Bowling Green Coach Mocks Minnesota’s Pass Attack After Gophers Run Over Falcons

The Minnesota Gophers defeated Bowling Green 30-24 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday, in a contest that felt a lot closer than it actually was, thanks to a Falcons squad that, to their credit, would not go away in the 2nd half.
But in the end, PJ Fleck remained undefeated in bowl games, as Gophers head coach (5-0), and Minnesota extended their bowl winning streak to SEVEN games, the longest in college football.
Longest active bowl winning streak in the nation đŞ https://t.co/MYCxmnyvB4
â Big Ten Conference (@bigten) December 26, 2023
Darius Taylor returns to dominance in Quick Lane Bowl victory
Fresh off of a new contract with Minnesotaâs official NIL collective Dinkytown Athletes, phenom freshman running back Darius Taylor made his triumphant return to the football field, after spending about half of the regular season nursing undisclosed injuries.
Related: Phenom Freshman Darius Taylor Announces Heâs Staying in Minnesota
Just like when he won three-straight Big Ten Freshman of the week awards a couple months ago, Taylor was playing on another level compared to everyone else, running up, down and all around the Bowling Green defense.
When the dust settled and the scoreboard showed a Minnesota 30-24 victory, Darius had racked up 208 yards and a touchdown, on 35 carries, as PJ Fleck showed off his most prized weapon for the 2024 season.
đŁď¸ Nobody can stop Darius Taylorâźď¸
â Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) December 26, 2023
Here are some of the highlights from the Minnesota freshman RB's career-high 208-yard day on the ground. ⤾ď¸@Dariustay1or x @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/FdWlQsuSRj
Minnesota Gophers underwhelming through the air
With Taylor running at full speed, Fleck realized very quickly that the Falcons defense was not going to be able to slow him down. And when PJ knows that you canât stop his running game, heâs going to run and run and run and run and run and run and run.
So to nobodyâs surprise, thatâs what happened. Minnesota ran the ball 44 times, between Taylor, Jordan Nubin and QB Cole Kramer. On the contrary, aforementioned super senior quarterback â who pushed off some wedding planning to make his first career college start â only threw 16 times, completing half of them for a total of 26 yards and one early game touchdown strike to Elijah Spencer.
Related: Gophers Football Receiving âSubstantive NIL Packagesâ Recently; Basketball Still Behind
Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler mocks Gophers pass attack
After the game, Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler appeared frustrated with losing to a Gophers team that couldnât even muster 30 yards through the air, telling a local reporter at the postgame podium that Minnesota âcouldnât throw it from me to youâ.
Loeffler didnât seem concerned with the many other reporters within earshot, who do not cover the Falcons, including Pioneer Press beat reporter for Gophers sports, Andy Greder.
Quote: Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler at postgame podium to a reporter sitting roughly 10 feet away about the #Gophersâ passing attack in Quick Lane Bowl:
â Andy Greder (@andygreder) December 26, 2023
âThey couldnât throw it from me to you.â
The funny part about the opposing head coachâs comments is that they arenât wrong. Thereâs a reason why Cole Kramer was a career backup at the University of Minnesota, a school that has not been known for its passing prowess for at least two decades.
PJ Fleck will PJ Fleck no matter who is making jokes
But as has often been the case under PJ Fleck, that didnât matter on Tuesday night because Loefflerâs Falcons couldnât stop Darius Taylor, just like defenses struggled to stop Mo Ibrahim before him. I expect the Gophers passing attack to improve by leaps and bounds next season, under transfer QB Max Brosmer.
Related: 4 Minnesota Gophers Defensive Coordinator Candidates to Replace Joe Rossi
But as long as Darius Taylor is healthy or Minnesota has a dominant feature back to feed, opponents are going to have to prove they can stop the ground game before Fleck worries about throwing the ball against them. And I can promise Scot Loefflerâs comments arenât going to change his ways. In fact, theyâll make PJ him smile from ear to ear.
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