Scoggins: Gophers' passing game is non-existent

MADISON, WIS. – They completed five passes. Five.

In the most important game in decades, with a berth to the Big Ten Championship Game on the line, they passed for less than 100 yards.

Sort through everything that transpired Saturday — the fantastic start, the momentum swings, David Cobb's toughness, questionable calls by officials — and that one statistic leaps off the page in summarizing a missed opportunity by the Gophers football team at accomplishing something special.

Five completions for 95 yards.

Hard to win that way.

This one will hurt them, and haunt them, for a long time: Wisconsin 34, Gophers 24.

No shot at a Big Ten title. Just more heartbreak in a rivalry that's been one-sided for far too long.

But momentum changed and the Badgers defense stiffened and the Gophers needed to make some plays with their passing game. Didn't happen.

That season-long narrative doomed the Gophers at the worst possible time. Their lack of a passing game put too much pressure on a defense that hung tough in containing the great Melvin Gordon for three quarters. And too much pressure on Cobb, who refused to let an injured hamstring keep him off the field.

The Gophers needed a complete effort on offense to win at Camp Randall for the first time since 1994. Instead, their passing game disappeared.

Mitch Leidner will receive the brunt of the criticism after completing only five of 18 passes, but the blame should be shared. It's never just one person's fault. The conversation should be all-encompassing. That includes scheme, blocking, talent at receiver and Leidner's inaccuracy. Everything.

An improved passing game belongs at the top of Jerry Kill's list of needs moving forward. That's a must, though Kill understandably wasn't interested in a big-picture discussion so soon after the game.

The Gophers have made important strides the past two seasons. They're tougher physically. They play solid defense. They run the ball with purpose. They don't fold at the first sign of adversity.

The program is on the right track. The next step requires a better passing attack. Can they realistically win a conference championship with a passing game that is so erratic and unreliable?

"You lose the game and everybody questions things and so forth," Kill said. "But there's nobody that can question a guy like Mitch Leidner [who] played with a torn MCL [this season]. … We've got tough kids."

He's right in that regard. Leidner is a good leader, he runs the ball hard and he's handled criticism this season in a classy manner. Everyone wants to see him succeed.

He has some nice moments. He played like a winner in the second half at Nebraska. He just needs to become a consistent passer, if possible. He tends to miss wildly.

The Gophers didn't target tight end Maxx Williams until his 53-yard catch in the fourth quarter. Not sure exactly who to blame, but it boggles the mind that Williams, a finalist for the John Mackey Award, had zero passes thrown his direction through three quarters.

Why?

"They held him pretty good," Kill said. "They got him on the line of scrimmage and played physical with him. That's not complaining about the officials. That's part of good defense. He was just hard to get open. They were running with him all over the place."

The Gophers' lack of passing game reduces their margin for error and forces Cobb and the defense to save the day, which is not always a sustainable model.

That happened once the game pivoted in the second quarter. A facemask penalty inside the 10-yard line forced the Gophers to settle for a field goal, a four-point swing.

A bad exchange between Leidner and Cobb resulted in a fumble right before halftime, costing the Gophers a shot at a field goal. The Badgers moved quickly and kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 17-13.

New game.

Ultimately, the Badgers got big plays from their quarterback Joel Stave and passing game. And the Gophers didn't, other than Williams' one catch.

That wasn't nearly enough in a game that began with so much promise.