Road woes keeping P.J. Fleck and the Gophers from being taken seriously

EUGENE, ORE. – The Duck mascot rode a Harley into Autzen Stadium, revving up the raucous crowd of 58,830 and serving as a harbinger for the fast start that No. 8 Oregon used in racing past the Gophers 42-13 on Friday night.

Behind quarterback Dante Moore’s big game — 27-for-30 passing, 306 yards, two touchdowns — the Ducks showed what a well-funded, championship-contending team looks like.

Also on display Friday: the gulf between one of college football’s “Haves” and a “Have-not-nearly-as-much.”

“They’ve got every resource known to man, but they also coach really, really hard, and they’re really good coaches,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said of Oregon’s Dan Lanning and his staff. “And when you combine that really good athlete with really good coaching and that environment and that type of talent, that’s what you see.”

It’s a picture with which the Gophers (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) are quite familiar this season.

They saw it Oct. 4 at Ohio State when the defending national champion Buckeyes scored at will in a 42-3 victory. This time, it was the reigning Big Ten champion Ducks (9-1, 6-1) who did whatever they wanted for most of the game.

Oregon had four touchdown drives of 75 yards, one of 70 yards and one of 66 yards. The Ducks averaged 8.1 yards per offensive play, including 9.2 in the first half as they built a 28-6 lead.

“We just didn’t get a stop,” said defensive end Anthony Smith, who had the Gophers’ lone sack Friday.

The loss marked the third time this season that the Gophers have been bludgeoned on the road in Big Ten play. The other was their 41-3 loss to Iowa in which they trailed 31-0 at halftime.

Combined, Ohio State, Oregon and Iowa outscored the Gophers 125-19. Throw in the 27-14 nonconference loss at California, and they are 0-4 away from Huntington Bank Stadium, being outscored 152-33 in those games.

“I’d love to be able to close the gap,” Fleck said. “Played Ohio State on the road. Yeah, we got beat; we got beat pretty good. Played these guys and got beat pretty good. Iowa lost to these guys and dropped one spot [in the College Football Playoff rankings]. I think that shows how good Iowa is this year.”

Fleck realizes that there will be growing pains with a team that starts a redshirt freshman at quarterback.

“He’s getting better with every time he goes out and plays,” Fleck said. “And it might not be leaps-and-bounds better where he’s 24-for-25 for 350 yards against this defense … but he showed a ton of poise. Made some great throws today, made some great decisions."

The Gophers also welcomed back running back Darius Taylor from a second injury absence this season. Taylor basically has missed five games, but he provided a spark in rushing 10 times for 57 yards and catching four passes for 40 yards.

“He’s electrifying,” Lindsey said. “He adds a different element to the offense when he’s out there.”

Fleck and his team will try to rebound in the regular season’s final two games: vs. Northwestern at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on Nov. 22 and at home vs. Wisconsin on Nov. 29.

The Gophers still have a chance to finish 8-4 before their bowl game, but it will be without a major upset that they covet.