Figures lie and liars figure, former Gophers football coach Glen Mason was fond of saying. It was a polite way of expressing how he felt about statistics, which – true – can sometimes be misleading.

Sometimes, though, they tell you a lot about the level of dominance that happens within a game. For instance:

*957 to 546: That's the combined yardage by which the Gophers (489-303) and Vikings (468-243) were outgained Saturday and Sunday.

The sentiment at the end of each of these games was quite different, as Gophers fans could at least relish the team's resiliency against a very good opponent while Vikings fans were left to gripe about laying an egg against a Bears team poised to give up on its season.

But the bottom line in each was quite similar. Both were close games in that they ended with the local team within one possession, though losing in each case. And both final scores, in some ways, obscured the dominance of the opponent.

With due respect to Gophers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who confidently said after the game that Ohio State wasn't better than Minnesota and that the Gophers doomed themselves with their own mistakes, the Buckeyes made more than their share, too. Minnesota earned respect, but Ohio State's playmakers showed up in that yardage disparity.

The Vikings? They were nearly doubled up in yardage and at one point were being outgained 453-144. In all six of their losses this season, they've been held under 300 yards of offense – a stat that perfectly illustrates the widespread flaws on that unit, from the line, to quarterback, to receivers, to coaching.

For our money, the coaching and offensive line can take about 60 percent of the blame, while the play of Teddy Bridgewater and his receivers can take the rest. However you dice it, though, this is an offense that is flat-out bad.