The good news for Minnesota football fans is that the two most widely followed teams in the state are a combined 7-4 and still have a chance to author successful seasons.
That’s not where the good news ends for the Gophers and Vikings, but this is also a sobering reality: Neither team knows its identity yet, and that could spell trouble as both get into the hearts of their schedules.
“Identity” can be a squishy term that gestures vaguely toward vibes more than anything else, but I would argue it has tangible qualities that show up in important ways.
It boils down to this: What can you say about a team that is always true, and what is a thing (or things) a team does well even if their opponent knows it is coming? Neither the Gophers nor the Vikings have those qualities right now.
Chip Scoggins and I talked about both teams and their identity troubles (not a crisis yet in either case) on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast, and I’ll explain further why it’s important at the start of today’s 10 things to know.
- For the Gophers, their lack of identity showed up again even in a 27-20 Homecoming win over Purdue that helped them improve to 4-2. As Scoggins wrote, it was a game defined more by the Boilermakers’ shortcomings than anything else. On the podcast, he asserted that Minnesota would have lost to every Big Ten team except Purdue by playing the way it did Saturday. The Gophers couldn’t run the ball or stop the run. They completed fewer than 50% of their passes. If the hope at the start of the year was that the Gophers would be a team that dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball as an identity, that has not materialized.
- The Vikings had a much-needed bye week. Their 3-2 record obscures the reality of a team that hasn’t played well for much of the season. Injuries, particularly on the offensive line, have played a role in keeping them from being the team they want to be. On defense, they have been gouged by opposing running backs. They generated five turnovers in a blowout win over the Bengals a few weeks back but have just two takeaways in their other four games (and none each of the last two weeks). “I think we’ve got to use the time as a coaching staff to figure out what is the identity of this year’s team,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said after last week’s comeback win over the Browns.
- You might argue that a positive shared identity trait of both teams so far this season is resilience. The Gophers made huge plays late in comeback wins over Rutgers and Purdue. Same with the Vikings against the Bears and Browns. But while finding a way to win is admirable, it is a characteristic of a team and not an identity. It’s a how, not a what. Eventually, probably sooner rather than later, both teams need to figure out what they consistently do well and start executing.
- Here’s a further update on the Vikings’ previously daunting upcoming four-game stretch: The Eagles have now lost two in a row, including a 34-17 humbling against the Giants; the Chargers needed last-minute heroics from Justin Herbert to narrowly defeat the 1-5 Dolphins and avoid their third straight loss; the Lions were soundly defeated by the Chiefs on Sunday night; the Ravens lost 17-3 to the Rams and are now 1-5.
- The Jets almost won Sunday even though they had minus-10 passing yards.
- This Yahoo piece on James Franklin’s ouster — and $50 million buyout at Penn State — is a good read.
- The Wild have their third game of the season Monday. They had a shutout in their opener and gave up seven goals on Saturday. I am going to guess they give up somewhere between those goal totals against the Kings.
- Patrick Reusse spun a great tale about former Gophers catcher Dan Wilson, now the successful manager of the Mariners. Seattle won Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday with more big hits from ex-Twin Jorge Polanco.
- Chris Hine has a look at a big question: Rob Dillingham’s fit in Year 2 with the Wolves.
- Jon Marthaler is expected to be my guest on Tuesday’s podcast to talk about the playoff-bound Minnesota United.
