Gophers Insider: Minnesota having trouble with run game on both sides of ball

The Big Ten envisioned days like Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., when it added four members of the Pac-12 to join the party and create an 18-team league that could rival the SEC, which bolstered its ranks by grabbing Texas and Oklahoma of the Big 12.

Michigan edged Southern California 27-24, using a 10-play, 89-yard drive capped by Kalel Mullings’ 1-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter to spoil the Trojans’ Big Ten debut. The matchup of blue bloods had a Rose Bowl feel to it, and save for a two-game home-and-home series in the 1950s, every previous matchup between the teams had been played in Pasadena.

So, just where do the Gophers fit in here? Michigan and USC are Minnesota’s next two opponents, and judging by the goings-on in the Big House and Minneapolis on Saturday, we’re going to find out quite a bit about the Gophers over the next two weeks.

With their 31-14 loss to Iowa on Saturday night in their Big Ten opener at Huntington Bank Stadium, the Gophers fell to 2-2. The victories came against Nevada, a 2-3 team in the Mountain West, and Rhode Island, an FCS team with a 3-1 mark. The losses came to the Hawkeyes and North Carolina, programs that provide a measuring stick of where the Gophers want to be and that are similar to the opponents they will face the remainder of the season.

Both losses carried a common thread. The Gophers forged 14-7 halftime leads, only to see the opponent’s running game dominate the second half and the opponent’s defense clamp down.

In North Carolina’s case, Omarion Hampton’s 74 second-half yards led to four field goals in the Tar Heels’ 19-17 victory. On Saturday, it was Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson rushing eight times for 85 yards and touchdowns of 15 and 40 yards in the third quarter in which Iowa outgained the Gophers 159-14. He finished with 206 yards on 21 carries.

“When you don’t play well, offense, defense, special teams for 60 minutes, and with really good teams and the Big Ten the way it is, you’re going to get beat like that,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said.

Fleck said the defensive issues in the second half came at all levels. Grades from Pro Football Focus back him up. Of the Gophers starters, only linebacker Cody Lindenberg (62.1) and defensive end Danny Striggow (61.2) had a run defense grade above 60, which is considered average. Four starters were below 50 on their rating.

Improvement in the run game on both sides of the ball is paramount moving forward. The Gophers are rushing for 117.3 yards per game, which ranks 17th in the Big Ten. They’re giving up 123.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 13th.

“That was us just not being us,” Gophers defensive tackle Jalen Logan-Redding said.

They figure to receive a heavy dose of the run game at Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines have turned to run-focused QB Alex Orji, and they ran the ball 46 times for 290 yards against USC and threw for only 32 yards. Mullings carried 17 times for 159 yards and two TDs, while Donovan Edwards ran 14 times for 74 yards and a score. The Wolverines rank sixth in the Big Ten at 204.8 yards rushing per game.

In addition to Michigan, the Gophers still will play the teams that rank first (Rutgers, 255.7), second (Penn State, 255.0), eighth (Wisconsin, 172.0) and 10th (Illinois, 156.5) in the conference in rushing yards.

Iowa boasts the Big Ten’s best rushing defense (62.0 yards per game), and the Gophers still must play other stout run defenses when they face Michigan (fourth, 76.5), Penn State (sixth, 85.0) and UCLA (seventh, 92.0).

“This is the Big Ten, and you better be able to play all 60 minutes,” Fleck said. “The best thing we can do is learn from this.”