Oct. 23, 2021: The Golden Gophers have extended their winning streak to three, after a dominant 34-10 over the Maryland Terrapins.
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Full Game Recap:
- Pregame/injuries: P.J. Fleck had listed sophomore wide receiver, Daniel Jackson as questionable leading up to the week, but he remained out for the second consecutive game against Maryland. There weren’t any other names of note on the Gophers’ injury report.
- First-Quarter: After an early Maryland fumble forced by Nyles Pinckney, the Gophers’ weren’t able to take advantage, as Matthew Trickett was wide left on a 50-yard field goal. The Terrapins’ offense responded with a field goal drive of their own, but their kick went through the uprights, taking a 3-0 lead. Minnesota answered with a made 37-yard Trickett field goal, as he moved to 5/10 for his last 10 field goal attempts.
- Second-Quarter: A drive highlighted by long runs from both Ky Thomas and Bucko Irving, resulted in a 2-yard Cole Kramer TD giving the Gophers a 10-3 lead. After forcing another quick Maryland 3 & out, the Gophers drove down the field and Thomas added a 10-yard touchdown of his own, extending Minnesota’s lead to 17-3. The Terrapins then responded with a much-needed TD drive and shrunk the Gophers’ lead to 17-10. To end the first half, the P.J. Fleck disastrously mismanaged the clock and after a blocked Trickett field goal, the Minnesota lead remained at 7 heading into the locker room.
Second Half:
- Third-Quarter: The Gophers’ offensive line continued to dominate into the second half. A dominant 11 play, 75-yard, 6:22 drive was capped off by a 2-yard Bryce Williams‘ TD extending the lead to 24-10. After forcing Maryland into a turnover on downs, the Gophers took advantage of the favorable field position and Irving, scored a 10-yard TD giving all 3 of Minnesota’s RBs a TD on the day.
- Fourth-Quarter: The run-game dominance continued into the fourth quarter with a drive of 8:36. Mattew Trickett’s second made field goal of the day, gave Minnesota a 34-10 lead. Maryland would add a garbage touchdown, but the Gophers came out on top 34-16.
Instant Reaction & Takeaways:
This game was HUGE for the Gophers in many more ways than one. For one, the offensive line, defensive line and running backs all played ELITE football today. But, the fact that Minnesota came out of the locker room aggressive and fast for the first time this season was terrific to see. I guess going forward Fleck needs to have an absolute debacle of clock management to end the first half to fire up his team for the second half (not really). There really was so much to love from this game and very little to hate. If there was something to correct, the defense is still struggling with big plays from time to time.
In a game that was redshirt-senior offensive lineman Conner Olson‘s program-best 52nd career start, the unit as a whole clearly rallied around him. What I think was their best game of the season, opened the door for a breakout performance from all three running backs. Ky Thomas led the way with 21 carries for 139 yards and a TD, but Bucky Irving (15 carries, for 105 yards and a TD) and Bryce Williams (13 carries, for 48 yards and a TD) both had huge days of their own. As a whole, the running game combined for 55 carries, for 327 yards and 4 TDs, on the day, they averaged a remarkable 5.9 yards-per-carry in a dominating performance — just pure smash-mouth football.
Tanner Morgan was not asked to do much today, but he played another terrific game. You never want to fix what’s not broken and the Gophers did just that. They were running the football down Maryland’s throat and I do not blame them for continuing to do it.
The defensive line and front seven continued to dominate in the running game, allowing only 79 Maryland rushing yards on 23 carries, for an average of 3.4 per carry on the day. A trio of 20+ yard passing plays was a bit concerning from the secondary. At the end of the day, the defense wasn’t asked to do much; Minnesota absolutely dominated the time of possession and the defense was barely on the field. When they were, they were making plays and getting the ball back to the offense, which sometimes is all you can ask for.
I think I could type out about 1,000 words about how blasphemous P.J. Fleck’s clock management at the end of the half was, and continues to be, but I will save my words. He coached a terrific game and nobody can be perfect. It is a bit concerning that he continues to struggle in late-first half situations, but I am sure he is aware of it and we can only hope that it will get better.
What is Next?:
Minnesota will now enter its easiest stretch of the Big Ten schedule with back-to-back games against Northwestern and Illinois, the latter of which will be the only one at home. This team can win the Big Ten West Championship, plain and simple. It is fair to say that the trio of Williams, Thomas and Irving is more than capable of replicating the success the running game had with Potts and Ibrahim. Morgan and the passing game are beginning to find their identity, while the play-calling is finally starting to make sense. The offense as a whole has completely found its identity as a run-first team that relies on its offensive line, but I think the best part is they’re balanced and no longer grossly predictable.
As for the defensive side of the ball, there is also so much to like. This could very well be the best Gophers’ front seven in the last decade and it continues to play that way. After entering the season with serious question marks, the unit as a whole continues to play ELITE football. The secondary is still struggling with consistency at times, but young players like Justin Walley are only getting better and they’re beginning to peak at the right time.
It is remarkable the job that P.J. Fleck has done keeping this team locked in and motivated following the Bowling Green loss. They’re playing like a top-20 team in the country and I am not sure many teams or programs would be in this spot after that loss. Like Fleck would say, I think that has so much to do with the culture that he has built at this program. This sky is the limit for this team, and I can confidently say that they will put their oars in the water next week and keep rowing.