Rutgers News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/rutgers/ Minnesota sports, but different Sat, 27 Sep 2025 21:03:51 +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 Rutgers News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/rutgers/ 32 32 Gophers Freshman QB Shows Superstar Potential in Multi-Comeback Win vs Rutgers https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/drake-lindsey-performance-rutgers-mn-gophers/ Sat, 27 Sep 2025 21:01:37 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=68965 The Minnesota Gophers needed a win on Saturday against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights like Dinkytown needs more parking. Desperately.

After falling to the Cal Golden Bears last Saturday out West, PJ Fleck and the crew were back at Huntington Bank Stadium facing half of their former coaching staff and starting QB, Athan Kaliakmanis. But there was a lot more than pride on the line for Minnesota.

Because looming on their schedule next weekend is a road game against the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Ohio State. That’s right. With a loss on Saturday, the Gophers would have fallen to 2-2 on the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten, with a trip to the Horseshoe up next.

Minnesota Gophers vs Rutgers got off to a rough start

And for those who tuned in at kickoff, the start of this one was not promising. Offensively, Minnesota struggled to move the ball, piling up a grand total of 26 yards and 0 points in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Kaliakmanis started the game 9-of-9 for 99 yards and one of Rutgers’ two first quarter touchdowns.

But early in the 2nd quarter, the Minnesota Gophers punched back with two quick haymaker touchdown drives that came so fast the Scarlet Knights had no way of knowing what hit them. With a brand new game in hand, the Gophers took advantage of their new lease on life.

Really, they put the weight of victory on the arm of their redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey, something Fleck talked about after the game (see below). After Lindsey led Minnesota back in the 2nd quarter, the head coach had seen enough. At halftime, he told Drake that it was his game to win or lose.

Drake Lindsey leads Gophers to victory

PJ wasn’t kidding either. When the dust settled on Saturday’s game, not only did the Gophers walk away 31-28 victors, but Drake Lindsey left the field 31-41 (76%) for 324 yards, 3 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions, easily one of the most impressive quarterback performances in school history.

Minnesota walked away with a tight three-point win, and had the defense not played better for most of the game, starting in the second quarter, it could have gotten out of hand. In the end, it still took the Rutgers center snapping a ball passed Kaliakmanis for a huge loss late in the fourth quarter to secure victory.

The botched snap pushed the Knights’ kicker beyond his comfortable range, and his long-range backup missed the game-tying kick. In other words, had Drake Lindsey not put on his superhero cape for three quarters, the Minnesota Gophers do not win.

Drake Lindsey shows his stones

With their trip to Ohio State looming, a loss would have meant a very difficult week for Fleck and his 2025 team this week. Instead, they go into their game vs the Buckeyes feeling like they have one of the best quarterbacks in the country. And after his fourth quarter heroics on Saturday afternoon, it’s hard to argue with them.

Not only did he complete over three quarters of his passes on the day, but he led them Minnesota to three scores on their final four drives, including a touchdown that gave the Gophers the 31-28 lead they shakily held for the final three minutes.

]]>
Sat, 27 Sep 2025 16:03:51 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football
What We Learned About the Minnesota Gophers in Soul Crushing Loss vs Rutgers https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/what-we-learned-minnesota-vs-rutgers-football-2024/ Sat, 09 Nov 2024 20:58:23 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=57126 At 6-3 (4-2 in Big Ten play), the Minnesota Gophers had most of their hopes and dreams for the 2024 college football season in front of them when they walked onto the field at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey on Saturday morning.

Not only did they come in as the No. 5 team in an 18-team Big Ten conference, but they were riding high on a four game winning streak. With three games remaining on the 2024 schedule, even the College Football Playoff wasn’t off the table. Unfortunately, it’s definitely off the table now.

This, after the Minnesota Gophers offense struggled throughout the day in New Jersey, against one of their former defensive coaches (see below). That allowed a 4th quarter fumble, followed by a safety on the next drive, to sink PJ Fleck’s week 11 boat. Ultimately, Minnesota fell on the road Saturday to Rutgers, 26-16.

Minnesota Gophers offense (especially OL) still inconsistent

Athan Kaliakmanis had one of the best performances of his season, on Saturday. He threw for 240 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Meanwhile, Max Brosmer rode the struggle bus vs Rutgers in a way we haven’t seen in recent weeks. On the day, Minnesota’s new QB went 27-of-45 (60%) for 262 yards and 1 TD (0 INT).

We didn’t learn today that Max Brosmer is a better quarterback than Athan Kaliakmanis. We knew that before he ever played a game under center for the Minnesota Gophers, just based on how the coaching staff talked about him during the preseason.

Today, in one of Brosmer’s worst showings of the season, he still made better decisions and played way more efficiently than Kaliakmanis did. No matter how this game would have ended, there are no questions about which squad has the better quarterback. Unfortunately, Max’s offensive line didn’t come to play in New Jersey.

Related: NFL Draft Expert Not Sold on Minnesota Gophers Left Tackle

What we did learn is that the Minnesota Gophers offense, which is one of the more talented bunches in the Big Ten, underperformed in the biggest moment of the season, especially on the offensive line. Entering the season, the OL was supposed to be this team’s best and deepest position group.

Unfortunately, especially in the four losses this season, they have been anything but that. Max Brosmer is really good and Darius Taylor might be the best running back in the Big Ten. But if the former can’t get any time in the pocket and the latter doesn’t have any holes to run through, talent doesn’t matter.

Defense wins championships when offense disappears

The real MVP from Saturday’s game vs Rutgers was the Minnesota Gophers defense. After getting popped in the mouth repeatedly by Athan Kaliakmanis and backup Scarlet Knights running backs in the first half, Greg Harbaugh’s defense came for scarlet blood in the 2nd half.

Rutgers scored 14 points in the first two quarters, thanks to 267 total yards of offense (216 through the air), the Gophers came out with a completely different type of commitment on that side of the ball for quarters three and four.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Kicker Takes Home Big Ten Weekly Honor

So much commitment, in fact, that the Scarlet Knights posted just 33 yards of total offense in the 3rd quarter. After his HUGE first half, Kaliakmanis went 3-of-13 for 24 yards and 1 TD in the entire second half.

But there was a problem for Minnesota in the 2nd half. After scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the half, the Gophers’ offense ran completely out of gas and the Scarlet Knights defense answered the bell, after their own offense started riding the struggle bus.

Rutgers’ last touchdown of the game, which put them up 20-16 with just 7:40 remaining in the 4th quarter, happened because they forced a Minnesota fumble at their own 10 yard line, the Gophers first turnover since the 2nd quarter vs USC. One phantom PI call and a broken coverage easy TD pass later, PJ Fleck & Co were in trouble.

Rutgers running backs accumulated just 27 yards on the ground… until their final drive of the game, when they ran all over the Minnesota defense, positioning the Scarlet Knights for a field goal that put them up 10 and iced the game.

There are no easy games in the 2024 Big Ten

But former Gopher QB Athan Kaliakmanis, along with former University of Minnesota coaches Kirk Ciarrocca (OC) and Joe Harasymiak (DC) now leading the show on both sides of the ball for Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights were not going to hand PJ Fleck and their new QB Max Brosmer an easy victory.

Without a doubt, this was the best game Rutgers has played in weeks, and that isn’t surprising, given the familiarity between coaching staffs and the revenge storylines surrounding today’s Big Ten contest.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Snubbed in Both Polls, Especially AP

From the opening kick, this one was a slobberknocker between two teams that know each other way too well, especially when this is only the second time they’ve played each other since 2019. But again, that’s what happens when most of the members from both coaching staffs have coached together, at one point or another in their careers.

PJ Fleck and Greg Schiano - Minnesota Gophers at Rutgers
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Rutgers came into Saturday’s contest on a four-game losing streak, but they had been playing better of late, at least on offense, where they put up a total of 52 points over the past two weeks. Their problem has been on defense… but that wasn’t a huge problem vs the Minnesota Gophers.

That’s because, no matter who the opponent is in this conference, even if they have given up 133 points over their past four games. If you don’t bring it every single week, in every facet of the game, you will lose, especially if you aren’t Ohio State.

The Golden Gophers were not good on offense vs Rutgers this weekend, especially in the trenches, and the defense was extremely inconsistent. It doesn’t matter who you play in the Big Ten, your team will likely lose when that is the case. Minnesota found that out on Saturday.

]]>
Sat, 09 Nov 2024 14:58:25 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football
Under Familiar OC, Former Gophers QB Athan Kaliakmanis Named Rutgers Starter https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-football-news/minnesota-gophers-news-athan-kaliakmanis-rutgers-starter-kirk-ciarrocca/ Thu, 02 May 2024 16:54:32 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=50360 The Minnesota Gophers football team will look a lot different in 2024 than it did in 2023 and those changes begin at the quarterback position where Athan Kaliakmanis is out and New Hampshire grad transfer Max Brosmer is in.

Athan Kaliakmanis named starter at Rutgers

But that doesn’t mean Gopher football fans won’t see Athan. In fact, if all goes as planned we’ll get a really close look at his NEW JERSEY home, when Minnesota travels to Piscataway to play against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who he was just named QB1 for.

Kaliakmanis announced his transfer just days after the Minnesota Gophers season ended and the parting wasn’t without hurt feelings. Head coach PJ Fleck had all but anointed Athan as his QB of the future back in 2019 and it ended in a complete failure four years later. No matter whose fault it was, that isn’t an easy situation to be a part of on either side.

Reuniting with old Minnesota Gophers OC friend

No doubt, part of Athan’s issues while a Gopher was the instability at offensive coordinator. Fleck’s longtime OC Kirk Ciarrocca, whose only recruiting mission after PJ Fleck was hired in 2017 was landing Kaliakmanis, jumped on a big raise from Penn State and opportunity to move closer to family, following Minnesota’s historic 2019 season.

He was fired after one season with the Nittany Lions. After one season with West Virginia, PJ Fleck hired him back (2022). He repaid that favor by leaving one year later for… Rutgers. That’s right, Kirk Ciarrocca, the offensive coordinator who recruited Athan Kaliakmanis to Minnesota, is now the OC at Rutgers, where Athan was just named QB1.

Related: Why Did Athan Kaliakmanis Enter the Transfer Portal?

That will make for a very interesting mid-November meeting in New Jersey, should Kaliakmanis still be starter that deep into the season. As Minnesota Gophers quarterback, the “Greek Rifle” passed for 2,784 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 23 appearances, most of them starts. His career completion percentage in Dinkytown was a paltry 53.3%.

YearClassGCmpAttPctYdsY/AAY/ATDIntRate
2021FR
2022FR116011154.19468.57.434127.4
2023JR1215629453.118386.35.8149115.2
Career3 Yrs2321640553.327846.96.31713118.5
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 5/2/2024

Related: Minnesota Gophers QB Max Brosmer Makes Senior Bowl Watch List

]]>
Thu, 02 May 2024 12:21:55 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football News Minnesota Gophers Football
Athan Kaliakmanis Commits to Rutgers https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/athan-kaliakmanis-commits-rutgers/ Tue, 02 Jan 2024 18:24:42 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=46240 Former Minnesota Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has signed with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, he announced on social media Tuesday. The redshirt Junior will join the offensive coordinator who recruited him and coached him briefly in Dinkytown, Kirk Ciarrocca.

Related: Buy the Right Brand of Bacon in January and 100% Goes to Gophers NIL Fund

Athan Kaliakmanis joins multiple familiar faces at Rutgers

Kaliakmanis was once projected to be one of the best and most talented quarterbacks to ever step foot on campus. He was a 4-star phenom out of Antioch, IL and Fleck literally skipped entire recruiting classes of quarterbacks to show him Minnesota’s level of commitment. transferring

But he struggled to grab hold of the starting spot when given an opportunity in 2022 and the belly flopped when handed the starting job in 2023, after Tanner Morgan left. Now, he and his WR brother Dino Kaliakmanis, will head to the East Coast and rejoin, not only Ciarrocca, but multiple familiar faces.

Rutgers defensive coordinator and defensive line coach are both former Gophers coaches, who the Scarlett Knights gave hefty raises to escape Dinkytown.

]]>
Tue, 02 Jan 2024 12:24:48 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football
PJ Fleck Happy with Gophers’ Defense vs Penn State https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/pj-fleck-happy-with-minnesota-gophers-defense-vs-penn-state/ Mon, 24 Oct 2022 16:44:21 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=40913 The Minnesota Gophers went to Happy Valley on Saturday where they were engulfed by Penn State’s 100,000+ annual “white out” crowd for 60 chaotic minutes of football. When the dust settled late, PJ Fleck’s squad limped back to the bus licking their 45-17 wounds and facing an uphill climb in the Big Ten West.

Complete system failure, right? Not really, said the University of Minnesota football coach on Monday morning. According to Fleck, the Gopher defense played great vs the Nittany Lions. He pointed to five explosive plays that wreaked havoc on the final score. (04:30 mark — Transcript Below)

“Defensively, we played really well. We gave up five explosive plays. But other than that, we played really well. That’s what’s hard over the last few weeks. You want to turn on the film and you want to be like ‘ugh, we busted this’; ‘ugh, we busted that’; ‘oh this was the wrong call or a bad call’… We just let up some explosive plays and we’re not built that way.” PJ Fleck

What the numbers say

I appreciate PJ Fleck’s optimism and explosive plays did hurt the Minnesota Gophers over the weekend. But the defensive flaws went far beyond five explosive plays. Even after throwing an interception to Justin Walley on Penn State’s first drive, Sean Clifford completed 74% of his passes, threw for four touchdowns and collected a QB Rating of 129.7.

And not only did the Gopher defense struggle to keep Clifford off-balance all night, failing to create much pressure without blitzing; but when they did have opportunities to get off the field, they failed. The Nittany Lions went 5 of 11 on 3rd down, but 4 of 5 on 4th down.

That’s a failure to get off the field 9 of 11 times, when given opportunities. Add all of those defensive failures together, and that’s how you surrender 45 points to a good opponent.

Dylan Wright to Return vs Rutgers

There was some positive news during PJ Fleck’s presser on Monday. Dylan Wright, who did not travel with the team to Happy Valley because of disciplinary reasons, will play on Saturday vs Rutgers. When locked in, Wright is the best and most talented option remaining in the Minnesota passing game, and it’s not close.

Hopefully his time off can help him put everything together because the talent is clear for #16.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]>
Mon, 24 Oct 2022 11:44:26 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football
Gophers Move Up to #17 in AP Poll; #16 in Coaches Poll for Week 9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-move-up-to-17-in-ap-poll-16-in-coaches-poll-for-week-9/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-move-up-to-17-in-ap-poll-16-in-coaches-poll-for-week-9/#respond Sun, 20 Oct 2019 18:10:49 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=18887 The Gophers stomped on Rutgers yesterday afternoon just like any respectable high school, or better, football team would. Meanwhile, the rest of the Big Ten West leaders were either losing to Illinois or barely sneaking past other weaker opponents… giving Gopher fans confidence they haven’t had in their football team for many generations. So much confidence, in fact, that they had to start worrying about losing their football coach instead of losing games. Good problems to have???? Don’t worry, I have your remedy. PJ isn’t going anywhere.

With another win and more positive energy surrounding the program, the Gophers are climbing up both the AP and Coaches Top-25 Polls:

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.0.2″ hover_enabled=”0″] [/et_pb_code][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.2″ hover_enabled=”0″]

I’m not upset or ecstatic about where the Gophers landed for Week 9. I love the fact that they are in the rankings and I love the fact that they continue to move up the list. These are very important for recruiting. I don’t really care whether they are overrated or underrated on either list, though. The Gophers are still undefeated and they will have 3 major tests before playing any postseason football.

The 2020 season is almost undoubtedly a success already, unless something catastrophic happens between now and game 12. How big time the season ends up being and where the Gophers finish in the both Top-25 Polls, will be dictated by the final 3 of 4 weeks vs Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. None of that matters right now, though. We saw how quickly your season can turn on its head when Illinois upset Wisconsin this weekend.

Right now, it’s Maryland season. We’ll wait until that season is over, before we start worrying about who comes to town after, where we end up in the rankings, or what bowl game we will play in.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]]]>
https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-move-up-to-17-in-ap-poll-16-in-coaches-poll-for-week-9/feed/ 0 Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:26:47 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football
Gophers Mop Up Rutgers to Remain Undefeated; Wisconsin Trips @ Illinois https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-mop-up-rutgers-to-remain-undefeated-wisconsin-trips-illinois/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-mop-up-rutgers-to-remain-undefeated-wisconsin-trips-illinois/#respond Sat, 19 Oct 2019 23:07:14 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=18859 [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.3″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″]

I hope you turned on the Big Ten Network today at 11 AM and sat your ass in front of the TV for 7 hours straight. If you did, then you got to see Wisconsin somehow lose to Illinois and afterwards, another convincing Gopher victory, this time over a really fucking bad Rutgers team. People laughed at SDSU and Fresno State earlier in the season… both of those teams would stomp on the 2019 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It’s sad that they live in the Big Ten…

First, let’s talk about Wisconsin’s loss to the Illini. Jesus (Paul) Chryst, how does this happen? All of a sudden, Wisconsin forgot how to score or stop the run. This is a team that looked invincible leading up to this weekend.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”1″ _address=”0.0.0.1″]

[/et_pb_code][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”2″ _address=”0.0.0.2″]

Once the Badgers got done losing to Illinois, the Gophers took care of Rutgers handily. I’m not going to go play by play or quarter by quarter because this game just got out of control. I’ll embed some highlights at the end of this blog. Here is what got me excited about today’s game.

  • Casey O’Brien: Look, this moment was awesome. If you don’t know about the Casey O’Brien story, you can read more here. This kid is a fucking miracle and the fact that he is on the football field, no matter the position, is awesome. Also, he’s not some out of shape kid that they just let hang out. Casey O’Brien looks like a fucking football player. I know this first-hand. And, what more can you say about PJ Fleck? If you still hate this guy… it’s a “you” problem.. as this tweeter so perfectly puts it:

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”3″ _address=”0.0.0.3″]

[/et_pb_code][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.3″ hover_enabled=”0″ _i=”4″ _address=”0.0.0.4″]

  • Rashod Bateman: Bateman is going to be a phenom. I don’t know how we are going to hold him here after next season, once he is eligible for the NFL Draft. If he continues on his current track, there’s no way he stays out of the 1st round with one more year under his belt. But don’t let that get you down. That’s what we want and we still have a lot of catches to celebrate before then.
  • Bland Bland Bland: I wasn’t the only one to notice this. It was getting pointed out all over the place and Seth pointed it out on his radio show and on Minnesota Sports & Stuff weeks ago. The Gophers have had a very bland gameplan for a lot of the bad teams they have played. That could be a reason why those early non-conference games were so close and why they were a little slow to get going in this game. At the same time, you have to wonder if that bland play vs. bad teams, has played into any of the blowout performances they’ve put up against the better teams on their schedule.
  • Antoine Winfield Jr.: This is another guy that I’m not sure we hold onto much longer. He put up another ridiculous performance today with 2 interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He damn-near recovered a fumble too. He is eligible for the draft after this season. With his performances, leadership, and family pedigree, I can’t imagine he’d last past day two in the draft, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he landed in the 1st either… Again, these are not problems. These things are absolutely unmeasurable when recruiting. Guys that are able to leave early for the draft… that doesn’t happen everywhere.

The Bad:

  • Kamal Martin: After getting named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week last week, Kamal left this game on a cart. That was really the only negative to come out of this game…

The Gophers will now welcome Maryland to TCF Bank Stadium next weekend and the stakes have never been higher. They haven’t been 7-0 since the 60’s, when they were winning national titles and now they have a great chance to have Penn State at home with an 8-0 record (after a bye week), if they can win next weekend vs the Terrapins. What a year to cover Gopher Football…. what a year to be a fan!

Make sure you are ready to packe the Bank next weekend boys and girls! We have a Big Ten West Championship to win!

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”5″ _address=”0.0.0.5″]

[/et_pb_code][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

]]>
https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-mop-up-rutgers-to-remain-undefeated-wisconsin-trips-illinois/feed/ 0 Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:26:47 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football
Fire Richard Pitino https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/fire-richard-pitino/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/fire-richard-pitino/#respond Mon, 25 Feb 2019 02:39:56 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=13623 I’m going to try and stay as calm as possible through this post but to make any guarentees on how this piece turns out would be foolish.

I wrote about it this morning. The Gophers had to beat Rutgers tonight to keep real hopes of the NCAA Tournament alive. The Scarlet Knights are no joke this year, especially at home.

The Gophers played well enough to win. It wasn’t a great effort but this isn’t a team that will give you consistent great play. They just don’t have the point guard play for that type of consistency. But better coaching tonight could have led to much better results.

What bothers me most about Richard, hands down, is his inablity to adjust on the fly. He’s obviously a great young basketball mind and you have to believe he sees the problems (and strengths) of his offense.

Like he has struggled to do for the past two seasons, Pitino was unable to manipulate the offense to focus on what was working vs Rutgers compared to what wasn’t. The Knights clearly wanted to make the Gophers shoot from the outside and Gabe Kalscheur was making them pay early and often. He had 12 points on 4-4 from 3-pt land with 6:55 left to play in the first half. How did he finish? He went 2-2 the rest of the game and finished 100% from 3 and 7-10 from the field…. for 21 points total.

You have a guy who is shooting 100% from 3 and you only get him 6 attempts? I hope Mike D’antoni was watching this game and is leaving Richard Pitino hate voicemails afterward for such stupidity.

via GIPHY

Instead, you play Gabe defensively on Rutgers best offensive player throughout the game, tasking him with heavy defensive responsibility. Normally, I’m all for this. Gabe is a two-way player and will be one of the best in the Big Ten in that regard, throughout his career. However, when Gabe is the only guy who can knock down a shot and he is currently shooting 100% on the night, you change things around. Especially when Gabe was in foul trouble in the second half… it makes no sense.

Offensively, we continue to smash our head against the concrete wall with Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey. Coffey has been struggling offensively for most of Big Ten play and Murphy cannot play in the traffic that is being committed to him from defenses right now. At 6-4, he’s just not tall enough or skilled enough to handle those kinds of traps down low. But, he continues to force it and Richard continues to allow it. He also gets the ball at the top of the key WAY TOO OFTEN in this offense, when the defense knows he will never shoot it from there.

When the Gophers have to setup a half-court offense, I want to rip my eyeballs out of my head and smash them against the same concrete wall Richard Pitino uses when scheming his offense every week.

via GIPHY

What pisses me off the most about this week-over-week is that we continue to talk about the same problems… Nothing changes. The offensive scheme stays the same over and over and over and over and over and over…

After tonight’s game, Gabe is shooting 42% from the 3-pt line this season. That’s good for top-50 in the country. Yet, he’s only shot 154 threes. The leaders in that category have over 300 attempts on the season…

If you have a top-50 3-pt shooter on your team and your biggest team weakness is scoring on offense…. the fix (or at least part of it) should seem obvious, right?

Nope, continue to run your offense through a guy, who you just said last season, is better offensively when he’s getting his points from hard work and offensive rebounds… I just don’t get it.

I’ve tried to give Pitino the benefit of the doubt but with the recruiting cupboards essentially empty for 2019 and 2020 and what is soon to be 5 of 6 years without an NCAA Tournament appearance, it’s time for the next coaching chapter of the Minnesota Gophers.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]>
https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/fire-richard-pitino/feed/ 0 Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:34:30 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball