The Minnesota Golden Gophers matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels is less than 48 hours away. As we can continue to preview Saturday's matchup, Gophers Nation takes a look at Minnesota's three keys to victory alongside Locked on Golden Gophers's Kane Rob.
1. Create problems defensively on the early downs
Forcing North Carolina into third and medium and third and long situations will be crucial in this one. With that, the Gophers are going to have to be disruptive on first and second down against both the Tar Heels' passing attack and rushing attack. Nebraska gave the Gophers some troubles on the ground in week one; it will be intriguing to see how the front seven handles the Tar Heels and running back Omarion Hampton, who is averaging 6.5 yards per carry this season.
That also means the pass rush will have to be productive on early downs, even if it means not getting sacks; getting pressure on Maye on early downs but throughout the entirety of the game will be crucial. Drake Maye is a very good quarterback but does make his fair share of turnover-worthy throws; getting the Tar Heels in those third and long situations could create potential turnover opportunities for the Gophers.
2. Get creative offensively
If the Golen Gophers are going to win on Saturday, they're going to have to do more than just their usual ground-and-pound style. To beat teams like the Tar Heels, the Golden Gophers must be creative in their playcalling, especially in the passing attack. The Gophers have a quality wide receiver room and one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the country in Brevyn Spann-Ford. If P.J. Fleck hopes to move his non-conference record at Minnesota to 20-1 this weekend, the Gophers must get the passing attack going.
3. Win the time of possession
When you're facing a quarterback like Drake Maye, you want to keep him off the field as much as possible. The more he's on the field, the bigger chance he makes some sort of game-changing play that could ultimately decide the game. The Golden Gophers need to control the game clock in this one; offensively, they need to limit their three-and-outs and look to extend their drives as long as possible. On the defensive side of the ball, they'll have to be sound on 3rd-and-medium and 3rd-and-short situations.
So far, in both of the Gophers' games this season, they have won the time of possession. In week one, that narrowly edged Nebraska in that department 30:42 to 29: 18 but against Eastern Michigan, had much bigger success with nearly 40 minutes of possession. In week one against South Carolina, North Carolina won the time of possession in their win but struggled in week two as Appalachian State won the time of possession by over seven minutes.
KANE ROB DISCUSSES MINNESOTA'S KEYS TO VICTORY
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