Gophers bowling in Florida? That outlook grows cloudy with Rutgers loss

The Gophers outlook for a bowl game in the Sunshine State grew cloudy on Saturday.

Coming into the Rutgers game, Minnesota was a six-point favorite to get their seventh win this season, with sixth-ranked Penn State at home on Nov. 23 and a road game at rival Wisconsin on Black Friday remaining on the schedule to shoot for eight or maybe even nine wins.

Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle sounded optimistic about the final stretch on the KFAN pregame show from Piscataway, N.J.

“If we keep winning, that gives us a chance to go somewhere special,” Coyle said, naming the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and the Reliaquest (former Outback) Bowl in Tampa, Fla., as two possible destinations. He also mentioned the Music City Bowl in Nashville and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte as contenders.

But after a fourth-quarter flounder in a 26-19 loss to Rutgers dims the outlook for a higher-tier bowl game. Minnesota now sits at 6-4, 4-3 in Big Ten play. Might the Gophers have to go back to Detroit for what is now known as the GameAbove Sports Bowl?

The dimming chances of a fresher (and warmer) bowl location was the most consistent gripe coming from fans on social media after the Gophers gave up 12 straight points to turn a 16-14 lead into a 26-16 deficit over a six-minute stretch at SHI Stadium.

In some respects, Saturday’s game was a course correction. The Gophers had been riding the crest of a wave on turnover margin at plus-9 through its four-game winning streak. While Minnesota and Rutgers each had one turnover Saturday, Jameson Geers’ fumble came at a horrible location (Minnesota’s 12-yard line) and time (eight minutes left in the game).

Minnesota’s offensive line allowed 10 total pressures on Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus, resulting in four sacks of Max Brosmer, including one for a safety with six minutes left in the game.

“I’m going to have to go back and really dissect the film,” head coach P.J. Fleck about the offensive line. “One, I think (Rutgers) did a really good job putting pressure with four (linemen). They were adding on a little bit more (when the U didn’t run play action). … It just seemed we didn’t execute at a high level.”

On defense, the Gophers missed 15 tackles, according to PFF. During its four-game winning streak, Minnesota had significantly cut down on the total in this category, but on Saturday it reverted back to the big numbers seen in the 2-3 start to the year.

“We were in good positions, I felt like,” said cornerback Ethan Robinson. “We just got to make plays on the ball.”

Robinson included. He had one interception in the end zone the first half, but wasn’t able to catch one that hit his upper body in the second half.

Before the Gophers’ bowl picture comes into better focus as November shakes out, Minnesota will be off this coming Saturday. During the bus week, they will turn most of their attention inward to try to correct its issues and make the postseason destination more interesting for the team and fans alike.

“We got a lot of work to do, but we also have to get healthy,” Fleci said with star running back Darius Taylor and defensive end Jah Joyner dealing with injuries. “… I think our guys are playing their hearts out. … We were 0-1. Again, as simple as that. Didn’t make enough plays. Didn’t do enough things to win that football game. When you are in the Big Ten, it doesn’t matter who you play.”