The Gophers graded out at a 52.2 overall against Michigan under the Primetime lights on ABC and hype of College Gameday. For reference, Minnesota's worst graded game last year was 64.0 against Wisconsin last year, also on College Gameday.
The Gopher Report dives into the numbers on the defensive side of the ball, where the maroon and gold put up a 53.2 grade.
- The Gophers only had four missed tackles. This is a fantastic number. You should win every game that you only miss four tackles. The problem? They missed gaps and assignments. On several of Michigan's explosive plays, they went untouched. This isn't a tackling problem like we saw in games against Illinois and Nebraska in 2018, this was a scheme and execution problem.
Defensive Line
- The Gophers had four pressures and one sack all game long. Only three of those pressures came from the defensive line. That's bad. Two of the pressures came from Mafe, and one came from Ottomewo.
- The leading tackler on the Gophers defensive line had two tackles.
Linebacker
- True freshman Cody Lindenberg got the start and only had three opportunities to make a tackle. He had one of the Gophers four missed tackles.
- James Gordon, who many thought would start at linebacker next to Mariano Sori-Marin last night, didn't play a single snap on defense.
- Redshirt freshman Josh Aune got the start at outside linebacker, and he was the Gophers highest graded linebacker with three solo tackles, an assisted tackle, and a forced fumble. He was targeted once in coverage and let up a 24 yard reception.
Cornerbacks
- The top three highest graded Gophers were cornerbacks Solomon Brown, Coney Durr, and Benjamin St. Juste. The three were targeted six times and let up two catches for 18 yards.
- Durr had three tackles, St. Juste and Brown had two, and Justus Harris had one. There were no missed tackles from the Gopher cornerbacks.
Safety
- The Gopher safeties got picked on... badly. Howden and Nubin were targeted 15 times and allowed 10 receptions for 165 yards.
- Tyler Nubin led the Gophers in tackles with six solos and one assisted. Both Nubin and Howden missed a tackle.
- Howden and Nubin were the two lowest graded Gopher defenders.
