Minnesota traveled to Corvallis, Ore. for the first time in program history and made only their third trip to a Pac-12 stadium in 37 years. The Gophers took advantage of the opportunity to star in “Pac-12 After Dark.”
An efficient offensive performance led by quarterback Conor Rhoda and three takeaways on defense, propelled the Gophers to a huge 48-14 win against Oregon State. Head coach P.J. Fleck became the first Minnesota coach to win his first true road game since Murray Warmath in 1954.
Rhoda boat?
Quarterback Conor Rhoda moved the offense well in his second official start of the season. He finished the night 7-for-8 with 158 yards, and a touchdown. He averaged 19.75 yards per attempt and moved the Gophers’ offense vertically. Minnesota rushed the ball 58 times and it allowed the team to isolate their wide receivers when linebackers bit on the option look.
Quarterback Demry Croft took just two first half series and fumbled, which set up a short Oregon State touchdown drive. However, he responded to the adversity and entered the game in the fourth quarter to score a 64-yard rushing touchdown. It was a huge night for a Gophers offense that showed impressive efficiency. Nonetheless, Conor Rhoda had command of the system and separated himself by doing a few things differently Saturday night.
Rhoda was more willing to use his legs, which helped prevent the defense from abandoning the edge. It opened more interior rushing lanes. Last week, the defense overloaded the box and it constricted lanes for the running backs to get loose. On the second drive of the game, a 6-yard rush by Rhoda helped keep the defense honest. On the next play, the Beavers had seven players in the box and Rhoda took advantage by finding wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who was isolated off a post route. Johnson took it the distance for a 67-yard score. Rhoda led the team on a 4-play, 80-yard touchdown drive and two field goals in the first half. More importantly, he led the Gophers on three consecutive touchdown drives in the second half, including a 15-play, 77-yard session that took 9:24 off the clock.
The running game was working and the linebackers were biting inside to open up deep crossers and isolation concepts to the wide receivers. By the end of the third quarter, Shannon Brooks was averaging 5.5 yards per carry and barreling through tacklers with his powerful legs. Minnesota’s offensive line was getting a great push in short yardage situations, too. Overall, the Gophers were able to complete a high volume of passes and increased their yards per attempt, which were two major keys entering the season.
More pre-snap motion, creativity on offense
The Gophers performed better on the ground and it was fueled by improved design on offense. There was more pre-snap motion that helped the running backs get downhill. On the first drive of the game, Shannon Brooks ran a fly sweep out of an inside zone play. The motion and Rhoda’s willingness to create on the edge, helped drastically improve the flow of Minnesota’s offense. A 15-yard run by Shannon Brooks, followed by a sweet jump cut and elusive 17-yard Rodney Smith rush, aided a first half field goal drive. The Gophers also ran more effectively on early downs, which set up manageable opportunities on second and third down. This is something that didn’t happen in week one against Buffalo. Brooks and Smith combined to average 4.4 yards per carry and racked up 183 total yards. They simply wore down the Beavers’ defense.
Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca was very creative throughout the game. He started in two tight end sets and used a plethora of motion to aid the offensive rhythm. In the red zone, he shifted to a four wide receiver set with Tyler Johnson and Demetrius Douglas stacked on one side of the formation. It led to a quick Oregon State timeout as the play was set. The Gophers have been running great route combinations to get separation and it’s increased their yards per attempt, which ranked in the bottom tier last season. Ciarrocca also designed a beautiful slip play to pick up 22 yards. Running back Rodney Smith was isolated in space by design and exploited the weak Oregon State front-seven. The Gophers have a creative offensive coordinator and this is only an appetizer to the main entrée.
More: http://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2017/09/fast-physical-defense-fuels-gophers-impressive-road-win/