Because the clock wound down Friday evening at TCF Financial institution Stadium with Minnesota main Nebraska 24-6, the response to the end result was predictable. Nebraska, coming into the sport ranked for the primary time since Week 3 of final season, blew it. Matt Rhule, who had been talked about with the all of the sudden vacant Penn State job all week, blew it as effectively.
I get it. That is the way it works when the groups with the numbers subsequent to their names lose to these with out them. Nonetheless, I had a special takeaway within the instant aftermath. I assumed, “Boy, P.J. Fleck doesn’t get practically sufficient credit score for what he is finished at Minnesota.”
The win improved the Gophers to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 within the Huge Ten. They’re a win away from their fifth straight bowl look, which might tie the varsity’s file for consecutive postseason berths. It additionally improved Fleck’s file to 37-37 in Huge Ten video games. If you happen to take out his first season, the Gophers are 35-30 in Huge Ten play, and should you ignore 2020 (and, actually, we should always all ignore the outcomes of the COVID season, as a result of they’ve principally confirmed meaningless) he is 32-26. These numbers will not wow you, however within the context of the place Minnesota has traditionally discovered itself within the Huge Ten over the past 75 years, it is spectacular.
Minnesota has gained seven nationwide titles in its historical past, however none since 1960. If we take into account solely the fashionable period of faculty soccer (for the reason that BCS started in 1998), Minnesota has completed with a profitable convention file eight instances in 27 seasons. Fleck is chargeable for 4 of them, and is 2 wins away from his fifth.
What Fleck has finished at Minnesota jogs my memory a number of what Hayden Fry after which Kirk Ferentz have finished at Iowa. He is taken a Huge Ten program that is not thought-about one of many league’s greatest and persistently discovered methods to exceed expectations each season. Coincidentally, that is who Fleck’s Gophers will face this week in one of many Huge Ten’s conventional rivalry video games.
There is a bronze pig on the road, of us!
Now, earlier than Iowa followers throw heavy objects at me, Fleck has not taken Minnesota to the identical form of heights Fry and Ferentz have reached at Iowa. Hayden Fry took the Hawkeyes to the Rose Bowl 3 times. Kirk Ferentz has two Huge Ten titles, a Rose Bowl look, and an Orange Bowl look on prime of it. Fleck has by no means gained the Huge Ten and his largest bowl was a Cotton Bowl look with Western Michigan that led to him touchdown the Minnesota job.
My comparability is extra about what Minnesota has develop into underneath Fleck. Some might have seen Nebraska occurring the highway to Minnesota and shedding as some form of large upset. Maybe it was on the purpose unfold, but it surely wasn’t a shock to anyone who pays shut consideration. Very similar to Huge Ten groups have discovered going into Kinnick Stadium and going through the Hawkeyes to be tough, the identical factor is occurring with highway journeys to Minneapolis.
On Friday evening it was No. 25 Nebraska who misplaced. Final season No. 11 USC got here into TCF Financial institution Stadium and fell 24-17. A month and a half later it was No. 4 Penn State that narrowly prevented catastrophe in a 26-25 win.
In a 12 months the place it seems like so many Huge Ten applications are questioning who they’re and what their place within the league is, Minnesota has an identification underneath Fleck. The Gophers would possibly shock you, however they do not shock themselves.
Let’s rank rivalry trophies
All proper, for the reason that Floyd of Rosedale is on the road Saturday in Iowa Metropolis, and I really like that rattling pig, it seems like a very good time to rank the highest 5 Huge Ten rivalry trophies. These rankings are closing, and should you disagree, it is since you are unsuitable and have to reevaluate all the things you’ve got ever felt or thought thus far in your life. Maybe then you definately’ll determine why you are rankings are unsuitable.
Anyway, right here we go.
1. Floyd of Rosedale
2. Paul Bunyan’s Axe
3. Illibuck
4. Paul Bunyan Trophy
5. Little Brown Jug
To the shock of no one, Wisconsin was dominated by Ohio State in a 34-0 loss. This efficiency got here on the heels of a 37-0 loss to Iowa the week earlier than. That is proper, the Badgers haven’t scored some extent in a soccer sport since kicking a 39-yard discipline objective to chop Michigan’s result in 24-10 with 2:43 left to play. It has been 122 minutes and 43 seconds of sport time for the reason that Badgers put some extent on the board.
They’ve been outscored 122-20 in 4 Huge Ten video games. No different Huge Ten staff has scored fewer than 64 factors in convention play this 12 months. Issues are fairly dangerous, however I do not know if these numbers really clarify it, so let’s take it a step additional.
There have been 36 Huge Ten convention video games performed to date this 12 months, and Wisconsin’s common of -0.42 EPA per snap was the second-worst efficiency of the season in any of these contests. The worst? Properly, that was Wisconsin’s 37-0 loss to Iowa final week. It averaged -0.58 in opposition to the Hawkeyes.
What’s that? You need it to harm extra? Properly, I’ve bought excellent news for you sickos, no different Huge Ten staff has had a mean EPA per play worse than -0.34 this 12 months, so not solely does Wisconsin have the 2 worst performances, it has them by a mile!
Oh, and Wisconsin’s -0.20 efficiency in opposition to Maryland ranks because the Tenth-worst this 12 months. So the Badgers declare three of the ten worst offensive showings of the Huge Ten season. No different Huge Ten staff has greater than one of many worst 10, and what’s crazier is all three of Wisconsin’s have come at residence.
Their greatest efficiency was -0.15 in opposition to Michigan, which checks in because the Fifteenth-worst. Critically, everybody, it has been very dangerous.
Dylan Raiola can’t cease getting sacked
Dylan Raiola was sacked 9 instances in Nebraska’s loss to Minnesota, which is clearly essentially the most he is ever been sacked in a sport. However this isn’t a brand new downside. Raiola has been sacked incessantly this season. After being sacked 25 instances final 12 months, he is now been dropped 26 instances in 2025, and we’re barely previous the midway level of the common season.
The one quarterback who has been sacked extra usually than Raiola this 12 months is Auburn’s Jackson Arnold, who’s at 27. I place a number of the blame for this on Raiola’s shoulders.
He has a pressure-to-sack ratio of two.81. For individuals who aren’t clear, that simply means what number of instances is the QB pressured for each sack he takes. Among the many 116 certified quarterbacks, Raiola’s ratio ranks 116th. Jackson Arnold is a hundred and fifteenth at 3.00.
Some folks will wish to blame the offensive line, and I am not going to absolve that unit of blame, however Raiola’s solely been pressured on 29.1% of his dropbacks. That ranks 54th of 116 certified QBs. Additionally, whereas PFF grades are removed from a holy grail, PFF offers Nebraska’s offensive line a pass-blocking grade of 78.7 on the season. That ranks thirteenth among the many 136 FBS groups.
I have been essential of Raiola on the Cowl 3 Podcast this 12 months. I don’t assume he’s a basically sound participant, and it annoys me as a result of, from a expertise perspective, there aren’t many within the nation together with his arm expertise. He has nice arm power and super accuracy. He could make each throw within the e-book, and he can achieve this in several methods. However he will get sloppy in his footwork and it results in misses that should not occur far too usually.
Then there are the sacks he is taking. Plenty of them are merchandise of his need to make performs occur off script. Generally he does one thing spectacular, like this.
Extra usually, as an alternative of stepping up within the pocket to flee stress, he strikes backwards or tries to roll to his proper or left to purchase extra time to do one thing unbelievable, however solely finally ends up operating into the ready arms of a defender.
The sacks put Nebraska’s offense in robust positions, which then causes Raiola to place extra stress on himself to do one thing nice, which ends up in extra sacks. It is one thing he and the Cornhuskers have gotten away with in nonconference video games, but it surely hurts them in Huge Ten video games.
Till Raiola begins understanding that boring performs might be more practical than spectacular ones, Nebraska could have a troublesome time profitable persistently within the Huge Ten.
Going with my intestine
Each week I decide the Huge Ten video games in opposition to the unfold primarily based on nothing however my intestine response to the quantity. No digging into numbers — simply vibes, child. I even observe my file to embarrass myself publicly. Any sport not included is because of there not being a posted line at time of publishing.
Minnesota at Iowa: OK, this is the deal. It is onerous for me to belief Iowa to cowl a selection this huge when the Hawkeyes had been barely capable of beat Penn State at residence final week. This was a Penn State staff that was on a three-game shedding streak that bought its coach fired, and had misplaced its beginning quarterback for the 12 months to an harm. There was no excuse for Iowa to make that one so shut. Now you’ve got bought Minnesota coming to city with the Floyd of Rosedale on the road. I’ve to take the factors right here. Minnesota +8.5
UCLA at No. 2 Indiana — Indiana -24.5
Northwestern at Nebraska — Northwestern +7.5
Rutgers at Purdue — Purdue +2.5
No. 23 Illinois at Washington — Illinois +4.5
Wisconsin at No. 6 Oregon — Oregon -34.5
No. 25 Michigan at Michigan State — Michigan -14.5
Final Week: 5-4
Season: 39-30
