Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 13, 2018 at 9:20 pm.

Minnesota defense responds to coaching change

What a difference a week makes.

That old and trite saying fits Minnesota perfectly this week heading into Saturday’s Big Ten West home clash against Northwestern.

Last week, after the Gophers fired their defensive coordinator following a dismal 55-31 loss to a struggling Illinois program, Minnesota regrouped with an impressive 41-10 win over upstart Purdue in Minneapolis.

With only one win in conference play — Indiana — heading into last week’s game, there were whispers that head coach P.J. Fleck was over his head leading the program. The defense had given up 42 points to Maryland, 48 to Iowa, 53 to Nebraska, 31 to Indiana and 55 to Illinois.

That prompted Fleck to relieve his friend, defensive coordinator Robb Smith, of his duties last week and promoting defensive line coach Joe Rossi to defensive coordinator.

Well, at least for one week, Rossi has proven to be the right man for the job. Before Saturday’s game, Purdue, which defeated then-No. 2 Ohio State earlier this season, was averaging 38.5 points and 485.2 yards per game in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter against the Gophers and were held to 233 total yards on 62 plays for a 3.8 yard per play average.

Considering the Gophers gave up 646 yards to an Illini team with no hopes of even a .500 record, holding down Purdue’s high-octane offense was a cause for hope.

“Defensively, it was exactly what we needed to do,” Fleck said.

“It brings it back to the Fresno State game where I thought we played really well. Everybody was on the same page … We tackled well, we rallied to the ball. We played for each other and played what I think our style of defense should always look like.”

The Gophers (5-5, 2-5) have a 5-1 home record entering their contest against West Division champion Northwestern. The Wildcats are coming in off a memorable win at Iowa that clinched the division title, which might lead to a hang-over effect. The Gophers are counting on that, considering they are one win away from becoming bowl-eligible and close out the season against Wisconsin.

The Wildcats crushed Minnesota, 39-0, last season in Evanston and enter the contest with two straight wins.

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