A cosmetic, magnifying mirror isn’t necessary to see the blemishes on the face of the Gophers football team’s two Big Ten wins.
They come with two ugly sore spots: blocking breakdowns continue to hinder the running game, and a plague of missed tackles routinely has set back the defense.
But Minnesota improved to 2-1 in Big Ten play on Saturday with a come-from-behind, 27-20 homecoming win over Purdue. The U did it primarily by taking care of the football (plus-three turnover margin) and being more disciplined (six fewer penalties) than the Boilermakers.
Purdue outgained Minnesota by nearly 200 yards, and possessed the ball for nine more minutes, but the U’s 10 points off turnovers were instrumental at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck was asked postgame about the stat imbalance making for an odd game.
“(That’s) college football,” he replied. “You check the scores today? Gophers won, right? That is all I care about. It was a pretty crazy day in college football. We were 1-0. We found a way to win.”
Fans don’t have to leave the Big Ten to have their eyes grow wide over some of the scores this weekend. On Friday, Rutgers — the Gophers’ other conference win — gave away another game in a 38-19 loss to Washington.
Then on Saturday, preseason national title contender Penn State fell to 0-3 in conference play with a 22-21 home loss to Northwestern; USC ran past then-No. 15 Michigan 31-13; UCLA continued its resurgence from an 0-4 start with a 38-13 win over Michigan State; and then-No. 7 Indiana went west to beat third-ranked Oregon 30-20.
Yet the most lopsided Big Ten game of the weekend was Wisconsin’s 37-0 homecoming loss to Iowa on Saturday night. It was the Badgers’ first home shutout since 1980.
There are plenty of ways to discount the Gophers’ 4-2 start. Its two conference wins are against teams with a combined 0-6 Big Ten record, and its nonconference loss to California on Sept. 13 looks worse as the Bears lost two of its next three. But things in Dinkytown are nowhere near as bad as what’s going on in Madison, Wis.
“That’s as low as it can be,” head coach Luke Fickell said as the Badgers fell to 2-4 overall, 0-3 in Big Ten play. “I apologize. I apologize to our guys to not be ready, to not have them ready. I’m dumbfounded in a lot of ways, but that’s my job. This is a game that we’ve been talking about since January.”
Members of the Badgers defense were reportedly doing 42 pushups after every spring practice to remind them of the Hawkeyes’ 42-10 win in Iowa City last season. The Hawkeyes then trolled Wisconsin on X after Saturday’s game with a video of Bucky doing a pushup and the caption: “37 more.”
Back in 2023, Fickell was considered a great hire after taking Cincinnati to the four-team College Football Playoff after the 2021 season. But his Wisconsin record has fallen to 15-17 overall and 8-13 in Big Ten games. And it’s going to get tougher for Wisconsin, with No. 1 Ohio State and Oregon up next.
Given the gloom, Fickle was asked Saturday if he can still do the job.
“I don’t fault you for asking,” Fickell responded to a reporter. “I don’t think people should think anything different. But the truth of the matter is this is not an easy fix. We’ve got a hell of a long way to go.”
If the Badgers determine Fickell is no longer the coach to lead them, they will owe him a buyout around $27 million, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That would be one of the biggest buyouts in the history of college football behind Texas A&M shelling out $77 million to Jimbo Fisher in 2023.
While it might be easy for the Gophers to feel a little schadenfreude over what is happening next door, the only Big Ten result the Gophers should really care about is Nebraska’s 34-31 comeback win at Maryland. The Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1) will come to Minnesota as a 5.5-point favorite for the Friday night kickoff.
If the Gophers don’t create more in the running game and tackle better on defense, Nebraska will likely snap a five-game losing streak in the series.
And there’s still five more games apiece for Minnesota and Wisconsin until the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Nov. 29.
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