Jeff Brohm News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/jeff-brohm/ Minnesota sports, but different Fri, 30 Sep 2022 20:15:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Jeff Brohm News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/jeff-brohm/ 32 32 Fleck’s Turnaround; The Rise of Joe Rossi: It All Started vs Purdue https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/pj-fleck-turnaround-the-rise-of-joe-rossi-it-all-started-vs-purdue-minnesota-gophers/ Fri, 30 Sep 2022 20:07:45 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=40536 Joe Rossi made his debut as Minnesota Gophers defensive coordinator on November 10, 2018 vs the Purdue Boilermakers. The Illinois Fighting Illini had just put up 55 points on the Gophers a week earlier, finally forcing Fleck to make a major change mid-season. Then DC, Robb Smith, was fired. Rossi was handed play-calling duties.

Jeff Brohm’s shiny new offense had posted 38 or more points in 4 of its last 5 games, going into the matchup. Oddsmakers saw a track meet (o/u: 58.5), even though the forecast called for snow. Instead, Rossi & Co punched the Boilermaker offense in the face for four-straight quarters, while Kirk Ciarrocca picked their defense apart. Final score: 41-10, Gophers win.

Brohm was 1-0 vs PJ Fleck, as a Big Ten rival, going into that late-season dual. Overall, Brohm was 2-0 against PJ (1-0 vs Fleck with W. Michigan). Since that victory, Fleck has beaten the Fighting Jeff Brohms three-straight times and now holds a 4-1 record vs Purdue as Minnesota head coach (4-2 overall).

Deeper than Purdue

But it wasn’t just the division rivalry vs Purdue that Joe Rossi helped turn around, on that snowy night in Dinkytown. That win and the arrival of Rossi turned the tide on PJ Fleck’s program at the University of Minnesota. The Gophers lost the following week, to the eventual Big Ten West champions (Northwestern: 14-24). then closed out the season with two more dubs.

The defense dominated Wisconsin (37-15), in Madison, to close out the regular season. Then, they suffocated Georgia Tech’s (34-10) triple option offense in the Quick Lane Bowl a month later. In 2018 the Gophers were 4-5 with Robb Smith as DC; 3-1 under Rossi.

Then, 2019 happened. Minnesota went 11-2 and beat Auburn (31-24) in the Outback Bowl. That made the PJ Fleck and the Gophers 14-3 with Joe Rossi as defensive coordinator. The last two years haven’t been as successful, from a record standpoint. But that was more of a Mike Sanford problem, it appears, than an anything else problem.

Joe Rossi + PJ Fleck

Zoom out even further, PJ Fleck held a 9-12 record with Smith as his defensive coordinator. Since Joe Rossi took the reigns (mid-2018 to current), the Minnesota Gophers are 30-11. Now, time accounts for some of those wins. Fleck’s program was a lot younger, when Robb Smith was DC.

But the change under Rossi has been monumental. Minnesota went from a defense that gave up 40-50 burgers on the regular, to one that opponents are lucky to score 10 on. And yes, the Gopher offense has been high powered through four games this season and ripped up the Big Ten in 2019. But outside of some hiccups in 2020, it’s been the defense that has kept this program afloat in harder times offensively.

And I don’t want to alarm anyone with this stat, but it feels wrong not to share it. With Kirk Ciarrocca and Joe Rossi at PJ Fleck’s side, the Minnesota Gophers football team is 18-3. I’m counting the Outback Bowl because Kirk may not have been there, but it was his offense the Gophers ran.

Enjoy Joe Rossi While He’s Here

The Gophers’ dominance on defense goes beyond wins/losses and statistics. If you prefer anecdotal evidence, talk to Rossi’s players. He’s nicknamed “The Guru” because he remembers everything and he’s always considered the smartest guy in the room. What’s even better about him? He hates that nickname.

Here’s a clip from PJ Fleck defending Rossi, when things were going sideways in 2020. Below it is a 2021 quote from linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin, about his DC’s steel-trap of a brain.

“He is the walking library of plays. He can watch a play in practice and say the Sam linebacker … sheds (a block) early and the ball bounces. He can go back in time and tell you exactly when that happened in game, a 10-year-old play. He’ll be like, ‘I will tell you a time Indiana was playing Ohio State in 2017 and their Sam linebacker did the exact same thing and the ball bounced for a 40-yard touchdown. It’s just funny because guys get a little chuckle out of it. It’s true because sometimes he’ll pull up the play and show us.” — Mariano Sori-Marin (via Pioneer Press)

There’s some bitterness to writing this blog about how great Joe Rossi is. Blogs and articles just like this one are sure to hit the world wide web frequently over the next couple of months. Hype that is likely to push Rossi into a head coaching job this offseason. And he’ll deserve it.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:15:00 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Gophers Must Slow Charlie Jones, Let Tanner Morgan Cook vs Purdue https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/minnesota-gophers-must-slow-charlie-jones-let-tanner-morgan-cook-vs-purdue/ Thu, 29 Sep 2022 17:09:56 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=40570 The (#21) Minnesota Gophers are 4-0 and looking to continue their dominating start to the 2022 season vs the 2-2 Purdue Boilermakers. It’s Homecoming in Dinkytown and Huntington Bank Stadium is celebrating with a “Stripe Out”.

So if you’re attending Saturday’s home-opener in-person, know whether your section is wearing “gold” or “maroon”. Suggestion for U of M Athletics: Next time your promotions team comes up with an idea like this, the budget should probably be deep enough to provide the fan attire needed to pull it off.

The stripe out is secondary to what happens on the field, though. And under PJ Fleck (and throughout most of history), the Minnesota Gophers have mostly dominated (4-1) the Boilermakers. Four wins over a Big Ten team is tied, with Nebraska and Illinois, for PJ’s high as Gophers head coach (according to the media notes sent out by Gopher Football this week).

So, how does Fleck & Co grab that 5th dub over the Fighting Jeff Brohms? Let’s take a look.

1.) Slow (WR) Charlie Jones

Charlie Jones might be the best wide receiver in the Big Ten and nobody would have known had he not transferred from Iowa to Purdue last offseason. Jones’ 41 receptions through four games is BY FAR the most in the conference — 2nd: Cam Camper – Indiana (33). He’s number one in yards (533) and touchdowns (7) too.

If Brohm has to, he will force the ball to Charlie Jones, who has 52 targets (PFF) on the season, more than double Payne Durham’s 25, which sits 2nd on the team. Durham is a tight end, though. Next in line for wide receiving targets is 17, where both TJ Sheffield and Tyrone Tracy sit. That means Jones gets three passes thrown his way before any other WR gets one.

In other words, the 2022 Boilermakers have not shown they can pass the football with success, unless it’s thrown to Charlie Jones. Joe Rossi and the Gopher defense will do their best to force them elsewhere on Saturday.

2.) Stay Aggressive on Offense

Under PJ Fleck, the Minnesota Gophers are going to run the football and control the clock, especially against teams like Purdue, who like to beat themselves with over-aggressiveness on offense. But this weekend, Fleck needs to let Tanner Morgan and Kirk Ciarrocca continue to cook.

Mo Ibrahim and the Minnesota running game has been great for the last five years. What’s held the Gophers back in years other than 2019, is their passing game. But in 2022, that script has flipped. Tanner Morgan has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country and his effectiveness is the main factor to four blowout victories to begin the season.

If the Boilermakers pack the box with defenders, the Gophers need to make them pay. Just like they did last week vs Michigan State, when Morgan went 23/26 for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. A performance that earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

3.) Stay Focused

Confidence is necessary to success. Overconfidence often destroys it. The Minnesota Gophers showed the college football world, last weekend, that they could be a REAL problem in the Big Ten this season. Now that everyone is paying attention, focus can naturally wander.

The Gophers should be feeling themselves. They’re the only team, other than Alabama, that currently ranks in the top-15 nationally, in both scoring offense (45.8 PPG – 11th) and scoring defense (6.0 PPG – 2nd). They also rank in the top-15 in total offense (543.0 YPG – 3rd) and total defense (187.8 YPG – 1st), too. Alabama and Georgia are the only other schools who can boast about that.

So, PJ Fleck & Co should be confident. They have a really, really good team. But in the Big Ten, you need to bring it each and every week. Luckily, the Gophers’ head coach takes the “one week at a time” mantra to an extreme level, labeling every week its own “Championship Season”.

If there’s any team that won’t be allowed to feel themselves too much, it should be the Minnesota Gophers.

Prediction

The ELITE Minnesota defense slows Charlie Jones and reels in multiple interceptions. Morgan goes for over 250 yards again and Mo Ibrahim adds a couple hundred (or so) more yards to his Heisman candidacy. Touchdowns everywhere. Gophers win big, 42-17.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:51:14 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Gopher Defense Sturdy Enough in Sloppy Victory @ Purdue https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gopher-defense-sturdy-enough-in-sloppy-victory-purdue/ Sat, 02 Oct 2021 20:58:47 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36454 Rain was threatening in West Lafayette for much of the morning on Saturday. But the forecast didn’t call for the downpour that took over this game for much of the second half. It’s hard to tell if the sudden change in weather screwed with either team’s game plan but the Minnesota Gophers handled it better than the Purdue Boilermakers, claiming a 20-13 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Tanner Morgan

The Gophers got their first Big Ten win of the season and moved to 1-1 in conference play, 3-2 overall. That means we’ll see Tanner Morgan as the starting quarterback when play resumes vs Nebraska two weeks from now. But that doesn’t mean his play impressed those watching. The coaching staff, again, wasn’t willing to let Tanner sink or swim their chances of winning. He could have sealed it, late, but Fleck chose to trust his defense instead. It paid off, but more on that momentarily.

Mike Sanford and PJ Fleck did make an obvious effort, however, to push the ball down the field in bigger bunches, something they’ve been dreadful at all season. It worked, at times, but Morgan struggled with his long-ball accuracy again. Michael Brown-Stephens made two nice catches for Monster gains on Saturday but had to make pretty major adjustments to both while they were in the air.

After the game, I asked Tanner about his performance. You could tell in his answer that he expects more. He’ll celebrate the win and what he did well, as he should. Winning DI power five football games is hard. But the Gophers will need more out of their Senior QB if 2021 is going to end in success.

Wildcat in the clutch

With the game hanging in the balance late and the rain coming down at its hardest of the day, Fleck decided to run his wildcat on the last Gophers drive of the game. It was smart. Purdue knew they were going to run the clock out. So, why not force them to respect two rushers?

Cole Kramer played the Wildcat QB position and used a few different running backs to pound the rock for ten-straight plays. They ate up 4:37 of game time and pushed the ball to Purdue’s 20-yard line, before eventually settling for a Matthew Trickett field goal and a 7-point (20-13) lead.

Now let’s get back to the coaching staff’s trust in Tanner Morgan. A Gophers’ first down on that last 3rd-and-5 (from the Boilermakers’ 20-yd-line with 2 minutes to play) could have sealed the game. Instead, Purdue finally figured the Wildcat out and got the ball back with 1:46 remaining and a chance to tie. It wouldn’t matter. After giving up a couple chunk plays, the defense came through again and Tyler Nubin ended it on this interception. So, correct call by Fleck, right?

I’m not so sure. No matter how well your defense is playing, the Minnesota Gophers’ offensive playbook needs to have something in it for Tanner Morgan in that situation. If the look isn’t open, he can throw it away and Trickett kicks the same field goal with a bit more time on the clock. Nothing hurt. If you can’t trust your Senior QB in that situation then when can you?

Defense

Speaking of the defense, they were the story of this game and the brightest side for this Minnesota Gophers team heading into a bye week. Purdue hasn’t had the high-powered and big scoring offense that we’ve seen from them in the past but they still have a solid quarterback and some deadly weapons at receiver.

Their biggest threat, David Bell, had to clear concussion protocol after a jarring hit last week. Not only was he able to suit up. Bell added another 6 catches and 120 yards onto his season totals, which now sit at 27 catches for 439 yards. But, he wasn’t able to get in the end zone, which was a theme for the defense on Saturday.

The Boilermakers posted 154 more total yards than the Gophers on Saturday (434 vs 290) but only posted 13 points. Purdue QB, Aiden O’Connell, threw 52 times and completed 34 of them (65%). Still, he was only able to average 10 yards per completion. PJ Fleck said after the game that he doesn’t like to use the football defensive mannerism of “bend but don’t break”, yet that’s exactly what his defense was in West Lafayette today.

And it worked out perfectly.

Now what?

Now, the Minnesota Gophers will rest for a couple weeks and pick play back up vs Nebraska on October 16 at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Huskers host Northwestern tonight on Big Ten Network and then Michigan next week on ABC.

To win that game, Fleck’s squad will have to play better offensively than what we’ve seen the last couple times out and a lot of this season. To do that, Tanner Morgan will have to be more consistent.

If the defense can keep the offense in games, like they have the last two weeks, then anything is possible for this season. That’s if the offense can wake up.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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