Minnesota Football: 3 takeaways from huge Outback Bowl win over Auburn

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TAMPA, FLORIDA – JANUARY 01: Mohamed Ibrahim #24 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers rushes during the 2020 Outback Bowl against the Auburn Tigers at Raymond James Stadium on January 01, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3. Minnesota controlled the tempo

Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck is a disciple of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. That was clear in the game plan.

In an era where everyone wants to go fast and play offense with tempo, Fleck and the Golden Gophers are just the opposite. Coming into this game, they knew they didn’t want to fall victim to Auburn’s offensive tempo. The Gophers did a wonderful job of controlling the tempo of the game.

Minnesota needed to control the line of scrimmage offensively to control tempo. It was quite surprising the Golden Gophers were able to neutralize one of the best — if not the best — defensive lines in college football.

The Golden Gophers have two premier wide receivers in Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman, but they want to run the football. They absolutely owned the line of scrimmage and made sure they limited Auburn’s offensive opportunities.

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