With four football games left on the Gophers regular season schedule, offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. feels at ease.
The Gophers are riding a three-game Big Ten win streak, which gives Harbaugh a sense of comfort when he calls plays. With that comfort, Harbaugh opened up the playbook and utilized his playmakers in the backfield and on the outside.
After a dominant 48-23 homecoming homecoming victory over Maryland, the Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck paid credit where it was due, complimenting his offensive coordinator in the postgame press conference.
The offense put up 34 points in the first half against the Terrapins, including a drive with 28 seconds left in the half. The drive covered 49 yards and ended in a last-second field goal.
Fleck said Harbaugh called an amazing game by mixing up the passing strategy between short, run-pass options and down-the-field concepts.
Harbaugh said the comfort he feels with Max Brosmer as his quarterback allows him to do more things pre-snap to play to Brosmer’s strengths allowing his quarterback to distribute to the playmakers.
“We’ve replaced a lot of guys on the offense with a better version of themselves,” Harbaugh said. “When you have good players out there playing, I’ll have the confidence that I’m able to call anything that I want.”
Against Maryland, Minnesota’s offense totaled 443 yards, the most under Harbaugh.
Brosmer said Harbaugh has not only utilized the playbook but also consistently introduced new concepts to enhance the offense.
“Coach Harbaugh does a great job of implementing new stuff every single week,” Brosmer said. “It’s not the same monotonous stuff we did last week, it’s new stuff and for any quarterback, it’s always good to keep your mind going.”
Brosmer said Harbaugh’s teaching method and new installations into the offense is the reason for the Gophers’ success these past few weeks.
The high-end processing ability of Brosmer is a trait Fleck praised numerous times this season. It is a characteristic valued by teams at the next level and a skill that takes time and development to master.
Fleck said the Gophers’ quarterback’s room feels like a professional space where coaches and players share information conversationally.
“It feels so much like an NFL-style quarterback room,” Fleck said. “I give them a lot of credit because that takes a lot of trust and takes a relationship that can really mesh.”
Brosmer completed 79% of his passes for 320 yards against Maryland, the first time he has cracked 300 yards in the air at Minnesota.
The processing does not start at the snap or end with the play. Harbaugh said Brosmer’s ability to prepare and handle multiple calls in the huddle added another level to the offense.
“From the time he breaks the huddle to the time the ball is snapped he’s elite,” Harbaugh said.
Similar to an NFL game plan and execution, Harbaugh added double calls into the scheme where he can call multiple plays at once and introduce NFL concepts.
One example Harbaugh described was Brosmer’s second touchdown pass on a crossing route to Elijah Spencer in the back of the end zone against Maryland.
Harbaugh said the team did not practice throwing Spencer’s route before playing Maryland.
“When Max recognized the picture was muddy between Le’Meke (Brockington) and Jameson (Geers) he saw the grass he didn’t see Elijah,” Harbaugh said.
Brosmer complimented Harbaugh’s play-calling and said the relationship they built off the field has led to comfort on the field. This comfort is now allowing Minnesota’s offense to flourish and make a late-season charge in Big Ten play.
Minnesota heads to Champaign to take on No. 24 Illinois, putting their three-game winning streak to the test against a ranked opponent. The win would be the Gophers’ second over a top-25 team after knocking off No. 11 USC.
