Gophers Notebook: Michigan State 12-27 Minnesota

Fifth-string walk-on tailback Jordan Nubin stole the show. Nubin isn't as explosive as Darius Taylor or as shifty as Zach Evans, and he's no comparison to Mohamed Ibrahim when it comes to breaking tackles. But even though he joined the program as a safety two years ago, he sure looks like a Gopher running back. While Nubin scored a couple touchdowns, this carry feels more representative of his style than either:

Minnesota relies heavily on zone runs, which requires tailbacks who are patient, balanced, and physical. Nubin showed each of those qualities against Michigan State. He waited for his line to open up lanes (including cutbacks), kept his pads low so he could change direction and cut through the hole, and pushed through contact. He did such a good job of it that the Gophers just kept giving him the ball until he had 204 yards.

This performance deserves additional context. According to the Minnesota media guide, this was the 33rd 200-rushing-yard performance in program history. The list of players who have done this is surprisingly exclusive. Before Nubin, only 17 pulled it off, and many are program legends. The only one whose career rushing yardage doesn't rank in Minnesota's top 30 all-time is Clarence Schutte. Schutte famously ran for 282 yards against Illinois in 1924, but that was his only season as a Gopher.

Notably, a player's 200-yard game did not make up more than a sixth of his career rushing totals unless he ran for 200 yards multiple times. Nubin is a different story.

The U of M media guide only ranks players with 1,000 career rushing yards.

Obviously, Nubin is a redshirt sophomore who is in line to move up on the depth chart next season. Even if he never plays a role as prominent as the one he had on Saturday, he is already a quarter of the way to 1,000 career yards. By the time he leaves Minnesota, four-fifths of Nubin's career total coming in one game will likely end up a small-sample oddity.

At the same time, it remains an absurd achievement. Nubin was not supposed to play outside of blowouts this year. He may go his entire college career as a backup. He isn't on scholarship. He is, in the most unfair and reductive terms possible, the less famous brother of a future NFL player. And he ran for 204 yards. Whether or not Nubin can keep up a high level of play, or even need to do so again this season, no one can take this moment away from him or from his family.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 247

Looking back at Minnesota's win over Iowa and looking ahead to the Michigan State game.

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Gophers Notebook: Minnesota 12-10 Iowa

You probably remember where you were the last time.

My story is not very interesting. I was in Washington, D.C. at a high school journalism convention, sitting outside a restaurant within the convention center. Minnesota was busy steamrolling Iowa on a TV across the room. I had just been accepted to the U of M but had no strong attachment and therefore did not celebrate.

I even sympathized a little with the Hawkeyes, who were the favorite team of my grandfather and many of my extended relatives. When I started school the next fall and heard the first "Who hates Iowa?" chant in the student section, I couldn't earnestly respond, "We hate Iowa!"

And then the first loss came. And the second. And the third and fourth and fifth and sixth and seventh and eighth. It started small, but eventually losing to Iowa became an annual exercise in misery.

This game stood between Minnesota and two Big Ten West titles, not to mention a Rose Bowl appearance. This was the game that the best Gopher of the 21st century dominated yet somehow could not win. This was game that Minnesota's head coach blew repeatedly by refusing to take risks and by diving headfirst into the slop that the Hawkeyes make their home. This was a game whose villains could not be defeated because, defying all reason, every bounce seemed to go their way.

Which all makes it the more astonishing that the Gophers won at Kinnick Stadium the way that they did: Minnesota beat Iowa by playing the part of Iowa.

The general script was not a surprise. We all expected a punt-heavy rock fight, and that's what we got.

Entering the game, the current Iowa offense looked like the worst that Kirk Ferentz has ever fielded. This is mostly the fault of offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. A program that used to produce NFL linemen every year is now below-average up front. The Hawkeyes have had terminal quarterback problems since Nate Stanley graduated. They cannot find and retain talented wide receivers to complement their typically talented running backs and the best tight ends in the country.

At the same time, competent transfer quarterback Cade McNamara was not supposed to suffer a season-ending injury. Nor were tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All. It looked like this team would finally have a competent offense again, but misfortune smashed the legs of their chair out from under them. You cannot blame the Ferentzes for that.

Nevertheless, these absences rendered Iowa's offense the worst on Minnesota's schedule.

Playing a bad opponent doesn't guarantee positive results, but the Gophers delivered them. Their dominance was comprehensive to the point of comedy, as summed up by Iowa's entire second-half output: 2 yards.

Deacon Hill was not enough to win this game. Hill should have thrown more than one interception. The Gophers sat back on passing downs and waited for Hill to deliver. Either he'd throw short, and they'd make a tackle, or Hill would make a mistake. Tyler Nubin, always seeking an interception, went hunting for mistakes and almost came away with a couple picks.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 246

Previewing another precarious (but winnable) game in Iowa City for the Gophers.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 245

Minnesota's unsurprising disaster against Michigan, what we'll be watching with no Gopher game, and how we feel about the Twins after their playoff exit.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Gophers Notebook: Michigan 52-10 Minnesota

There's a saying after a loss like this: Burn the film. When you cannot learn anything from the way your team was so thoroughly beaten, because there are no adjustments you could have made to affect the result, throwing the tape in the fireplace would serve you just as well as watching it again.

Because I'm not a coach, I do not know how literally coaches ever follow this axiom. I'm sure, because they're workaholics and because it is literally their job, they always go back and watch it for themselves or as a staff. But when reviewing it with the players, what can they say?

Because Saturday was not about one "something" that Minnesota can fix between now and the next game. It was not only about playcalling, game management (though P.J. Fleck still has not learned how to run a 2-minute drill in over a decade of being a head coach), mental errors stemming from inadequate or incomplete position coaching, or players quitting. Michigan is just a better team than Minnesota: stronger, faster, and more skilled at just about every position.

Was Athan Kaliakmanis good? No. His two interceptions were two different ways to fail at essentially the same throw, trying to hit an intermediate target at the sideline. The first time, he overthrew Daniel Jackson trying to not put it in the path of the slot defender.

The second time, Kaliakmanis either didn't see or disregarded the underneath defender.

We Are Maroon and Gold Episode 244

The immense challenge that the Gophers face in the Little Brown Jug game.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Gophers Notebook: Louisiana-Lafayette 24-35 Minnesota

The Minnesota offense looked like a Minnesota offense — in a (mostly) good way. If P.J. Fleck could run the ball 50 times every game, you get the sense that he would. When his team gashes the opponent at a 55.3-percent rushing success rate, Fleck's head looks like it's in the right place.

The Gophers were down budding star Darius Taylor but didn't need him to overpower the Ragin' Cajuns. Zach Evans, the intriguing redshirt freshman, made his 2023 debut and was excellent as Minnesota's lead tailback. Evans averaged 5.7 yards per carry with outstanding vision, acceleration, and balance.

Sean Tyler's reintroduction was also positive, if less impactful. Bryce Williams will always have the coaches' trust, having been with the program since Rodney Smith was still on the roster, but Evans made a strong case to at least be the No. 2 once Taylor returns. Whatever happens, to have such depth at the position and the chance to implement a legitimate four-back rotation makes for a rare privilege.