There were two pieces of good news for the Minnesota Golden Gophers this weekend. First, they won their sixth game of the season on Saturday, making them bowl eligible for the fifth straight year. Second, Nebraska beat Wisconsin, meaning the Gophers and Badgers are tied for second place in the Big Ten West. The Cornhuskers lead the division at 7-1, but 6-2 Minnesota has games remaining against both teams. First, however, they need to take care of business this week against Purdue.
Three weeks ago, after a dismal loss to Iowa, Purdue fired head coach Darrell Hazell. Hazell was 9-33 in three and a half seasons at the helm for the Boilermakers. Gerad Parker, the receivers’ coach, was elevated to the interim spot. Unlike at LSU, where the mid-season firing of Les Miles appears to have turned things around, Purdue has lost their two subsequent games by a combined margin of 89-38 despite improved play. This is the last of four consecutive games for Minnesota that they should, on paper, win easily.
Minnesota Bowl Eligible; Big Ten West Division Still Up for Grabs
Keys To The Game: Offense
Quarterback Mitch Leidner must use good judgment in the pocket. He’s got to avoid forcing throws into tight coverage, especially to Wolitarsky, who generally draws the opponent’s best defender(s). Nothing wrong with checking down to the running back, especially when they’re as good as Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks.
The offensive line has got to cut down on the false starts. Giving up five yards here and there hasn’t hurt the Gophers of late, but after this week, they face teams that are much better equipped to take advantage of those miscues. (Credit where credit is due; the entire team did better in the penalty department last week. Six for 56 yards is an improvement.)
As far as the running game is concerned, keep up the good work. No complaints there.
Keys To The Game: Defense
Continue to cut down on penalties, and for the love of Pete, please quit with the targeting fouls. I’m pretty sure Duke McGhee’s ejection for targeting last week was the Gophers’ fifth such penalty this year. (It may have even been the sixth- if anyone knows of a website that tracks such things, hit me up on Twitter @LastWordLindsay and let me know).
Last week against Penn State, Purdue had most of its (limited) offensive success with the short passing game. Don’t let them get guys out in space- or, better yet, don’t give quarterback David Blough time to set his feet and throw.
Blough giveth and Blough taketh away: 16 passing touchdowns and 12 picks this year for the Purdue quarterback. Receiver DeAngelo Yancey has been on the receiving end of six of those touchdowns, including a couple of long ones. Keep him bottled up.
Of note on special teams
Purdue’s kicker has made just five of his nine field goal attempts this year. Minnesota’s Ryan Santoso had one of his less-impressive punting performances last week, but that was likely due at least in part to the windy conditions.
Bottom Line
If the Gophers want to have even a sniff at the division, they need to win this game. With Nebraska playing Ohio State, they have an excellent chance to be tied atop the standings heading into their game with the ‘Huskers next weekend.
