Mayo Bowl Preview: All About Competition

In some ways, Virginia Tech's bowl opponent mirrors the Hokies. Minnesota lost five games, four by one touchdown or less. Led by coach PJ Fleck, the Gophers have marked similarities to the defensive concepts Brent Pry used while defensive coordinator at Penn State, featuring lots of blitzing and matching zone coverages in the back end. Minnesota doesn't stretch the field offensively, but they use a good mix of run and pass to sustain drives and generate opportunities. To bring a bowl trophy back to Blacksburg, the Hokies need to find their next generation of playmakers and leverage their speed advantage against the bigger Golden Gophers.

Ground and Pound Gophers

When Fleck first arrived in the Big Ten, Minnesota became the first team in the conference to rely heavily on run-pass option. However, without an athletic quarterback or a Rashod Bateman caliber of playmaker on the outside, he has changed his philosophy to control the clock and sustain drives. The Gophers are a base zone run-heavy offense, mixing in short to intermediate throws by New Hampshire transfer quarterback Max Brosmer.

Minnesota is sound but they do not have many explosive athletes that can stretch the field on the offensive side of the football. They line up under center and use multiple tight ends more than any team the Hokies faced this season. Tailback Darius Taylor (6-0, 215), who led the Gophers with 873 yards (4.72 YPC, 9 rushing TDs), is their top option. He's also an excellent receiver, pulling in 50 catches. The Gophers love straight zone runs, with Brosmer rarely keeping on the option. The Gophers have good zone blocking fundamentals and play physically around the line of scrimmage, but they rarely use pin and pull or power blocking schemes.

The scariest part about their offense is their physicality when they commit to running the football. Tight end Nick Kallerup (6-5, 270) had a monster game blocking one of my favorite players in college football, Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter (No. 11). On this touchdown run, Kallerup (No. 87) pancaked Carter (No. 11) to the playside, while left guard Tyler Cooper (No. 75) reached defensive tackle Alonzo Ford (No. 50).

Taylor is tenacious and doesn't give up on runs.