Minnesota went to Rutgers with a four-game winning streak and they were favored to come away with a win, but that didn’t happen and the The Scarlet Knights defeated the Gophers 26-19.

“It all starts with me. I wasn’t a very good head coach today. I didn’t prepare them very well,” Gophers head coach PJ Fleck said after the game. “I thought Rutgers did a good job after the bye week and creating things that gave us problems, and most of the time after the bye week you want to do that. They had two weeks to prepare and they did a very good job.

Rutgers came into Saturday’s game in a completely different situation, on a four-game losing streak, but they had an extra week to prepare after a bye. On paper, it may seem like they are one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, but they had a road win against Virginia Tech and a close victory against Washington.

Fleck and the Gophers are very familiar with the Rutgers coaching staff. Most notably, offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca used to call plays for Minnesota and defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak was an assistant on Fleck’s staff from 2020-21.

“I know they’ve lost four in a row. But you give Greg Schiano and his team, you give them two weeks to prepare and get a win. I think they did a good job of mixing in some things, especially on our protection play,” Fleck said after the game.
“You have to give them credit. That’s why they’re very good coaches. A lot of very good coaches there and staff members.”

Minnesota’s protection game particularly exploded, when Rutgers sacked quarterback Max Brosmer four times, one of which resulted in a safety. The Gophers’ offense has struggled to find the consistency it found during its four-game losing streak. They will now enter their own bye week with a 6-4 record heading into marquee games against Penn State and Wisconsin.