaa.com, but I think Passing Yards Allowed can be used to evaluate our "Passing Defense"

We ended the regular season ranked 16th, 7th in the B1G:

Rank Team G OPP CPL OPP PASS OPP PASS YDS OPP PASS TDS YDS/ATT YDS/COMP YPG
16 Minnesota 12 210 355 2140 11 6.03 10.19 178.3

For some additional context, here is the Passing Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 59
Rhode Island: 62 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 86
Iowa: 130 (worst outside of the service academies)
Michigan: 129
USC: 11
UCLA: 46
Maryland: 15
Illinois: 83
Rutgers: 90
Penn State: 40
wisconsin: 100

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 71.7

Rushing Defense:
We ended the regular season ranked 22nd, 8th in B1G:

Rank Team G OPP RUSH OPP RUSH YDS YDS/RUSH OPP RUSH TDS YPG
22 Minnesota 12 377 1351 3.58 13 112.6

For some additional context, here is the Rushing Offense ranks for all of our regular season opponents:
UNC: 32
Rhode Island: 52 (in FCS rankings)
Nevada: 67
Iowa: 20
Michigan: 69
USC: 81
UCLA: 130
Maryland: 117
Illinois: 79
Rutgers: 50
Penn State: 25
wisconsin: 78

Average Rank (excluding Rhode Island): 68

Here's how we ranked in each category during the PJ Fleck Era (previous years ranks from sports-reference.com):

Year DC Total Defense Passing Yards Allowed Rush Defense
2017 Robb Smith 30 11 73
2018 Robb Smith (First 9)
Joe Rossi (Last 4) 54 51 77
2019 Joe Rossi 9 9 22
2020 Joe Rossi 71 35 102
2021 Joe Rossi 3 8 8
2022 Joe Rossi 9 15 16
2023 Joe Rossi 56 59 64
2024 Corey Hetherman 8 16 22

The Joe Rossi MN career overview reminded us that Joe Rossi had some great defenses but also had some mediocre ones. Let's hope that Hetherman can be a bit more consistent.

It also reminded us of how good the 2021 defense was in no small part due to having Jack Gibbens, Jordan Howden, Boye Mafe, Esezi Otomewo, Tyler Nubin, Terrell Smith, and freshman Justin Walley on that team.

Gopherchase · Dec 9, 2024

TwistingMyMelon said:
The Joe Rossi MN career overview reminded us that Joe Rossi had some great defenses but also had some mediocre ones. Let's hope that Hetherman can be a bit more consistent.

It also reminded us of how good the 2021 defense was in no small part due to having Jack Gibbens, Jordan Howden, Boye Mafe, Esezi Otomewo, Tyler Nubin, Terrell Smith, and freshman Justin Walley on that team.

Gibbens flashed almost every game. He was great. Hope he heals up well from his injury against the Vikes.

MaxyJR1 · Dec 9, 2024

What would it rank in the SEC is the true question.

Catechol · Dec 9, 2024

MaxyJR1 said:
What would it rank in the SEC is the true question.

Respectfully, why is that the question necessarily? Wouldn’t it be just as valid to ask, how would the SEC offenses rank if they played in the Big Ten, who has five out of the top 8 defenses in the country? Of course, there is no end to the SEC circular reasoning.

NotAFanOfBecky · Dec 9, 2024

Thanks for putting that together! I knew they had a good year but nice job by Coach. Hope this can continue next year!

Gopher's Defense end Regular Season ranked 8th in the Nation (5th in B1G) for Total Defense

Taji34

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Gopher_In_NYC

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BTChamp

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mcrow47

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STPGopher

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A_Slab_of_Bacon

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TwistingMyMelon

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Gopherchase

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MaxyJR1

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Catechol

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NotAFanOfBecky

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