Minnesota vs Rutgers Film Review
Positives:
-The game started with a very impressive first drive that ended in a Shannon Brooks one yard touchdown run.
-The very first play was a perfectly executed play action and the offensive line gave Mitch Leidner time to throw and he laid one out there on a wheel route down the right sideline to Rodney Smith for a 27 yard gain.
-Minnesota’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and got significant push to give Smith and Brooks plenty of room to operate. As a team Minnesota rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries.
-Rolling to his left on the Gophers second drive, Leidner threw a beautiful back shoulder fade to Brian Smith for a 34 yard gain that moved them to the Rutgers 30 yard line.
-The play-calling was excellent in the first quarter and everything seemed to be clicking. Leidner connected with Wolitarsky four times in the first two drives, including a perfectly thrown slant route for a nine yard gain to keep the drive going on third down.
-Senior leaders Jalen Myrick and Damarius Travis came up big in the secondary and had interceptions. Travis capitalized on a poor throw from Rutgers signal caller Giovanni Rescigno and picked him off in the end zone right before halftime.
-Jonathon Celestin had 12 tackles to lead the team in that category once again. He was all over the field on Saturday and also had his second sack of the season. Without a doubt he has been the Gophers best linebacker this season. He has 55 tackles on the year, which is 13th in the Big Ten.
-Tyler Johnson had his first catch in the past three games. He ran a seam route down the field and Leidner hit him perfectly for a 34 yard gain in the first half.
-Duke McGhee had his most impactful game as a Gopher on Saturday from his safety position. The redshirt junior had nine tackles in the win.
-Steven Richardson continues to be Minnesota’s best defensive lineman. He had four total tackles and a sack on the day. When he isn’t double teamed he causes big time problems in the backfield.
-Rodney Smith continues his stellar redshirt sophomore season by rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown. His 94 yard kick return touchdown in the third quarter flipped the momentum back to Minnesota after Rutgers had a pick six that brought the score to 24-23. Minnesota does not win this game without the outstanding performance from Smith.
-Defensive End Hank Ekpe played perhaps his best game of the season. He had six total tackles and three tackles for loss. He also had his first two sacks of the season against the Scarlet Knights. He also forced a fumble on his sack in the first quarter that led to a Mitch Leidner touchdown run a few plays later.
Negatives:
-Rutgers is not a very good football team at this point, and they played the Gophers toe-to-toe after falling behind 21-3 after the first quarter.
-The Gophers allowed the Scarlet Knights to have 372 total yards, just two weeks after they were beat 78-0 by Michigan at home in New Jersey. Rutgers had 22 total yards in that game.
-The defense was not at full strength because of the restraining order placed on the six Gophers players this week, and once again there was a noticeable drop off in performance. KiAnte Hardin has been sensational this year when he has been available to play, and he was missed yesterday. Sophomore corner back Antonio Shenault struggled throughout the game to stick with the skill players for Rutgers, and he was attacked multiple times. Ray Buford, who also couldn’t play Saturday due to the restraining order, would have certainly helped in Minnesota’s nickel package as well.
-Junior quarterback Giovanni Rescigno was given his first career Big Ten road start, and he made the most of it. He outplayed Leidner, going 22-38 for 220 yards and three touchdowns. He played with a mostly clean pocket throughout the afternoon and showed strong poise, nearly leading Rutgers to the upset over Minnesota.
-When you play young guys, there are going to be plenty of ups and downs. Antoine Winfield Jr. has been playing very well this season, but he was exposed in coverage a couple times. He was burned badly on third down by Rutgers receiver Jawuan Harris for a touchdown in the third quarter on a short dig route, and Harris outran Winfield the rest of way for an 18 yard touchdown. Winfield did have six tackles on the day, however.
-Drew Wolitarsky muffed his second punt of the season on Saturday, and it nearly cost Minnesota the game as Rutgers took over at the Gophers 20 yard line. The muff led to a field goal, which put Rutgers up 32-31. The senior has to be better than that, especially since it was a very routine catch to make at a crucial time of game.
-3rd down defense was poor once again. Rutgers converted on 10 of their 19 third down conversions as the Gophers really struggled to get off of the field. Getting Hardin and Buford back this week should definitely help in that aspect. The Gophers are 11th in the Big Ten at giving up third down conversions, allowing opponents to convert 41.5% of the time.
-More injuries. Right Tackle Garrison Wright suffered a foot injury and will be re-evaluated early this week. Walk-On Chad Fahning replaced him during the 2nd half and did a decent job, but Wright is really a quality lineman and will be missed. Guard Vincent Calhoun also continues to suffer from a turf toe injury.
-Junior tight end Brandon Lingen just has not been able to catch a break this year. Many expected him to have a breakout year after going for almost 500 receiving yards last fall. After returning from a broken collarbone injury two weeks ago, he limped off the field with a foot injury Saturday. This looks like a it could be a lost season for the junior from Wayzata.
-Leidner didn’t play bad on Saturday, but sometimes the stats don’t tell the full story. On a third and ten in the second quarter he had Wolitarsky wide open over the middle for what would have been a first down. There was a clean pocket and plenty of time, but instead he checked down to Brandon Lingen for a three yard game and the Gophers were forced to punt.
-Receiver Rashad Still has been a non-factor this season. After receiving a lot of hype throughout camp, he has just four catches for 68 yards on the season. He will need to step it up down the stretch to help this offense balance things out.
-Untimely pre-snap penalties. In the fourth quarter Minnesota had a 4th and 2 at the Scarlet Knights 45 yard line. They called a timeout to talk it over, then right out of the timeout they had a false start on the offensive line. That brought it to 4th and 7, where of course they had to punt. These pre-snap penalties continue to be a recurring theme and they just can’t seem to get them figured out.
-Rutgers beat Minnesota up front on two consecutive drives to get off the field on 4th and short. The Gophers were down two starting linemen at the time, but Rutgers isn’t exactly rock solid up front on the defensive line. Have to convert on those plays.
Going Forward:
-It was far from pretty, and it was evident at TCF Bank Stadium that fans were unhappy and what they saw on Saturday. At the end of the day, winning ugly is a lot better than losing pretty, and the Gophers were able to get to 5-2 on the season and get to .500 in the Big Ten heading into two winnable games against Illinois and Purdue.
-Getting Hardin and Buford back in the secondary next week will be crucial. The defensive performances against Iowa and Maryland were significantly better than the ones against Penn State and Rutgers, and having these two in there definitely helps.
-A strong performance is needed next week on the road to get things back on track. After a much more convincing win on the road at Maryland, Minnesota seemed to regress this week and nearly lost to a bad Rutgers team in their homecoming game.
-Feeding Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks is essential. The carry split was dead even at 22 carries a piece, and they combined for nearly 200 yards. Smith has been especially brilliant this year as he leads all Big Ten players in total yards with 1,008 this season. They are the best weapons on offense, and it’s clear the offense is at its best when these two are involved.
-Set Mitch up for success. The first two drives were executed perfectly yesterday. It was great to see the mix of plays that were called, especially when Rutgers tried to load the box to stop the run and Wolitarsky caught a couple bubble screens on the edge to pick up 5-7 yards.
-Minnesota has a chance to reach bowl eligibility for the fifth straight season next week when they travel to Champaign. The Illini are coming off a 41-8 loss at Michigan last week, and are starting a true freshman at quarterback in Jeff George Jr.
-So many fans are upset with how Minnesota has sputtered at inopportune times this year and how they have underachieved against opponents that they should be able to beat handily. This has definitely concerning, but it could definitely be a lot worse as these close wins could have been losses.
-This team is 5-2 with a couple winnable games coming up before the tough three game stretch against Nebraska, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. These next two games at Illinois and back home against Purdue will be crucial for ironing out the kinks and playing their best football heading into the final stretch of the season.
-Starting middle linebacker Cody Poock should be full go by next week, as should starting right tackle Jonah Pirsig, who sat out the past two games. Of course Hardin and Buford will be back in the secondary as well. The health of the team right now is much better than it was at this point last year.
