Like any good college football coach, P.J. Fleck has a way of making one doubt, at least temporarily, their own lying eyes.
For instance, after Fleck’s football team beat the snot out of Rhode Island on Saturday, 48-0 at Huntington Bank Stadium, he told reporters, “I told you that was a really good FCS team.”
The Rams may be a lot of things, but a really good football team, of any stripe, isn’t one of them. The conceit is that Rhode Island is a top-tier Football Championship Subdivision team, but because we live next to the Dakotas, we see really good FCS teams all the time — sometimes beating big, bad Football Bowl Subdivision neighbor Minnesota.
Yet the Gophers coach makes this statement with such enthusiasm, such offhand sincerity, that you momentarily wonder if Rhode Island really is a good FCS team and the Gophers are just such a good FBS team that this really good FCS challenger had no shot. Because despite what Fleck said in the leadup to this game, and what happened during a woeful first quarter that ended with a 3-0 Minnesota lead, Rhode Island really did have no shot against Minnesota.
The Rams’ offense managed one down inside Gophers territory — the 48-yard line — and used that down to commit a false start penalty that sent them back to their own 47. The Rams’ defense couldn’t get off the field, allowing touchdown drives of 6 minutes, 33 seconds, 6:58 and 7:57. URI quarterback Devin Ferrell, a transfer from Virginia Tech touted as a dual threat, ran four times for 15 yards and completed 6 of 18 passes for no scores and two interceptions.
When you come to your senses, you fall back on your lying eyes and trust your gut: One of these teams isn’t as good as advertised, and it was wearing two shades of blue.
“They play really, really hard, really tough — throw a lot of different things at you,” Fleck said.
Good for them.
This matters in Minnesota only because many of us are trying to get a read on the now 1-1 Gophers, who should have beaten an OK North Carolina team in their home opener but lost, 19-17, because Dragan Kesich missed a last-second field goal. Or because the Gophers committed some bad penalties, or because of a late turnover in their own end. Take your pick.
But while some of Saturday’s game was no doubt illusory, there were three realities to be found:
Fleck and his staff seem to have a good plan to maximize Darius Taylor
The offensive line needs work
Max Brosmer will be OK.
Taylor’s métier isn’t grinding between the tackles the way Mo Ibrahim did, but rounding corners or getting the ball in the flat. In limited duty, Taylor ran 14 times for 64 yards and caught four passes for 48 yards. Getting him loose kickstarted the offense in the second quarter.
“Pass to run,” Fleck called it.
The Gophers appear to have the quarterback to do it because sixth-year senior Brosmer — erratic in his first FBS game after transferring from New Hampshire — was just about perfect on Saturday, 24 for 30 for 271 yards and two touchdowns without a pick. Three of those incompletions were drops.
“He’s a precise passer, and he’s poised,” Fleck said.
Brosmer was sacked once Saturday, a 14-yard drop that cost the Gophers points late in the first half, but was otherwise left mostly alone (the Rams were credited with only two quarterback hurries). And it suited him, because he hit 10 receivers almost exclusively on the numbers and on time. This includes a long pass into Lemeke Brockington’s breadbasket that nevertheless went through the receiver’s arms.
If the Gophers can keep Brosmer on his feet, he will help Minnesota win games.
“You saw how comfortable he was, and he was. That’s his comfort zone,” Fleck said. “Maybe that wasn’t our comfort zone of old, but every year we have a different team, and we just have to continue to find ways to get our playmakers the ball in space.”
Which brings us to the offensive line, ostensibly a strength this season but yet to really show it. While they kept Brosmer mostly upright on Saturday, they allowed five sacks against the Tar Heels and had just about zero success creating holes at the line of scrimmage on Saturday. Minnesota ran for 116 yards, but on 38 carries, and Fleck spent some time moving pieces up front.
“I think the data from this game will give us more data to be able to make the best decision moving forward for the offensive line,” Fleck said.
If this one doesn’t get figured out, it’s gonna be a long season.
Originally Published: September 7, 2024 at 4:51 p.m.
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 11:10:00
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