Joe Rossi has built a reputation for coordinating Gophers defenses that limit explosive plays and get off the field on third down. When working at peak efficiency, Rossi's defense has owned the game's big moments, keeping the score down and giving Minnesota's offense chances to use long, clock-draining drives to shorten games.
Over the past two weeks, though, Rossi's defense has been anything but efficient. First gashed for 519 yards in a 31-13 loss at No. 15 North Carolina and then riddled for 492 yards in a 37-34 overtime loss at Northwestern, the Gophers suddenly enter Saturday's homecoming game against Louisiana with issues on a defense that's usually been reliable.
What's gone wrong?
"Everything,'' Rossi said Wednesday, assessing the loss to Northwestern, when the Gophers blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead. "… It's not up to the standard. They have three consecutive drives where they come away with points. We played poor zone coverage. We played poor man coverage. We didn't rush the passer well enough.
"Poor performance is a result of two things: coaching and playing,'' he added, "so, players gotta be better, coaches gotta be better.''
Limiting big plays and defensive third-down stops were strengths for the Gophers last year. They allowed 130 plays of 10 yards or more in 2022, which was the ninth-fewest among the 133 FBS teams. This year, they've already allowed 55 such plays, which ranks 85th. In the past two games, they've surrendered 41 plays of 10 yards or longer.
"It was just really us not being us — being able to play the situation, being focused, being confident,'' Gophers safety Tyler Nubin said. "... In that fourth quarter, we weren't us.''
Minnesota limited opponents to a third-down conversion rate of 27.9% in 2022, which was sixth best in the nation. This year, opponents are converting 50.9% of their third downs, which ranks 128th. In the past two games, opponents are 20-for-34 on third down (58.8%).