The Minnesota Golden Gohpers will look to get back above .500 this weekend when they take on the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Gophers Nation offers three keys to victory for P.J. Fleck's program.
OFFENSE: Get Max Brosmer into rythmn early
While this UCLA run defense is a quality one, the Bruins pass defense has struggled this season on a week in, week out basis. Through five games, the Bruins have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete over 70% of their passes for 1,400 yards, an average of 280 yards per contest. They've also surrendered 12 touchdowns through the air while only nabbing three interceptions across 185 passing attempts.
After holding Hawaii to a 59.5% completion percentage in their week one victory, the Bruins have allowed each Power Four quarterback to complete at least 70.8% of their passes for at least 230 yards. For Minnesota, getting Max Brosmer into a rhythm early will be important in this one as the Bruins will likely find ways to stifle the Gophers rushing attack at times, forcing the Bruins to potentially rely more on Brosmer's arm at different points throughout the game.
DEFENSE: Just play Gopher football
The Minnesota defense this year is probably at this juncture one of the more underrated units in the country. With that being said, the Gophers against UCLA just need to place Gopher football. This UCLA offense is among the worst in the country, they're totaling just 261 yards per game and only average 14 points a contest. There's nothing about this offense that should scare the Gophers. As long as Minnesota plays a smart, fundamentally sound game that limits blown assignments and missed tackles, the Gophers defense should be just fine in this game. Overall, the Bruins haven't been able to move the ball at any consistent rate on the ground this season which will force them to throw right into Minnesota's biggest strength, their secondary.
Adjusting to the time difference
So far this season, long distance traveling has been a nightmare for Big Ten teams as they hold a 1-8 record when flying across two or more timezones. The only team to lose a game when their opponent traveled that distance? The UCLA Bruins, who lost to Indiana earlier this season 42-13. Teams will learn how to adjust as time goes on but the early results certainly have not been positive for those teams hitting the road. The Gophers were flying to Los Angeles on Thursday and will have nearly two whole days to adjust to the time zone difference before playing Saturday night.
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