Gophers offense is among the worst in college football, and the numbers reveal why

The Big Ten football season started on a high note for the Gophers offense as quarterback Drake Lindsey threw three touchdown passes in a 27-24 win in the conference opener at Washington. The third-year sophomore had the look of a quarterback building upon a solid freshman season that saw him pass at a 63.2% clip and throw 18 TD passes against six interceptions.

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Minnesota’s running backs contributed, too, in Seattle, with TJ Thomas Jr. rushing for 78 yards and Darius Taylor combining for 72 yards on 19 carries and four receptions while working through a nagging injury.

Since then, though, the Gophers offense has experienced a five-game stretch marked with a couple of trophy wins but also difficulty scoring as the level of competition has ramped up. The Gophers scored a 20-14 win over Michigan and a 13-10 upset of No. 15 Iowa, followed by near-misses at No. 4 Indiana (a 23-16 overtime loss) and against No. 5 UCLA (a 34-20 home loss in a game that was tied 17-17 early in the fourth quarter).

Coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. are working to get the offense back to higher efficiency, but it’s been a difficult run.

“It’s a combination of a lot of different things,’’ Fleck said. “It’s production, it’s running the football, it’s having great balance. … I thought we ran the football with efficiency [against UCLA]. And I thought Drake had a really good day in a lot of areas – much improved from the last two weeks but still a lot to get better at.’’

Time is ticking for the Gophers to get the offense humming. They are 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten entering Saturday night’s game at Penn State, and they need one more win to secure bowl eligibility. Minnesota’s defense shouldered its share of the burden for the inability to close strong against Indiana and UCLA, but when you look at statistical rankings, the offense’s numbers stand out.

The Gophers average 24.7 points per game, which is tied for 93 rd nationally. In Big Ten play, they are scoring 16.2 points per game, 16 th in the 18-team league. Their total offense figure of 307.6 yards per game ranks 128 th nationally. In Big Ten play, they are generating 264.3 yards per game, last in the conference.

What’s gone wrong? Let’s start with the basics.