Gophers defense will make or break the rest of the season

Sunday is film day for the Gophers football team.

Coach P.J. Fleck and his staff break down the plays from the previous day’s game and show the players what they did right and what they did wrong, what to correct and what to continue doing. Fleck even jokes that his players must wear their “leather vests” as a way to handle the often-pointed criticism they receive.

“Sunday was a tough day,” linebacker Maverick Baranowski said Wednesday, four days after top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State amassed 474 total yards in a 42-3 victory over the Gophers at Ohio Stadium. “We watched the film — all the plays we didn’t make and all the plays they made. You’ve got to flush it. You’ve got to learn from it."

It’s during those film sessions that the Gophers (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) are learning a lot about their defense.

Starting with a 27-14 loss Sept. 13 at California, they’ve played three games against teams from Power Four conferences — the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and SEC — and are 1-2 during that span.

One of the primary reasons for the losing record is that Minnesota’s defense hasn’t reached the level it did last year.

In 2024, the Gophers allowed an average of 20 points and 309.7 yards per game against Power Four foes, figures that ranked 12th and eighth nationally.

Those stats take on added importance because the remainder of the Gophers’ schedule is against Big Ten opponents, starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against Purdue at Huntington Bank Stadium.

The Boilermakers (2-3, 0-2) are a dramatically improved team under new coach Barry Odom, who replaced Ryan Walters (5-19 in two seasons). Purdue averages 36.2 passes per game and has been held to fewer than 27 points only once this season.

“You can tell that team is playing at a very high level for him,” Fleck said of Odom. “They played three really, really, really good Power Four opponents [USC, Notre Dame, Illinois] and scored a lot of points.”

The Gophers entered the season knowing their defense had a mix of strengths and question marks.

Minnesota figured to be strong but not overly deep along the defensive line with standout end Anthony Smith and veteran tackles Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding. At safety, the Gophers were blessed with a duo in sophomores Koi Perich and Kerry Brown that would be the envy of most teams.

There was a new play-caller on defense, too.

Danny Collins, former safeties coach, was named defensive coordinator in January after Corey Hetherman left after one season in Minnesota to become defensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.).

Through the season’s first two games — against Buffalo and Northwestern (La.) State — the Gophers had three combined missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Since then, Cal forced 13 missed tackles, Rutgers forced 18 and Ohio State forced 14.

“Early on, we had success tackling,” Collins said. “And now we’re going through a little bit of a hard patch. We’ve just got to continue to get better, to trust it, and they will.”

Said Baranowski, “It’s all about running our feet and taking a couple extra steps. … We’ve been emphasizing that in practice, and we’re going to see it on display this weekend."

“He’s a really good back, and he does well in open space,” said Baranowski, whose 32 tackles rank second behind linebacker Devon Williams’ 39 on the team. “He’s fast and he’s very dynamic. It’ll be a fun matchup.”

If the Gophers can limit Mockobee, they will have a better chance of getting off the field.

So far against Power Four opponents, they’re allowing opponents to convert 54.05% (20-for-37) of their third-down chances, which ranks 107th nationally.

Last year, Perich led the Big Ten and tied for fourth nationally with five interceptions. This year, he has yet to pick off a pass.

Brown has Minnesota’s only interception against a Power Four opponent this season, a pickoff vs. Rutgers on Sept. 27.

Collins believes the takeaway chances will increase.

“The opportunities are there,” he said. “If you look at the Rutgers game, we had a lot of hands on the football. We’ve just got to come down with it. At Ohio State, Koi had an opportunity there.”

Collins doesn’t want his team pressing to force turnovers.