The Gophers' offense is evolving. Has Greg Harbaugh Jr. found the right formula?
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We have three weeks of data to analyze the 2026 Gophers football team, and 42 games to analyze Greg Harbaugh Jr. as the Gophers’ offensive playcaller. It appears that Minnesota’s offense is beginning to find an identity in his fourth season as offensive coordinator.
Minnesota was the most run-heavy team in college football in 2022, outside of the three service academies. Then offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca called a pass play just 33.96% of the time that season. Harbaugh has continued to change the Gophers’ offensive identity.
They passed the ball 39.74% of the time in 2023, which ranked 121st in the country. That number jumped all the way up to 52.47% in 2024 with Max Brosmer, and it climbed again to 55.12% last season. Through three games in 2026, they’ve passed the ball 63.08% of the time, which ranks fifth in the entire country.
“What’s our identity? What are we going to become? I kind of know, okay, we’ve made some plays at the wide out position… I am really encouraged by our offensive line. They’re starting to really come together. The pass-pro stuff has been excellent with the quarterback,” Harbaugh told the local media on Wednesday.
The Gophers’ offense is no longer built around running the football. Lindsey is one of the most talented throwers of the football that the program has ever had, and Harbaugh wants to capitalize on his talent.
“I just think as we continue to go, I have to continue to look at: What are we doing well? How can I get those guys the ball? And what is going to be our identity? It may be gap scheme; it may be zone scheme; it may be, at times, we have to drop back. Okay, we got the run game going; okay, we can really use the run action stuff,” he continued.
Despite throwing the football more and more every season, Minnesota’s passing offense has never ranked in the top 75 in yards per game in a full season under Harbaugh. They currently rank 52nd in the country with 241.5 yards per game, but that included just one game against a power conference opponent.
On the other side, Minnesota’s rushing attack has gotten worse every season under Harbaugh. They ranked 19th in rushing yards per game in 2022, but they’ve never ranked higher than 65th for since that season. They might’ve found something with 191 rushing yards as a team against Akron in Week 3.
“I love the multiplicity of what we can provide for defenses, and that all starts with the quarterback. I just love the cohesion and the chemistry that the guys are coming together with. They love each other; they play for each other. In the Akron game, you can tell we highlighted the ‘HOW’ a ton in our unit meeting: the push the piles, those types of things that Coach Fleck preaches day in and day out to the guys that he wants to be able to see, and you saw it firsthand,” Harbaugh continued.
Fans were clamoring for Minnesota to pass the ball more often during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Harbaugh has built the Gophers’ offense into a pass-first unit, but the results haven’t followed. Lindsey and Harbaugh will look to find an offensive breakout in Week 4 against a stout Washington defense.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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