Gophers lament poor execution, missed opportunities in loss to North Carolina

The Minnesota Gophers football team could've done a lot of things better in Thursday night's season-opening loss to North Carolina. Still, there they were on the final play of the game, at the Tar Heels' 29 yard line with a chance to win it.

When Dragan Kesich's kick hooked wide right as the clock hit zero — his second miss of the night — it would've been easy to show frustration with the reigning Big Ten Kicker of the Year or special teams in general. While they obviously aren't pleased with the result, the Gophers highlighted numerous other mistakes throughout the game and called it a "team loss" that wasn't their kicker's fault.

“There were some things we were doing that we can’t do to win football games and we did those, and touch the stove enough, you’re gonna get burned,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said after the game.

Related: Gophers miss game-winning FG as time expires, lose to North Carolina 19-17

The head coach, now in his eighth year at Minnesota, pointed to issues running the ball early, passing most of the night and getting off the field defensively in the second half.

After some adjustments, the run game got a little more effectively starting in the second quarter, saying they went "back to Day 1 install basic" to deal with North Carolina's defense.

Not having star running back Darius Taylor, who Fleck said was "really close" but was held out due to injury, certainly didn't help, but newcomer Marcus Major was solid, tallying 73 yards and a score on 20 carries.

“I thought he ran really hard," Fleck said of Major. "I think we’ve got some really good tailbacks here. I’m really excited about the stable that we have, including getting Darius back, I feel really good about where we’re at at that position.”

Outside of a couple drives, the passing game struggled most of the night. Quarterback Max Brosmer, also making his Gophers debut, finished 13 of 21 for just 166 yards, with his lone score coming on the ground.

“If I’m being honest, I think it took him a little bit to settle in, but once he settled in, he looked like the guy that I’ve seen for a long time,” Fleck said of Brosmer, the graduate transfer from New Hampshire.

Related: 5 takeaways from Gophers season-opening loss to North Carolina

The coach added, “he’s gotta get better, he knows that, we gotta get him better, but I loved his leadership and he’s a competitor.”

Brosmer mostly agreed, saying, “We would love to be more efficient in the pass game. From both sides, I think I have to do a way better job putting the ball where it needs to be for the guys.”

The QB credited his receivers for getting open and lineman for protecting him, although the Tar Heels got pretty consistent pressure, five sacks and a gave a good mix of different looks to complicate things for the offense.

Brosmer admitted the step up from New Hampshire is a challenge but said it's one he enjoys and will use to get better.

“The whole environment is completely different. It’s a fun challenge," he said. "I think as any new player, any new conference but especially in the Big Ten, there’s an adjustment period that gets created.”

On the other side, Fleck said the defense was mostly strong but gave up too much yardage on first and second-down runs in the second half, which allowed the Tar Heels to get into manageable situations and extend drives.

Defensive back Justin Walley and linebacker Cody Lindenberg, both seniors, agreed that it was little mistakes and a lack of execution that prevented the Gophers defense from getting off the field. That included the Tar Heels' final drive, when they went 48 yards in six plays before kicking the go-ahead field goal that proved to be the game-winner.

"Like the whole game, we just lacked details in certain areas and that was a crucial moment. That drive, really needed it, but just comes down to details and executing and we didn’t really execute in that drive,” Walley said.

“Those are things that once we clean up, I think we played a very clean game outside of that so it’s those little details that once we clean up, we are and we will continue to be an elite defense,” Lindenberg said, noting the defense also did a lot of good things.

Major pointed to self-inflicted errors as the issue for the struggles offensively, too — Minnesota had five three-and-outs on 11 drives, plus a fumble to kill another short drive and give the Tar Heels the back just outside the red zone.

“It was just the mistakes. We had a lot of mistakes that we can’t make and we know that we can’t make but, you know, this was the first game, this doesn’t define who we are, we know we’re gonna come back from this and it’s going to be better,” he said.

Again, despite those mistakes, the Gophers still had a chance to win, which offers some encouragement despite the result. However, it's also why the players and coaches aren't down on Kesich, who they know they'll have to lean on throughout the rest of the season.

Asked what he said to the kicker after the game, Lindenberg responded, “I love you. It’s that simple. None of that game is on him. There’s plenty of plays defensively, offensively, special teams, it’s a team effort. There’s no one play that loses you a game, right? I told him right hen we got off the field like, ‘Hey, don’t even think about that right now, keep your head up.’”

“I told our team at the very end, this is a team loss, period. This isn’t lost by one person, this isn’t lost by one play, we had a lot of opportunities on offense and defense and special teams, just like they did. … This is where you grow the most,” Fleck said.

Minnesota will get an easier opponent in Rhode Island next week, which helps, but Fleck said he's still confident in this team and knows they'll learn from the loss.

"We didn’t play well enough to win tonight. North Carolina made one more play than we did and we had our opportunities," Fleck said. "But I do know the character of this football team, I do know these young men and they’re gonna bounce back, I know that.”