The results of the last two Golden Gophers football games are frustrating enough but now Minnesota goes on the road to play No.16 ranked Penn State with an uncertain quarterback situation. Tanner Morgan, the winningest Gopher quarterback in program history, was injured last Saturday and is being monitored this week by medical advisors.
Redshirt junior reserve Cole Kramer wasn’t available Saturday to relieve Morgan because of injury. Coach P.J. Fleck said Kramer’s status for Penn State is uncertain. That could leave quarterback duties up to redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis who fumbled a snap and threw two interceptions in relief of Morgan.
Consecutive losses to Purdue and Illinois have resulted in a 1-2 Big Ten record, and frustration by the fanbase. It’s a long shot now the Gophers can win a first-ever West Division championship. Fans are rightfully hungry for a division title now that Fleck is in his sixth season leading the program.
Critics are piling on Fleck after 20-10 and 26-14 losses in the last two games (Gophers have a 4-2 overall record). He is unlikely to deliver a division title to Dinkytown until next season at the earliest, but his resume is solid while coaching at one of the most difficult places to win in the Big Ten.
Other than Nebraska, the Gophers have to go farther to recruit much of their roster than any school in the conference. Out of state recruiting is a must because Minnesota high schools don’t produce a lot of Big Ten prospects. And when it comes to recruiting, remember this about the University of Minnesota: the Gophers don’t cheat by paying players like some of their Power Five rivals. That puts programs like Minnesota at a competitive disadvantage.
The Gophers are a developmental program with a roster that has no five-star and few four-star players coming out of high school. Often developing talent works but there are also ongoing times of poor results. An epicenter in the last two games is the receiving corps. Too often receivers aren’t gaining separation to get open. There are instances where effort is lacking, like not contesting a catch or poor route running.
To be successful the Gophers need balance between passing and running. The passing game didn’t show up in the last two losses, with Minnesota scoring a total of 24 points. In the first four games of the season Minnesota had that balance and scored over 30 points in three nonconference wins and a Big Ten road victory at Michigan State. No doubt, though, one of the nation’s easiest schedules helped fuel the Gophers’ success.
In both losses this fall Minnesota trailed at the half, part of a history of not being able to stage second half comebacks. At one point in Jerry Kill’s coaching career at Minnesota his teams were 0-22 when trailing at halftime. Using a run-heavy offense over the years, the Gophers are currently 0-31 in their last 31 games when trailing by 10 points or more, per ESPN. Minnesota fell behind by 10 points early in their Purdue and Illinois losses.
Kill, a talented coach like Fleck, never won a division title while leading the Gophers from 2011 thru part of the 2015 season. Glen Mason, who coached some of the greatest rushing teams in program history, didn’t win a Big Ten title during his run in Minneapolis from 1997-2006.
Minnesota is a difficult place to win consistently and at a high level. The Gophers haven’t won a Big Ten title since 1967 under coach Murray Warmath who was fired after the 1971 season for losing too many games. Since then, Minnesota has plowed through nine coaches including Fleck who has a resume that deserves respect.
Including bowl games, Fleck is 39-25 at Minnesota, with a winning percentage of .609 that ranks third in program history among head coaches who led the Gophers in 45 games or more. His Big Ten record is 22-24 but none of eight predecessors won more league games than they lost and most of them didn’t even come close. Warmath at 66-57-4 was the last Minnesota coach to have a winning record in conference games. Fleck’s 7-2 and 6-3 league records in 2019 and 2021 are among the best at Minnesota in more than 60 years.
Fleck is the only Gopher coach to go undefeated in bowl games. The Gophers have won three consecutive postseason games including the New Year’s Day Outback Bowl against Auburn after which they finished No. 10 nationally in the final AP poll.
Minnesota is 15-5 in its last 20 away games. Maybe the Gophers surprise their critics Saturday night and make it 16-5.
Wolves Owner Expects Fast Start
The Timberwolves play five of their first six games at Target Center including the season opener Wednesday night against the Thunder. The Wolves also have nine of their first 12 games at home—and for the most part the opponents are not a who’s who of NBA heavyweights.
With a reconfigured roster led by newly acquired all-NBA center Rudy Gobert and coming off a 46-36 season in 2021-2022, owner Glen Taylor has expectations for a fast start. “Well, I looked at the schedule. I think we’re playing against teams that I would say we have a very good chance of beating on paper. …Then we have the home games so expectations (are) we should come out of these first group of games with a pretty good record.”
Taylor has owned the franchise since 1994 and there have been plenty of difficult seasons. He counts the Kevin Garnett era and one season with Jimmy Butler as times of high expectations, along with right now. “This is the third time where I think we have a really good team, and my expectations are that we should go far into the season and do very well. You know it’s going to be fun for our fans, including myself.”
The way Taylor sees it is his team can make a statement in its first 12 games. “We have a history of not doing well against teams we should win (against). …Teams that are missing their stars, we go ahead and lose the game, and stuff like that. You know my expectations (are) that won’t happen this year.
“Get off to a good start. Now that’s good for the players but it’s also good for our fans too because I think it gets their interest and we’ll have a bigger attendance. …I think they’ll get behind the players (and) just motivate them to a higher level of play.”
Taylor also wants to see his team have playoff success, going beyond the first round of the postseason. That’s something Minnesota hasn’t done since 2004. The sting of last spring’s playoff series loss will last awhile since many observers will argue the Wolves were superior to the Grizzlies.
“That’s my expectation (to get beyond the first round),” Taylor said. “I think with the guys that we have, if other than injuries, they should deliver that. I am really confident in our coaching. I think they’ll get the most out of these guys. That’ll make a difference.”
A factor in how successfully the Wolves start the season will be the performance of Karl-Anthony Towns. The all-NBA big man has been asked to switch from center to power forward, and complicating the transition is an undisclosed illness that hospitalized him at the start of training camp.
Taylor didn’t describe the medical problem Towns faced. “Well, I am not going to go into it. They kept me advised everything that was going on. It was a setback, but we are hopeful given the next couple of weeks that he can get his strength and weight back.”
Taylor also said that as Towns recovers it doesn’t mean he “can’t play well.”
Is the nature of the medical issue something that can re-occur? “I don’t think so,” Taylor answered.
New owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are scheduled soon to make another installment on the payment plan leading to their taking over majority ownership of the Wolves and WNBA Lynx by December of 2023. Taylor believes the process is on schedule. “My expectation (is) that the end of this year they would be obligated to make their second payment.”
For now Taylor is basking in a time of high expectations for his team. A visitor suggested there is a buzz about the Wolves. “You’re correct,” the 81-year-old owner said.
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