P.J. Fleck addresses Minnesota’s run-game struggles
This past Friday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, for a third-straight road game, were blown out. After falling to No. 1 Ohio State 42-3, and the Iowa Hawkeyes 41-3, the Gophers stood no chance against the No. 8 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
While there are multiple discussion points coming out of the Gophers’ latest setback, one of the bigger discussions is the continuous struggle of the program’s rushing attack. Minnesota, in its fourth loss of the season, ran for just 62 yards on 24 carries, an average of 2.6 yards per carry. It was the fifth time in their last seven games that Minnesota failed to rush for 100 or more yards.
For the season, the Gophers are averaging just 105 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. Both numbers are steps back from an equally abysmal 2024 season on the ground, in which the Gophers ran for 115.6 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry.
“I mean, it’s either personnel, coaching, or scheme, right?” Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said when asked about the rushing attack’s struggles.
“In the run game, we’ve had some games where we’ve been really, really good in the run game, and some games we haven’t been good in the run game,” he continued.
The Gophers started their season averaging 180.3 rushing yards per game and 4.3 yards per carry. However, their numbers in those first three games were inflated quite a bit by a 258-yard performance against FCS opponent Northwestern State, in which they still only averaged 5.6 yards per carry.
For the season, the Gophers’ rushing attack has averaged 4.0 yards or more per carry just three times.
“Our best players in the run game that have been carrying the ball haven’t been really in there pretty much all year,” Fleck noted.
This season, the Gophers have seen star running back Darius Taylor only play in seven games. Of those seven games, he has totaled more than 10 carries in just four, including 10 carries for 57 yards against Oregon. Additionally, Marshall transfer A.J. Turner, expected to be a key piece of the Gophers’ backfield, saw his season end in the program’s third game of the season against California.
“But we still should be able to do what we need to do, and that falls upon the coaching staff, that falls upon the players, that falls upon everybody in the organization. It’s a mindset to be able to establish that.”
“Some of the games we’ve played in have got us away from that a lot earlier than maybe we wanted to get away from,” Fleck continued to explain.
The Golden Gophers are now 10 games into their 2025 season with a 6-4 overall record, including 4-3 in Big Ten play. They have two regular-season games remaining, one against the Northwestern Wildcats this weekend at Wrigley Field in Chicago, as well as a rivalry matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers on November 29.
Northwestern has struggled in stopping the run this season, allowing 150.1 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has been strong against the run, keeping opponents to just 108.5 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry.
“I think no matter what, we’re always gonna hang our hat on the run game,” he said while finishing his answer. “Whether that’s a ton or whether we’re forced into doing it, not as much. That’s our DNA, and that’s who we are. So we’ve got to continue to improve in that.”
The Gophers will be back in action on Saturday with an 11:00 a.m. CT kickoff at Wrigley Field against Northwestern.
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