In 2021, Minnesota saw similar success to its standout 2019 season. The Golden Gophers saw some struggles, most of which stemmed from former offensive coordinator Mike Sanford. They lost to Bowling Green as a 4-touchdown favorite, narrowly beat Miami (OH) and suffered a late-season upset loss to Illinois that cost them a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The 2022 season will have some changes for the Golden Gophers, none more impactful than Kirk Ciarrocca returning as offensive coordinator. He had last held the position in that standout 2019 season. His presence will make an impact immediately and help flip the script. Here are 5 statistical trends that the Golden Gophers must reverse in 2022.

Red zone efficiency

Being successful in football boils down to scoring points, and it’s easiest to score in the red zone. Despite the Gophers having a top-10 defense, they weren’t close to that in the red zone. They ranked 74th in the nation, allowing a touchdown in the red zone 60.7% of the time. For being SP+’s 8th-ranked defense, that is far from ideal.

The tale is the same on offense. They finished slightly better in scoring red zone TDs at 60.8% and 64th in the nation. Some of that lack of success was due to the loss of RBs Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts. Ciarrocca’s addition will make a massive impact here, especially considering how successful and confident quarterback Tanner Morgan was in 2019.

Sack rate

Morgan has seen quite a downfall from his spectacular 2019 season. After throwing 30 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, Morgan struggled massively in 2021 with only 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. One of the major reasons for that is how often Morgan got sacked.

Morgan was sacked on a staggering 8.0 percent of passing plays and an even worse 10.8 percent on passing downs, good for 102nd and 111th in the nation respectively. Morgan never seemed comfortable in the passing game over the past 2 seasons, and a shift in play calling might be a major influence in turning that around.

Utilizing motion

The Gophers are one of the highest-volume rushing teams in the nation. They were 8th in the nation with 601 rushing attempts and 6th in RPO percentage. Head coach PJ Fleck prioritizes the running game, and the splits exemplify that. One of the ways that you can help the running game is by using motion.

The Gophers haven’t prioritized using motion over the last few years. In 2021, they were 110th in the nation, using motion on only 21% of snaps. Considering the Gophers faced the fourth-most stacked boxes vs. the run in the nation, utilizing motion can help move defenders and make running the ball easier.

Generating sacks

The Gophers defense under Joe Rossi was incredibly productive the last few years. In 2021, the Gophers finished 3rd in total yards allowed (278.8) and 6th in scoring defense (17.3 ppg). The one element that they have been lacking is getting to the quarterback.

The Gophers finished tied for 82nd in sacks with 25. Part of that is on the scheme, as they spent 89% of their passing downs rushing only 3 or 4 defenders. An 11% blitz rate ranked 129th in the nation. Improving on that number and being calculated with their blitzes could be an immediate fix in generating sacks.

Forcing turnovers

While the Gophers were great on defense with both points and yards allowed, they weren’t able to force turnovers. Some of that can be attributed to the poor sack numbers, as pressure on the quarterback can have a lot to do with forcing turnovers. Their havoc rate ranked 53rd in the nation, but most of that came from the front four, as the havoc rates of the LBs (93rd) and DBs (90th) were significantly lower.

Only forcing 17 turnovers put the Gophers tied for 60th in the nation. At just a shade over a turnover per game, that didn’t make a ton of impact on their season. Giving the offense a short field can make a difference in helping the offense score more points, which was the main reason the Gophers didn’t win the Big Ten West.