Midweek Review: New Mexico State 0-38 Minnesota

The start of Minnesota's season was not supposed to be eventful or particularly interesting, and it wasn't. Not even the titanic drama of our time, that of Jerry Kill potentially not shaking P.J. Fleck's hand, maintained its tension beyond warmups. Once the Gophers got going, they didn't stop but became more deliberate, gradually but decisively defeating a vastly inferior opponent without allowing a score. Nearly all went to plan.

1. The Gophers' offensive strategy was straightforward: crush.

Minnesota had bigger, stronger, and faster players, and they weren't going to get exotic. This has gotten them in trouble before, but the talent gap on Thursday was wider than in any other game Fleck has coached the Gophers. If the Gophers didn't turn the ball over and finished drives, their Death-Star-trash-compactor pace would not cause problems.

Minnesota only had eight possessions the whole game but scored on all but one of them. Just over two-thirds of the plays the Gophers ran were designed runs. They held the ball for an average of 33.4 seconds per offensive snap. They didn't create explosive plays but instead repeatedly battered the Aggie defense on the ground.

It was a thorough beating. Only two of the Gophers' runs were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. They gained at least 4 yards on nearly 70 percent of their attempts. Brick, meet ant.

You can find explanations for each stat here.
line yards and success rate are via
collegefootballdata.com.

There wasn't a bad performer among the Gophers' five starters up front. John Michael Schmitz was quality, as always. Experienced guards Axel Ruschmeyer and Chuck Filiaga were both sound, with Filiaga using his bulk to good effect against a much smaller defensive line. At left tackle, Aireontae Ersery looked especially impressive in the first half, and Quinn Carroll wound up with the group's best run blocking grade on Pro Football Focus. Additionally, the Gophers got contributions from their tight ends. The gulf in talent is a caveat hanging over analysis of every part of this game, but the players still had to show up and perform. The Gophers' blocking unit did just that.

2. Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts shined in their returns.

Midway through a torrid performance against Ohio State, 364 days before the 2022 opener, Ibrahim ruptured his Achilles. Any hopes of records, major accolades, and an NFL Draft selection evaporated.

In the fourth quarter of a strong game at Purdue, 334 days before we saw him on the field again, Potts had an unspecified but apparently major medical scare on the sideline. He did not play the rest of the season and, as Fleck tells it, the problem was potentially life-threatening.

Both running backs were medically cleared to play this offseason, and in Week 1 they got their first chances to play again. Behind an effective offensive line, they ran right through the Aggies, totaling 243 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns on 40 touches. Neither broke off a huge, highlight-reel run, but they used their strengths to pick up small chunks of extra yardage. Ibrahim brushed off and powered through arm tackles, and Potts wiggled and spun past slower defenders.

Ibrahim and Potts each received a game ball for making it back to the field and for their contributions. For their 2022 debuts to go so well is worthy of such recognition.

3. While Minnesota mostly stayed vanilla on offense, a few tweaks were evident.

In his first game back as offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca showed a few differences in philosophy from his predecessor. The Gophers rarely brought out a sixth lineman, never used a seventh, and even took some snaps under center outside of short-yardage situations.

This may seem like a superficial change, but going under center does offer a couple of advantages. When the tailback is 7 yards behind the quarterback rather than alongside him, he has more space to accelerate before taking a handoff. When he does receive the ball, he's closer to his top speed.

Additionally, play-action passes are more effective under center than when in the shotgun. While starting at the line of scrimmage means the quarterback is more susceptible to the pass rush, his fakes should be more effective. As he turns his back to the defense, defenders must pause to see whether he is handing off or not. When he pulls away from the tailback, the quarterback's body shields the ball from view for longer, which means the defenders must pause for longer.

Based on Thursday, the Gophers could improve the execution of their play-action to gain the full benefits of play-action. For one, Tanner Morgan's fake was not very convincing. His handoff from under center looked like this:

Whereas Morgan's fake looked like this:

Morgan held the ball with both hands for the entirety of the fake and didn't hold the fake as long as he could have. Potts also probably did not take the best possible path to Morgan to properly pantomime a mesh point, steering a smidge too wide.

The blocking scheme and technique also needs to be cleaned up a bit. Ideally, in the case of play-action, the line's first steps should play as much a part in the charade as the quarterback does. You do not need to run the ball well or even often for play-action to be effective, but you do need to marry the play-action game to your run concepts.

On the play above, the line did not quite sell the run as hard as you would want. Potts went as if he was running through the left B gap, but the blocking went right. Carroll, the right tackle, went straight into his kick slide rather than following his teammates in momentarily selling a run. Tight ends Nick Kallerup and Brevyn Spann-Ford, on the back side, also did not quite commit off the snap, standing straight up for pass protection.

The Gophers did look better running bootleg earlier on the same drive, although Morgan again could have reached out a bit farther and for a bit longer on his fake. For a team that relies plenty on wide zone and split zone, using bootlegs more frequently could add a new dimension to the offense and create openings for the deep passing game.

When under center, the Gophers also showed off their new fullback: special teamer and reserve linebacker Derik LeCaptain, who served as an emergency tailback a season ago. Previously, this role was occupied by guard Axel Ruschmeyer. By having a more proper fullback — one who ran for more than 5,000 yards in high school in Wisconsin — Minnesota should have more options at the goal line.

Another addition from the traditional MANBALL playbook: quarterback sneaks. Morgan scored two touchdowns via sneaks against the Aggies, owing to the work of the Gophers' interior line and the pushes Morgan received from Spann-Ford and LeCaptain.

As Kirk Ferentz has gotten more aggressive on 4th downs over the years, Iowa has often used sneaks to convert or score on 3rd- or 4th-and-short. It's an efficient tactic that's been missing from Minnesota's offense for Fleck's whole tenure, aside from one botched attempt against Auburn.

There are other aspects of Ciarrocca's second debut that should be monitored — such as the volume of tight end targets, whether the "Krispy" package has survived, and the extreme run-pass split — but we need a few more weeks of observation to make informed comments on those. For now, we can already see a few changes that are worth pointing out.

4. The Gophers might be back to bringing in certain pass-catchers just to run block.

I do want to make note of one more possible offensive shift. Since Fleck became the head coach, Minnesota has not ever gotten more than a handful of receivers the ball. That was true under Mike Sanford Jr., but the Gophers didn't regularly rotate who was on the field: If you played, you most likely got the ball from time to time.

During Ciarrocca's first stint as coordinator, more receivers got snaps, but only a handful got targets. Certain personnel choices often foreshadowed a run: For example, if Seth Green and Clay Geary were at receiver, the ball was probably staying on the ground.

Though it's only been one game, Ciarrocca gave some reason to believe that habit has returned. The following table lists the snap counts of all the Gophers' wideouts and tight ends that played significant amounts before garbage time, as well as how many of their snaps were runs or passes.

Obviously, Minnesota ran a lot, regardless of who was on the field. But you can see some early patterns. Geary and Le'Meke Brockington were on the field for runs on three-quarters of their snaps; Dylan Wright saw a nearly 50-50 split between runs and passes. If Kallerup came on, there was a nearly 90-percent chance the Gophers would run. Even granting that five of Kallerup's snaps were at the goal line, and Geary and Brockington got a few plays with the backups, these data and the context of Ciarrocca's return at least suggest some pass-catchers may get more run snaps than others. We'll have to see if that continues, and if Minnesota's offense once again has that tell.

5. The Gophers' passing game took a backseat and was effective enough when needed.

Morgan was unspectacularly solid and nothing more. While his receivers could have created more separation at times, for the most part everyone did their jobs, and Minnesota kept the ball moving. Morgan didn't take any deep shots, and they weren't necessary.

The most impressive part of Morgan's performance was how he navigated the pocket. He was pressured seven times, according to PFF, but never sacked, owing to how well he sensed and reacted to the pass rush. He stepped up and delivered a few passes while on the run, which could look slightly awkward but ended in accurate throws.

Morgan ran for 20 yards on non-sneak runs as well, taking the ball on read option at one point and later scrambling to convert a 3rd-and-12.

We shouldn't expect to see more of that, but it was a nice reminder that Morgan does have passable mobility for his position. (Recall that in 2018, one of his apparent strengths relative to Zack Annexstad was being a more adept runner.) If he's keeping his head in the pocket and taking care of the ball, Morgan is doing his job. The occasional jaunt into the open field, assuming he can avoid contact and not fumble, will be a welcome surprise.

6. The Aggies' offense had zero good options.

There were a lot of talent mismatches in Thursday's game. As as the case during the Gophers' possessions, the most glaring when the Aggies had the ball was up front: The New Mexico State line, which had struggled against Nevada in Week 0, was relatively experienced but severely overmatched against Minnesota.

There were therefore limits on what NMSU offensive coordinator Tim Beck could do with his passing game. The Aggies ran a few plays with moving pockets to get the quarterbacks away from the offensive line, which helped keep them clean a little. But there were was no deep threat: Quarterbacks Diego Pavia and Gavin Frakes attempted just two throws beyond 10 yards downfield. They had to get the ball out quickly and hope their receivers could do something with it.

Of course, they also had to be accurate, which they often were not. The two combined for a 4-for-12, 53-yard stat line, with Frakes throwing an interception. Pavia in particular had trouble hitting his targets, which led to him getting benched after just a quarter.

NMSU couldn't do anything on the ground, either. The Gophers were just too fast and too strong.

The Aggies were hopeless between the tackles. PFF credited them with just 11 rushing yards on seven attempts through the A gaps. They were a bit better on other designed runs, but not good — 31 yards on nine carries. The total stats show just how little NMSU could do running the ball.

Any takeaways should still be tempered, but the Minnesota defense looked the part against an inferior opponent. Once they've played a few more games, we'll know better whether their success was more because of New Mexico State or because the defense isn't far off the level established last year.

7. The Gophers' pass rush generated plenty of pressure.

Pavia and Frakes have both shown some quickness in their first two games with NMSU, which against teams closer to the Aggies' skill level might pose some problems. In this game, the two didn't do much. They might have avoided taking more sacks than someone slower would have. The Gophers turned seven pressures (according to PFF) into two sacks. Considering Pavia and Frakes only dropped back 17 times, that's a strong output.

If there was some way Minnesota could use this game as a lesson, it was to work on defending a mobile quarterback. The defense did a great job of this against Adrian Martinez and Nebraska a year ago, and the principles in that week's gameplan could be re-learned after the Aggies' quarterbacks totaled 16 yards on three scrambles. In the below play, Frakes was short of the line to gain, but he was able to scramble because Thomas Rush overran the pocket just enough to leave a gap open, and there was no spy in place to support the three-man rush.

Earlier in the game, a couple of defenders misjudged the angle that Pavia took out of the pocket, allowing him to find the edge and pick up a few yards. Again, the Gophers were able to cover. Even so, in a game where little went wrong, this was one area where Minnesota could clean some things up before they face more talented teams than NMSU.

8. The Aggies' one offensive spark in the fourth quarter quickly died.

The closest the Gophers came to losing their shutout was in the fourth quarter. Justice Powers beat out Beanie Bishop on a jump ball for a 34-yard gain, putting the Aggies in the red zone. After a couple of unsuccessful downs Frakes went for the end zone, this time to Chris Bellamy. He overthrew it, though, and Terell Smith made the interception.

Including Smith's interception, Minnesota defensed three passes. (Officially, at least — the one pass breakup credited to Smith was at least half as attributable to two receivers colliding as it was to the coverage.) While little was expected from the visitors' passing attack, it was a successful night for the Gophers' secondary.

9. The lopsided score meant we got a chance to see some rising backups.

Now, it wasn't for very long that the second- and third-stringers were in the game. There were no great lessons to take away. The reserve offensive line, for example, did basically as well as the first team did, which probably says more about the Aggies than it does the Gophers. But Week 1 is about trying to read too much into things, so we're going to do that.

Cole Kramer was the first backup quarterback on the field, and he completed all three of his passes. Each was within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Athan Kaliakmanis dropped back once; he delivered a bullet over the middle to Ike White, who dropped it.

How the Gophers handled their backups in 2019 could be relevant to figuring out who is currently the No. 2 quarterback. That year, the first game where Minnesota pulled Morgan for someone other than Wildcat quarterback Seth Green was at Rutgers. In that game, Kramer was the choice for one garbage time drive. Jacob Clark got the first of two all-backup drives against Maryland the next week, but Kramer took the second. When Morgan had to leave the Iowa game for a possible concussion on Minnesota's last possession, Kramer came on rather than Clark.

If that year is any indication: It would not be a surprise if in any future blowouts, Kaliakmanis is the first to come out, and the two of them continue to alternate drives from there. We don't know that Kramer will be the first off the bench if Morgan has to sit, but if one was taking this train of logic too literally, then that would be the assumption going forward.

On the defensive side, a couple players who may start one day made impacts. Rush end Danny Striggow finished the game with the second-most tackles on the team (2.5), which included a late sack of Frakes once the second line had been put in. On NMSU's final drive, the rest of the starters came out, and the the third-teamers up front entered. Among them was Anthony Smith, the second-highest-rated signing in Minnesota's most recent signing class. He almost made a tackle for loss on his first snap, was right near the ball on his second, and then ended the Aggies' drive on 3rd down with this tackle for no gain:

No one should get truly excited about what any player does in these situations, but it is fair to be encouraged whenever a young player makes a play. Smith and the other reserves should get more chances to do so in a week.

10. It's good to have football back.

As entertainment, this game hardly qualified. Every Minnesota touchdown was from within 4 yards of the goal line, and by an expected points added standard, the Gophers created just one explosive play. They went about the game in an unattractive way, and the Aggies were not nearly good enough to keep it interesting through even halftime. The game was largely boring.

The night, meanwhile, was a joyous occasion. To see the tailgate lots full, to see friends again, to walk through the stadium gates and revel in the Pride of Minnesota's pregame show, and to feel the roar of a full student section after those first few critical plays, all created the experience that makes this sport worth loving, even when the product itself can underwhelm. Other games this weekend were better exhibitions of college football, but college football in any form is a gift.

Next Game

As ill-equipped as the Aggies were against the Gophers, Western Illinois should be even more so. It'll be a while before first-year head coach Myers Hendrickson can turn his alma mater's program into a respectable Missouri Valley team; the Leathernecks were 4-25 over the last three seasons.

In significant part because they trailed so much, Western Illinois passed more time per game (43.8) than all but six other FCS teams in 2021. They ran on just 30.0 percent of their plays.

However, the offense has just about completely turned over, and the approach was seemingly adjusted against UT-Martin. With new quarterbacks, a new receiver group, and four new starting linemen, the Leathernecks' run rate was up to 38.5 percent. Still clearly tilted toward the passing game, but perhaps attributable to being down 28-7 at one point.

The starting quarterback last week was Henry Ogala, who was replaced by Nick Davenport early in the third quarter. While Davenport's sub-50-percent completion rate is far from encouraging, he averaged 20 yards per completion (compared to Ogala's 8.8) and led the team in rushing. The inexperienced offensive line couldn't get the ground game working any other way, though. The Leathernecks' three running backs averaged 2.3 yards per carry.

Receiver Naseim Brantley, a transfer from Sacred Heart, looks like the offense's best threat. Brantley was his last team's favored deep target, and he scored a 51-yard touchdown against the Skyhawks. Veteran tailback Ludovick Choquette, as well as a large assortment of transfers (from Northern Illinois, Temple, Illinois, Austin Peay, and a California junior college) will also get touches.

There are fewer transfers on defense but comparably little continuity. Career backups step up to try and fix one of the worst units in FCS from a year ago. WIU struggled against the pass (112th in yards per attempt allowed) and against the run (116th in yards per carry, which includes sacks).

The defender with the greatest track record of disruption is cornerback J.J. Ross, who has already defensed four passes on the year. PFF also charges Ross with having allowed 14.9 yards per catch in his college career, which includes a couple of years at Eastern Illinois. Former Northern Illinois corner Jalen McKie profiled similarly when he last played Division I ball three years ago. He's also 5 feet 7 inches tall, which will put him at a major disadvantage against the Gopher receivers who can win jump balls. Safeties T.J. Limehouse Jr. and Bryce Cross (8.5 combined tackles so far) may be just as busy in Week 2 as they were in Week 1.

There's not a clear difference-maker in the front seven, and there's not a lot of size apart from 314-pound nose tackle Cam Washington. UT-Martin averaged 6.2 yards per carry and ran for three touchdowns in the opener. Minnesota should be able to score as much as they want and cruise to another blowout.