Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-4 and No. 67 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 0.3 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: lost 34-20 vs UCLA in Week 10.
Week 11: at Penn State, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Minnesota is No. 67
- Minnesota's rating is 0.3: the machine's estimate that Minnesota is 0.3 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 67 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 0.6, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 0.3.
- The biggest weekly moves: −4.0 after Week 2 (L 13-38 vs Mississippi State) and +3.6 after Week 3 (W 41-7 vs Akron).
- Its record is 5-4. The 4 losses were to No. 9 Indiana, No. 40 UCLA, No. 44 Mississippi State, No. 63 Purdue, by 18.5 points on average. The 5 wins came by 19.6 points on average; the best was over No. 17 Iowa. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 49 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 66 Kansas State (0.3); just below is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
P.J. Fleck is in his 10th season at Minnesota (since 2017). This season: 5-4. At Minnesota overall: 71-48, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 187-306 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1881 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 11-7 |
| Yards per attempt* | 6.1No. 129 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 8.9%No. 103 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 2.6%No. 14 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 259-887 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 3.4No. 126 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 8.5%No. 135 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 23.2%No. 134 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 24.7No. 94 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 4.95No. 129 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 31.5%No. 129 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 50.0%No. 113 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 10No. 50 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 22.0No. 46 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.52No. 71 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 7.3No. 81 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 3.9No. 58 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 6.0%No. 63 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 16No. 16 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 30.0%No. 11 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Drake Lindsey180-296, 1797 yds, 11 TD, 7 INT
- Brady Palmer4-6, 34 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- TJ Thomas Jr.70 carries, 402 yds, 1 TD
- Darius Taylor97 carries, 263 yds, 6 TD
- Xavier Ford36 carries, 150 yds, 1 TD
Receiving
- Javon Tracy49 catches, 485 yds, 1 TD
- Noah Jennings34 catches, 421 yds, 1 TD
- Jalen Smith23 catches, 348 yds, 3 TD
Tackles
- Maverick Baranowski71
- Kerry Brown52
- Joey Gerlach49
Sacks
- T.J. Bush6
- Karter Menz3
- Anthony Smith1.5
Interceptions
- Maverick Baranowski2
- Aydan West1
- Jaxon Howard1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Drake LindseyMost passes in the last game9 games296 attempts97%
Carrying
- Darius Taylor8 games97 carries42%
- TJ Thomas Jr.9 games70 carries30%
- Xavier Ford8 games36 carries16%
- A.J. Turner2 games10 carries4%
Catching
- Javon Tracy9 games49 catches26%
- Noah Jennings9 games34 catches18%
- Darius Taylor8 games26 catches14%
- Jalen Smith8 games23 catches12%
Tackling
- Maverick Baranowski9 games71 tackles13%
- Kerry Brown9 games52 tackles10%
- Joey Gerlach9 games49 tackles9%
- Zack Harden9 games48 tackles9%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 59–7 vs Eastern Illinois. Eastern Illinois is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 2 L 13–38 vs Mississippi State. The run game struggled: 0.9 yards a carry, 2.6 less than Mississippi State usually allows. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.
- Week 3 W 41–7 vs Akron. The pass defense was the strength: Akron got 4.4 yards an attempt, 2.6 under what it usually gains. Its most yards a carry of the season.
- Week 4 W 27–24 at Washington. The run defense was the strength: Washington got 1.5 yards a carry, 2.1 under what it usually gains. The machine had Washington by 7.9 (69%), so this was a win it did not see coming.
- Week 5 W 20–14 vs Michigan. The pass defense was the strength: Michigan got 4.8 yards an attempt, 2.5 under what it usually gains. The machine had Michigan by 8.8 (71%), so this was a win it did not see coming.
- Week 6 L 13–41 at Purdue. The run defense gave ground: Purdue got 6.5 yards a carry, 3.8 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 8 W 13–10 vs Iowa. The run defense was the strength: Iowa got 3.0 yards a carry, 1.7 under what it usually gains. The machine had Iowa by 10.4 (74%), so this was a win it did not see coming; Minnesota won the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 9 L 16–23 at Indiana. The passing game struggled: 3.2 yards an attempt, 3.6 less than Indiana usually allows. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 10 L 20–34 vs UCLA. The pass defense gave ground: UCLA got 18.9 yards an attempt, 11.3 over what it usually gains. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.