5 things we learned in the Gophers' win vs. Bowling Green

Darius Taylor returned in a massive way.

Author:
Jonathan Harrison
Publish date:
Dec 26, 2023 6:21 PM EST

The Gophers' season came to an end Tuesday in victorious fashion with a 30-24 Quick Lane Bowl win over Bowling Green.

The win improves the Gophers' record to 6-7 as they close out an up-and-down 2023 season and gives us a few hints as to what we might see next year.

1. Darius Taylor picked up where he left off

P.J. Fleck did not wait long to get his star freshman running back involved. Taylor touched the ball 10 times on the team's 13-play opening drive that resulted in a touchdown. Overall, Taylor ended up with 35 carries for 208 yards and a touchdown while also catching the ball twice for 11 yards. Taylor touched the ball on 37 of the Gophers' 61 offensive plays.

Taylor's freshman campaign was stunted by injuries but was on pace for historic numbers, even by lofty Gophers running back standards. Before injuries derailed his season, the freshman was on pace 1,940 yards, which would have blown the doors off what some Gophers greats did in their first season.

Darrell Thompson: 1,240 yards, 8 touchdowns
Thomas Hamner: 883 yards, 3 touchdowns
Marion Barber III: 742 yards, 7 touchdowns
Laurence Maroney: 1,121 yards, 10 touchdowns
Rodney Smith: 670 yards, 2 touchdowns
Mohamed Ibrahim: 1,160 yards, 9 touchdowns

2. Passing game not asked to do a lot

With Taylor driving the offense all day, senior QB Cole Kramer wasn't asked to do too much — well, more like nothing at all. The soon-to-be-married quarterback had thrown just one pass in his entire career (an interception against North Carolina) before taking the reins Tuesday. Kramer finished Tuesday's bowl win throwing 8 for 16 for an anemic 26 yards. Somehow that's not a typo in a 30-point effort.

3. The biggest need for improvement is the passing game

While Kramer was asked to spot start after Athan Kaliakmanis' departure through the transfer portal, the lack of an aerial threat was a problem all season and was apparent Tuesday. Incoming FCS transfer Max Brosmer will likely improve that a great deal next season — he led the nation in passing in 2023 — but he will need the offense to dial up more attempts than the 16 passes attempted Tuesday. Minnesota averaged 24.7 pass attempts per game this season, good for 120th in the nation. That's simply not good enough even if Taylor is a game-changing stud in the backfield.

4. Bowling Green cut through Gophers defense

The Minnesota defense allowed a 105th-ranked offense in the nation to put up 303 yards Tuesday. A big caveat was the missing starters for the Gophers, with safeties Tyler Nubin and Darius Green out alongside linebackers Devon Williams and Maverick Baranowski.

The Gophers gave up 75 yards on the opening drive, including a 46-yard touchdown pass, but then held the Falcons to 78 yards over the next seven drives. Bowling Green rattled up an 80-yard drive, followed by a 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter to keep the game close.