Minnesota's offense aims to be more explosive after week four bye
Through four games this season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ offense has struggled to generate explosive plays that could help swing games.
The Gophers rank 103rd nationally in plays from scrimmage of 10+ yards, with 41. They have just 12 of 20+ yards, and four of 30+ yards, the latter ranking 119th in the country this season.
Falling behind in the explosive play battle, much like the turnover battle, often makes winning games more difficult.
On Wednesday, Minnesota offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr discussed the Gophers’ big play issues with the media.
“That’s the age-old question,” Harbaugh said when asked. “If I throw the ball down the field, we have to throw it accurately, and we have to catch it. We have to block.”
“I think the key to explosive plays is everything,” he added. “Running the football effectively, being accurate at quarterback, running the route properly. There’s so many things that go into it.”
The Gophers, according to their metrics, were still able to generate big plays against California, Harbaugh noted.
“I look at the Cal game where we had an opportunity to be explosive,” he said. “We looked at it where we had nine explosives throughout that game, through our metrics. We had game-changing plays as well, which were plays over 25 yards or more, and then we had certain explosive runs and we had explosive passes.”
Harbaugh does not doubt that the Gophers have the talent to generate more big plays.
“We have the ability to be explosive,” he continued. “We have an explosive quarterback. We have explosive playmakers. We just have to execute consistently throughout the course of the game.”
“At the end of the day, it comes down to me seeing what the defense is doing, us calling the play, and executing it properly once the ball is snapped. Explosive plays happen when the play is executed properly.”
“I want to be explosive just like everyone wants to be explosive,” he concluded. “We have the opportunity to do it. I have to call the play; we have to execute as players.
The Gophers will have the opportunity to generate more big plays on offense on Saturday afternoon when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Scarlet Knights’ defense has been susceptible at times to big plays, allowing 53 total plays of 10+ yards and 18 of 20+ yards this season.
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