Opponent Q&A: Minnesota Golden Gophers
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This week, I caught up with Randy Johnson of the Minnesota Star Tribune to get the lowdown on the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they make their way to Husky Stadium for a late night clash.
Mark Schafer: This is year 10 for PJ Fleck, who has brought consistency and stability to the Golden Gopher program, with 7 bowl wins in 7 tries! What do you make of his tenure so far, and what does he need to do to fully elevate the Gophers?
Randy Johnson: He’s done a couple of really good things for the program. He’s definitely elevated the floor, they’re going to bowls and winning them pretty much every year, and for one year he took the ceiling very high. In 2019 they went 10-2 in the regular season, knocking off Penn State in the process and then beat Auburn in the Outback Bowl to finish 11-2, and they finished the year number 10 in both of the final polls. That was the Gophers first top 10 finish since 1962. That’s definitely been the highlight of his tenure so far, and obviously they want to get back there, but that’s been the tricky part. Back when the Big Ten had divisions, for 3 years they came within 1 win of making to a Big Ten title game, but didn’t get that last needed win to put them there. So they’ve left some meat on the bone but overall, he’s done a very good job and stuck around. That’s something too because you’ve seen the Gophers in the past have way too many coaching changes, so it’s really tough to get any continuity there.
MS: Drake Lindsey leads Greg Harbaugh Jr.’s offense, and he has posted solid numbers up to this point, with 747 yards and 4 touchdowns to one interception. What do you like about the way he plays QB, who are the major playmakers on offense and what is the scheme like?
RJ: Well it’s a pro style offense, but they work in some RPO too. Drake is very accurate, he’s got a big arm, can make the big downfield throws. He’s really gotten good command of the offense in his second year as a starter after a good Freshman season. They didn’t get in the end zone against Mississippi State in a big loss, so that’s one where they could’ve used quite a bit more, but the staff is very happy with him. As far as his targets, he’s spread it around a little bit more this year. Jalen Smith is one of their better receivers. Javon Tracy’s been a very good wideout, a transfer from Miami of Ohio. Noah Jennings (a transfer from Cincinnati) had a touchdown catch too. Drake’s been spreading the ball around, the one thing that they’ve had an issue with is that their star running back Darius Taylor missed this past game against Akron. He’s had a leg or hamstring issue. He’s a very good threat out of the backfield to catch passes, 2 years ago he led Big Ten running backs in receptions. When he’s out, it takes a big toll on the offense. It took them a while to get the running game going against Akron, they finally did in the fourth quarter, they broke a couple big runs and got to 191 yards of rushing, 154 of that came in the fourth quarter! They would like to get that running game going, the earlier the better!
MS: Longtime Fleck assistant Danny Collins coordinates the defense. What is his scheme like and who are the major players to watch if you’re a Husky fan?
RJ: They have a really good edge rusher in Anthony Smith, who was on a lot of preseason All America teams, and preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year lists. He hasn’t had quite that impact yet. They’ve had to use him at defensive tackle a lot too, especially against Mississippi State. So, he’s still making an impact in there, even though his numbers may be down. Another guy to look at, who you might be familiar with is the transfer from Cal, TJ Bush Jr. He’s in a sort of a rotation with Carter Menz, a junior. Those two guys give the line the juice up front, so they’re pretty good at the end spots. They’re pretty young at defensive tackle (which is why you’ve seen Anthony Smith play there some). Those are two of the better groups, but you’ve also got a pretty good linebacker in Maverick Baranowski who had over 100 tackles last year. Then you’ve also got a pretty good safety in Kerry Brown, in the back end!
MS: Who is an underrated fan favorite Gopher that the average observer may not know?
RJ: I would probably go with cornerback John Nestor. He transferred in from Iowa a couple years ago, and you really notice him when he’s not there, they lost to Northwestern when he was out last year and there was a glaring weakness at the one cornerback spot. He’s not the biggest guy in the world, he’s kind of wiry but he can hit! He’s been a pleasant surprise for them since he’s come aboard here!
MS: What does the rest of the season look like for the Gophers? What is a realistic estimate of their record at this point in the year?
RJ: In Big Ten play, they’ve been 5-4 the last 2 years, and 6-3 for 2 years before that. So they’ve done a good job of being in contention in the Big Ten, though they’ve been kind of in the middle of the pack. This year they have 4 ranked teams right now on their Big Ten schedule, plus Washington who is 26th. So it’s not an easy schedule. They go to Indiana, they go to Penn State. They have Michigan and Iowa at home, they go to Purdue (which was tough last year) and then they go to Wisconsin at the end of the year, that’s always a big rivalry game, for Paul Bunyan’s axe! If they gain bowl eligibility they need 4 Big Ten wins, they’re going to have to grind it out. They’ll be in some good games I believe. I’d probably put them at 6-6, maybe 7-5 if things go a little bit better. But I can’t rule out 5-7, covering the team you hope that doesn’t happen, you hate to cover a losing team like that. I don’t think there’d be a coaching change but there’d be a lot of grumbling, let’s just say that!
MS: It’s time for a score prediction! What will the score be in this late night game, the first between the Huskies and Gophers in 49 years?
RJ: I pickedWashington 27, Gophers 21. I understand that Washington has struggled a little bit. A lot of my score prediction is based on how the Gophers had trouble with Mississippi State’s quarterback Kamario Taylor, who basically became a Heisman candidate in that game. The Huskies have a guy that can move around pretty well in Demond Williams, so I think he’ll give the Gophers trouble, and lead the Huskies to a victory!
My thanks to Randy, and good luck to the Gophers the rest of the way!
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