Minnesota Gophers officially need to be a running team
It’s official that the Minnesota Golden Gophers need to keep the ball on the ground. It’s the formula that looks to work for this incarnation of the Gophers and it’s the offensive scheme that has worked the most in the Gophers’ long and storied history.
Minnesota absolutely blew out the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday and sure it is Purdue, but it is still the same Purdue team that gave Michigan State a battle two weeks ago. In blowouts for and against, you can always learn something.
The Gophers learned that they need to be giving the ball to their running backs. The lovely thing is that they have two that are more than capable and able to go for big yards.
Yesterday was a huge day for true freshman Shannon Brooks. Brooks didn’t start getting any action until the Ohio game and was barely used in the loss to Northwestern, but made the most of his opportunities against Purdue. Brooks ran for 176 yards on 17 carries and averaged over 10 yards a carry. The 71-yard touchdown run to start the second half put the momentum firmly in the hands of the Gophers and vaulted them to victory.
Rodney Smith also put up 52 yards on 13 carries in the Gophers 41-13 victory on Saturday.
The most important thing to happen was what didn’t happen.
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No load was given to Mitch Leidner. Leidner only attempted 12 passes and completed eight. The Gophers as a whole attempted 18 passes with Demry Croft seeing some action and a trick play with KJ Maye throwing a pass. The 12 attempts was a season low for Leidner and if he would have received all the passing attempts the 18 still would have been a season low for him.
Leidner is good athlete, but not a great quarterback and there is a huge difference. If Leidner plays he should be throwing minimally and be handing the ball off or scampering here and there now and then.
The Gophers need to be a ground and pound team. It’s not sexy, but it’s what the Gophers need to do. They don’t have the skills at QB at the moment not to be.
Next: Joe Mauer a super-utility guy?