After defensive collapse, Gophers football team goes back to basics

The numbers the Gophers defense have given up hit you like a 2-by-4.

An average of 43.3 points allowed in Big Ten games.

An average of 503.8 yards allowed in those contests.

Twenty-one offensive touchdowns scored by foes in four conference games.

And an average distance of 31.5 yards covered on those TDs.

It all came to a head Saturday at Nebraska, when a previously winless Cornhuskers team rolled up 659 yards of offense in a 53-28 rout of the Gophers that dropped Minnesota to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play.

With the season in a downward spiral and Friday night's game vs. Indiana at TCF Bank Stadium quickly approaching, the Gophers need an answer for a reeling defense.

What say you, Robb Smith?

"I'm the guy that's ultimately responsible for that, and when it goes wrong like that and you get a number like that, it's 100 percent on me," the Gophers defensive coordinator said Tuesday. "I've got to improve, and we've all got to improve."

Smith plays his cards close to the vest, so it wasn't surprising when he wouldn't reveal specific changes — "We'll see what happens," he offered when asked about using tighter coverage — but clearly the Gophers must patch holes in a defense that gave up 10 plays of 20 or more yards against Nebraska.

To that end, coach P.J. Fleck has taken a more hands-on approach with the defense this week, and he said Saturday that he has "100 percent faith" in Smith and the rest of his staff. Fleck's focus has been to simplify things rather than overcompensating for injuries, especially in the secondary.

"Let's be us. Let's make people earn it," Fleck said. "And let's stop saying, 'OK, we've got to take away this and this and this.' Let's play our style of defense that we know how to play before we've got into, 'OK, well, this guy went down and that guy went down, now we've got to protect this guy because he's not ready.' Ready or not, here we come."

First and foremost, the Gophers must improve their tackling. Fleck pointed to 18 missed tackles against Nebraska, and Smith has made eliminating that problem a priority this week.

"We've got to tackle much better," Smith said. "It's not what we do, it's how we do it. And how we do things has to be better."

Added junior linebacker Thomas Barber: "We emphasize it in practice and can't just go through the motions. We're making sure everybody is taking full ownership of the drill."

But it's not only missed tackles that have hurt the Gophers. Positioning and play-calling have played a role, too, Smith said.

"It's a little bit of everything," he said, "and when a little bit of everything happens, a lot of bad happens."