Analysis: For the Gophers, just being good isn’t good enough anymore

CHICAGO – The fans dressed in varying shades of maroon and gold still found a way to have some fun Saturday night in Wrigleyville.

Their tones were a bit subdued, and their braggadocio dialed back several notches because of what had transpired from 11:01 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. in the home of the Chicago Cubs, but the trip was bought and paid for, so why not make the most of it?

Still, amid the chicken wings, cheese curds, IPAs and odd shots of Malort, an underlying theme emerged:

Just what the heck is going on with P.J. and the Gophers?

What the heck, indeed.

The Gophers football team lost 38-35 to Northwestern on Saturday at Wrigley Field and did so in excruciating fashion for their fanbase.

Brady Denaburg pushed a 40-yard field goal wide left as time expired, denying the Gophers a chance to settle the game in overtime and making the work of quarterback Drake Lindsey, wide receiver Javon Tracy and kick returner Koi Perich all for naught in racing the clock in the final 53 seconds to get in position for the kick.

Wildcats quarterback Preston Stone completed 25 of 30 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns, finding Griffin Wilde for 11 receptions, 111 yards and a TD and Hayden Eligon II for seven catches for 127 yards.

The Gophers coughed up a 28-13 third-quarter lead and allowed the Wildcats to score 22 consecutive points and 25 overall in the second half.

“We did not play well enough as a team — offensive, defense and special teams — to come out with a victory in what was necessary to win this game," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said.

The defense, under first-year coordinator Danny Collins, was the main culprit Saturday.

The Gophers (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) forced the Wildcats (6-5, 4-4) to punt only once, and the Wildcats had one kneel-down to drain the final 12 seconds of the second quarter. In their other seven possessions, the Wildcats scored four touchdowns and three field goals, and they also converted a two-point conversion.

“I don’t look at the third straight game,” Fleck said. “This was a one-game championship season. We’re 0-1. This game has nothing to do with the last game.”

The Gophers were playing without two injured defensive starters: linebacker Devon Williams, their leading tackler, and cornerback John Nestor.

“There’s no excuses, but there are reasons,” Fleck said. “We’ve got a lot of guys out there that are playing for the first time. They’re really young players, and this is the way you grow up.”

Fleck was asked how he assesses Collins’ work.

“I look at three things. I look at coaching, I look at personnel and I look at scheme,” Fleck said. “Those are the three things I evaluate ever single week. … I love what Danny’s doing, I love how hard our defensive staff works. We’ve just got to be able to make the plays when they present themselves."

Lindsey completed 20 of 30 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns. Tracy caught four passes for 87 yards and three TDs. Perich had a 93-yard kickoff return in the second quarter to set up Minnesota’s first touchdown, then had a 44-yarder in the final minute of the fourth quarter to help put the Gophers in position to tie.

On that final possession — which came after Jack Olsen’s 33-yard field goal put the Wildcats up 38-35 — Lindsey immediately found Tracy for a 30-yard gain to the Northwestern 26 with 38 seconds left. Two plays later, Lindsey found Smith for 4 yards but the wideout could not get out of bounds. Lindsey then threw incomplete to Smith at the Wildcats’ 4 with 3 seconds left.

On came Denaburg, who earlier had missed a field-goal attempt from 48 yards. This kick from the left hash mark didn’t fade right, allowing Northwestern to celebrate its first-ever victory at Wrigley in eight tries. The miss left Denaburg, a senior transfer from Syracuse, 2-for-7 this season in field-goal attempts of 40 or more yards.

“There were so many good things from that football game with our football team from a lot of different people’s perspectives and performances that it’s gonna get overshadowed by the loss,” Fleck said. “It’s not on my mind. I loved our effort. I loved our resolve.”