COLUMBUS, OHIO – First came the fourth-quarter collapse against Illinois, when a backup quarterback needed only three plays to drive his team 85 yards for the winning touchdown with 50 seconds left.
Next was the defensive meltdown at Purdue, where the Gophers gave up 604 yards and 49 points.
And then came the anticipated result at second-ranked Ohio State, which put on a dominant second-half display in a 37-3 romp over the Gophers.
Three consecutive losses in a November to forget have dropped Minnesota from the driver's seat in the Big Ten West Division race to a sub-.500 also-ran just trying to scrape together one more victory to secure bowl eligibility.
It's not where coach P.J. Fleck wanted to be entering the regular-season finale against Wisconsin, with his Gophers needing to beat the Badgers to avoid finishing with a losing record in a full season for the first time since his 5-7 Minnesota debut in 2017.
"We were outmatched and outcoached, and you can go on and on,'' Fleck said Saturday night in Ohio Stadium's visiting media room. "So again, I'm gonna keep saying it as long as I'm the head football coach here. It all starts with me and ends with me. We've got to be way better."
Immediate help is not on the way for the Gophers, whose lack of depth at key positions such as linebacker and running back has been exposed in the second half of the season. With standout linebacker Cody Lindenberg missing his ninth game this season and his backup, Maverick Baranowski, out, too, the Gophers turned to redshirt freshman Tyler Stolsky to fill the key role. In the backfield, converted safety Jordan Nubin carried most of the load after redshirt freshman Zach Evans left the game injured on Minnesota's second offensive series and did not return.
The Buckeyes took advantage of matchups where the Gophers' depth was thin by rushing for 215 yards and limiting Minnesota to 70 yards on the ground.