Behind Enemy Lines: 5 Questions with a Minnesota Insider

You might already be on your way to the game. But we have one last bit of content to help you pass the time.

Oregon faces Minnesota later today. We were fortunate to ask five questions with our Minnesota insider, Dylan Callaghan-Croley.

Here are the questions and answers.

1. What must Minnesota do offensively to have a chance at winning this game? Who are the keys to that success for the Gophers? 

If Minnesota is going to have a chance at winning this game, they’re going to have to find a way to establish their rushing attack which they just have not done much this season. Expected to be the strength of this team coming into the season, the Gophers both due to poor offensive line play and then injuries at the running back position have struggled. For the season, they’re averaging just 109.8 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. 

Star running back Darius Taylor has been kept to just six games this season and missed the Gophers’ last matchup against Michigan State with an injury. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go on Friday and key Marshall transfer A.J. Turner suffered a season-ending injury in September. 

That’s left it up to redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi who has been impressive in his opportunities but is still young and inexperienced and that can be seen at times in his game. Nonetheless, he’s been productive with 82 carries for 384 yards and two touchdowns this season. 

At the end of the day, whether it’s Taylor or Ijeboi, the Gophers need one of those two to step up their game on Friday and pick up the tough yards when needed to extend drives. The only chance the Gophers’ have at winning this one is by shortening up the game. 

2. Minnesota has been well recognized for its pass rush. What makes them so effective up front?

It’s been one of the bigger surprises this season for sure. A big part of that success is that star defensive end Anthony Smith has become one of the country’s top pass rushers and assuming he tests well at the NFL combine this upcoming offseason, he should be a top three round draft pick in next year’s draft. He’s been tremendous this season in nine games with 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

But the big key for the Gophers is that rush ends Karter Menz and Jaxon Howard have both taken big jumps this season. Howard entering the season was expected to take another step, the former LSU transfer is a great athlete and has always had a sky high ceiling but Menz’s emergence is a bit more surprising. Both have simply been great this season in pinning their ears back and getting after the passer in must-pass situations, of course having someone like Anthony Smith on the other side is a nice help too. Plus defensive coordinator DannyCollins isn’t afraid to blitz a linebacker or two once in a while.

3. What has been Minnesota’s achilles heel on defense? What could Oregon do to expose them?

The defense doesn’t have one true weakness in terms of against the pass or running, I think where they really get exposed is simply when facing teams with notable talent discrepancies and speed. We saw it against Ohio State and even Iowa, the Gophers just don’t have the speed on defense that they need to stick with the explosive receivers and running backs that a team like Ohio State, and Oregon both present.

What does Oregon have to do? Honestly, just be healthy. If the Ducks’ enter this game relatively healthy on offense, I have a relatively hard time seeing the Gophers being able to stick with them through an entire game. The defense may have its moments but I have a hard time seeing the Gophers slowing the Ducks for all four quarters. 

4. Minnesota is 0-3 on the road this season. What do you think has led to those struggles? 

That’s a good question and the best answer may be a P.J. Fleck type answer on these questions. 

“If I had an answer, it would be fixed.”

Minnesota has definitely been a different team away from home this season but I’m not sure I can tell you why outside that they simply haven’t been prepared enough for those road trips.

I think part of the problem was they simply faced two really good teams in Ohio State and Iowa. Now, I didn’t expect them to get their doors blown off by the Hawkeyes but that game snowballed so quickly early on, it was over before the end of the first quarter. 

They also faced Cal earlier this season, when the Bears and true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was playing very good football, also after facing Buffalo and Northwestern State. That was the closest of the three losses at 27-14 but still, three road games, three losses by double-digits. Not great! 

Ultimately, the schedule didn’t help. Facing Ohio State, Iowa, and now Oregon are all on the road is a tough draw but at the same time, the offense has looked unprepared in all three losses and the defense has had some tough lapses as well though overall they didn’t play as poorly against Iowa as the final score may indicate.

5. If you were PJ Fleck, huge underdog, on the road, what tendency would you break to try and pull off the upset? 

I’m not sure there’s one specific tendency I’d look to break, but overall, I’d lean into playing aggressive. The Gophers tried something similar against Ohio State earlier this season, and the game got out of hand so fast that it didn’t matter, but in a matchup like this, there’s no reason for Minnesota to sit back.

That doesn’t mean playing reckless. It just means understanding that in games like this, the team willing to push the issue often gets rewarded. If I’m Minnesota, I’m looking at an Oregon team that’s still very good but maybe not firing on every cylinder right now, and I’m trying to exploit that. I’d be aggressive on third downs on both sides of the ball, especially in third-and-long. Any extra possession is huge when you’re chasing an upset. Maybe you dial up an onside kick before you’re desperate. Anything that steals a possession helps.

If I’m P.J. Fleck, I’m thinking aggressive from start to finish. Will it matter? Probably not. But Minnesota isn’t winning this game by sticking to its usual conservative approach.