Minnesota Football: 3 quick takeaways from victory over Rutgers

Minnesota football decimated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 42-7. Here are three quick takeaways from Saturday afternoon’s game.

It was another blowout loss in New Jersey. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights were outclassed, outmatched and overwhelmed by the Minnesota Golden Gophers at SHI Stadium this afternoon. The Scarlet Knights mustered a mere 48 yards passing and threw three interceptions including a pick six.

The Rutgers program looks in complete disarray with no student leadership or coaching leadership for that matter.

The Gophers, on the other hand are the complete opposite. Head coach P.J. Fleck has done an underrated job in Minnesota building that program. They are undefeated, and playing with confidence. The Gophers racked up over 400 yards of total offense against the Scarlet Knights, and played a clean games; they had no turnovers.

This was a case of two programs going in completely different directions. Here are three quick takeaways.

3. Rutgers wasn’t bad defensively

The game was 21-0 going into the fourth quarter. It was two quick scores in the fourth quarter that blew the game open. On consecutive plays, Mohammed Ibrahim scored on a six yard touchdown run and Antonio Winfield, Jr. scored on a pick six on the first play of the Knights’ offensive possession.

However, the Gophers had only two runs of more than 10 yards, and were limited to under five yards per carry. They even forced three fumbles, but didn’t recover any. If the offense didn’t give the ball back to Minnesota so often, it might have been a game.

2. Minnesota is a disciplined team

The Golden Gophers don’t do much offensively that scares you. They don’t have any dynamic playmakers in the back field or on the perimeter. Tyler Johnson had one 56-yard reception, but they didn’t have any other explosive plays. Considering they’ve played their fair share of close games this year, the Gophers don’t play with much margin.

This game wasn’t out of hand until late in the fourth quarter. They’ve blown out their last three opponents, but it’s with discipline and grit, not dynamic players. Today is indicative of how the Gophers want to play. They want to run the ball and pick up first downs with an efficient pass game. They are built to stay on schedule, and they don’t beat themselves. On Saturday, they had zero penalties and just three penalties.

1. Rutgers is a mess

It’s not a hot mess, but it’s a mess none the less. They fired Chris Ash less than a month ago, and have been in disarray all season. They’ve scored fourteen points this month and 78 points all season — 48 of those points came in their only win of the season against UMass.

The current condition of the program might be why the Scarlet Knights are targeting  former coach Greg Schiano and possibly current Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead. They need strong leadership and someone who can recruit. They played with some pride today, but were simply undermanned. Who ever they hire, they need to stabilize the program.