Gophers aim for faster starts in the second half of the season

Through the first half of Minnesota’s 2025 season, the Golden Gophers’ offense has shown the ability to be an explosive attack capable of putting up points in a hurry. Yet despite that explosiveness, the Gophers have struggled to get out of the gate this season, averaging just 0.6 points in the first quarter — ranking 135th in the country.
Despite the slow starts, the Gophers are still averaging 27.3 points and 340 yards of total offense per game.
But if the Gophers want to continue to stack up the wins over their final six games of the season, they’ll have to start faster on offense going forward.
In this week’s media availability, Minnesota offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. and quarterback Drake Lindsey both discussed Minnesota’s early game struggles.
“You put together a plan all week. Then you go into the game with a plan, and you have to start fast, and that’s what you anticipate,” Harbaugh Jr said on Wednesday. That’s culturally driven. Starting fast, accelerating in the middle, and finishing strong.”
The Gophers’ offensive coordinator believes that part of the offense’s struggles early on have been a lack of balance.
“Secondly, I think it starts sticking with the run,” he added. “That’s a big part of it, too. Our players just have to continue to get better.”
“It goes back to where we have to continue to coach better, and if we can do that, then we’ll have success on the football, and we’ll be balanced.”
Sticking with the run for Minnesota is easier said than done.
Through six games, the Gophers are averaging just 112.3 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. In their three conference games, the Gophers have totaled just 133 rushing yards on 61 carries, an average of 2.2 yards.
For the Gophers, part of having more success on the ground comes back to their ability to be more physical in the trenches, a place that they’ve struggled all season.
“I think it’s just staying with the process, staying with the plan, and we want to be physical,” Harbaugh said. “I think it’s, again, preparation and trusting your fundamentals and techniques is what’s going to come into play with being physical.”
“Physicality is also a mindset,” he continued. “Those guys want to go out and be physical, and I also think I go back to the beginning of it: we want to start fast, and we want to be balanced.”
“I always think, too, if you get into a situation where you don’t start fast and then you potentially have to start throwing it, pass setting is a lot different than running off the football.”
“If you can stay balanced, then you can create the physical nature to the offensive line and the tight ends instead of them always working backwards; they’re working forwards. And I think it goes back to that—starting fast.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey, on Wednesday, took partial responsibility for the offense’s slow starts.
“I think it’s just the preparation that goes into it,” Lindsey said. “I think we’ve got to do a better job of preparing Monday through Friday, and this week obviously it was Sunday through Thursday, of getting ourselves ready for the first drive and when we get out there.”
“I think it just starts with process and preparation,” he continued. “I got to do a better job with myself and also hold the other teammates to that.”
On top of being better prepared, Gophers star running back Darius Taylor believes the offense needs everyone to simply play within their own role.
“The biggest thing is attention to detail,” Taylor said. “Everybody just needs to do their 1/11. We have to hone in on that, like everybody needs to do their job, and, you know, that’s how offense works.”
“One guy out of place, it can mess up the whole play,” he continued. “Myself and everybody else have to just do their job, and things will start to click.”
The challenge of starting fast won’t get any easier for the Gophers as Friday night’s opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, presents one of the better first-quarter and first-half defenses this season.
Through six games, Nebraska is allowing just 8.8 points in the first half and less than a field goal in the third quarter, ranking among the top 20 nationally in both categories
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