1. This offense has issues to resolve
Five things we learned from the Gophers' 26-14 loss at Illinois
Minnesota dropped its second consecutive game as both the offense and defense struggled against the Fighting Illini.
October 16, 2022 at 4:58PM
In the 20-10 loss against Purdue, the Gophers couldn't run the ball, finishing with 47 yards on the ground as Mohamed Ibrahim sat out because of an ankle injury. Saturday, they had no passing game, with Tanner Morgan completing only four of 12 passes for 21 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter because of injury. Coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca need to find answers in a hurry.
2. This defense suddenly has issues to resolve
Against Purdue, it was easy to assign blame to the Gophers offense. This time, the defense shoulders the burden. Illinois amassed 472 yards of offense and had six scoring drives of 68 yards or longer, leading to 86 offensive plays and a whopping 40:04 in time of possession. The Fighting Illini won the key moments, too, going 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions, leading to 16 points.
3. Kaliakmanis might be the next man up
Redshirt freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis took the reins of the Gophers offense after Morgan left the game early in the fourth quarter. Morgan was taken to a local medical center because of what Fleck called an "upper body'' injury before being cleared to fly home with the team. If Morgan can't play Saturday at Penn State, Kaliakmanis could be in line to start. Kaliakmanis went 2-for-6 for 17 yards with two interceptions. Fleck said Cole Kramer wasn't available to play because of an injury.
4. Wide receivers need to step up
The loss of Chris Autman-Bell to a season-ending injury suffered Sept. 17 vs. Colorado continues to be felt. Saturday, Gophers wide receivers Daniel Jackson, Mike Brown-Stephens and Dylan Wright combined for one catch for 4 yards (by Jackson). Jackson was targeted four times and Brown-Stephens and Wright three times each. Tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford was the leading pass-catcher, with four receptions for 32 yards on six targets.
5. Redding makes an impact
Fleck often plays it cautious in the kick return game by having his players make fair catches to get the ball at the 25-yard line. Saturday, however, Quentin Redding made a significant impact by returning the second-half kickoff 92 yards, setting up Ibrahim's 4-yard touchdown run that gave the Gophers a 14-13 lead. Redding finished with five returns for 151 yards.
The Gophers men’s hockey team can trace Sam Rinzel’s improvement this past offseason down to the second, and he’ll be a focal point in this weekend’s series against No. 3 Michigan State.
