Think back to the Gophers' game with eighth-ranked California on Saturday. What comes to mind?
• Eric Decker proving his toughness for the umpteenth time? Yes.
• The Gophers defense starting slow, adjusting and helping Minnesota back in the game? Yes.
• The crowd of 50,000-plus getting to watch a very enjoyable game that was tight until the final minutes? Yes.
All good. But here are two more: Gophers running backs not running enough and quarterback Adam Weber running away from pressure too often.
As has been the case over the first three weeks of the season, the Gophers offense has had its moments. The 54-yard touchdown drive that cut Cal's lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter was wonderful, with Weber going 3-for-3 for 47 yards and a score. But he also was sacked on the drive. And, on the scoring play, Weber made the throw on the run after eluding the pass rush.
The 77-yard drive to tie the score late in the third was another beauty. Weber opened the drive with a 14-yarder to Brandon Green and a 23-yarder to Decker. The Gophers got a key 9-yard rush on first down from Duane Bennett on a first down from the Cal 16 that set up Decker's pass to MarQueis Gray in the corner of the end zone.
But the consistency wasn't there.
Cal defensive end Tyson Alualu's speed gave the Gophers problems. Weber was sacked only three times, but found himself eluding the rush quite often.
And the run?
It just wasn't there. Minnesota netted 37 yards on 21 rushes, a 1.8-yard average. DeLeon Eskridge got 21 yards on seven carries, Bennett had 16 on seven carries.
"I thought the protection, obviously we had some issues [Saturday]," Gophers coach Tim Brewster said. "There were a lot of instances where [Weber] sat back there and had plenty of time. And again, it's consistency, consistency with what we're doing offensively. I like our plan. I like our thoughts. We just have to do a better job of executing throughout the whole game. That's the name of the game, in all areas."
Take a look at the play-by-play of the game, and you can see the pressure Weber faced.
The Gophers gained fewer than 4 yards on 15 of 25 first-down plays. Weber was sacked once, and there were two other negative runs.
Third down is the key stat people look at when analyzing an offense. But consider first down. An unsuccessful start to an offensive series means a lot of third-and-6, third-and-7, third-and-long plays. And that's when defenses can disregard the run and rush the quarterback.
There has to be a more consistent surge from the line on running plays. On passing downs Weber needs more time, more often.
After the running game struggled down the stretch of last season, Brewster decided on a change of offensive direction, going with offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch and a multiple-set pro-style attack. The hard-nosed attack was going to run the ball in a more efficient manner.
Saturday the Big Ten season opens for the Gophers at Northwestern. As time goes on it will be harder to move the ball if the running game doesn't step up. Same goes for protection, particularly against speed rushers from the outside.
One thing is clear: The Gophers will have to do it with the current lineup.
"We ain't making any trades," Brewster said of his offensive line. "Those guys have a chance to be a good offensive line, to be a solid group, and we're continuing to work hard at being a solid group. It all works together. Wide receivers are involved in the run game, too. And running backs have to do a better job. And heck, we have to be more consistent across the board."
The good news is that, while not yet firing on all cylinders, the Gophers still were in position to win a game against a top-10 team.
Actually, that's good and bad. Encouraging in the big picture, but frustrating to know how possible that victory was.
"We should have won the football game," Brewster said. "We had an opportunity to win the game, an opportunity to make plays to win the game and we didn't do it. That's disappointing."
Kent Youngblood kyoungblood@startribune.com
