Depth Dossier: Minnesota Golden Gophers (Week 10)

Show Notes

Two Missed 56-Yarders and a Pair of 75-Yard Daggers Sank Minnesota Against UCLA The Depth Dossier breaks down what Minnesota's Week 10 game against UCLA changed on the depth chart: injuries, snap shares and who is moving up or down.

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This is the Depth Dossier: the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Week 10.

Minnesota had a shot to hang with a top-five team, but two missed field goals and a pair of 75-yard bombs turned a tie game into a 34 to 20 loss to U-C-L-A.

Here's the quick version. Minnesota tied things up at 17 in the fourth quarter, and then wide receiver Aidan Mizell torched the secondary for 75-yard touchdowns on back-to-back snaps. That took a close game and made it a laugher in the span of about 30 seconds. The Gophers actually held the ball almost six minutes longer than U-C-L-A, but they got outgained 466 yards to 296, and they converted just four of 15 third downs. Kicker Luke Drzewiecki missed two 56-yard attempts, both wide right, snapping what had been the longest made-field-goal streak in the country and handing U-C-L-A short fields they turned into points. Quarterback Drake Lindsey threw for 205 yards and hit freshman tight end George Rohl for the tying score, but the offense just couldn't string together enough drives.

Let's start with those kicking decisions, because they really shaped the whole afternoon. Facing fourth and short twice, head coach P.J. Fleck sent Drzewiecki out for 56-yarders both times instead of going for it, and both kicks sailed wide right. The first one ended a 26-make streak and set up a U-C-L-A touchdown drive immediately. The second came right before another U-C-L-A score. Drzewiecki did bounce back to hit from 38 and 36 yards later, but those two misses, at the worst possible moments, were the difference between a competitive game and a comfortable U-C-L-A win.

Then there's the explosiveness gap. U-C-L-A averaged 8.5 yards per play to Minnesota's 4.5, and that shows up most in those two 75-yard touchdown catches by Mizell, which flipped a tied game into a 31 to 20 deficit almost instantly. Minnesota actually held U-C-L-A in check for long stretches. This wasn't death by a thousand cuts. It was two haymakers.

And the time of possession numbers were almost misleading. Minnesota controlled the ball for nearly 33 minutes compared to U-C-L-A's 27, but still lost the yardage battle by 170 yards. Grinding the clock without creating explosive plays usually just means long drives that end in punts, and that's exactly what happened on 11 of Minnesota's 15 third-down tries.

A couple other moments worth mentioning: a blocked punt gave U-C-L-A the ball at Minnesota's 20-yard line, but a holding penalty wiped out the touchdown that followed, and a fumble let the Gophers escape that one unscathed. Linebacker Maverick Baranowski also picked off a pass before halftime, setting up a field goal and giving the defense one of its few sustained bright spots. And trailing by 14 with under three minutes left, Fleck chose to punt on fourth and seven from his own 28, a call that drew heavy criticism locally for essentially conceding the game.

Now to the injury and depth picture, because there's real concern here. Defensive lineman Jaylin Hicks was carted off in the third quarter with a left leg injury and is now considered doubtful for week 11. Nothing's been confirmed on a diagnosis yet, but losing a defensive lineman for any stretch adds strain to a front seven already dealing with a tough schedule.

Up front on offense, Minnesota is still without its top two centers, both lost for the season, and that keeps showing up as pressure on Lindsey and an offense that managed just 91 rushing yards. Until that interior line stabilizes, expect the passing game to keep looking the way it did Saturday, inconsistent, and leaning on Lindsey to escape trouble rather than operate in a clean pocket.

There is a silver lining. Rohl's fourth-quarter touchdown continues a pattern of freshman tight ends stepping up in big moments, and that's worth watching given how thin the tight end room is behind Roman Voss.

Special teams takes a hit in confidence more than personnel. Drzewiecki is still the guy, but the 56-yard well looks tapped out for now. Keep an eye on how Fleck handles fourth-down decisions next week after two public misfires in as many categories.

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