The Gophers are in the Rose Bowl. Well, sort of.
They make a very rare trip to Los Angeles this Saturday to take on UCLA. It's their first visit to the legendary home of the Bruins, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, since the new conference realignments put UCLA in the Big Ten. This is a trip Gopher fans have long coveted, and while it's not exactly New Year's Day with the nation watching, it's still a big game for Minnesota.
They're coming off a stunning, come-from-behind win over the other LA team, USC, at Huntington Bank Stadium last week. It's a game that could flip the Gopher's season which has been up and down at best.
"It was a great win for our state, great win for our players, great win for our university," said head coach PJ Fleck. "And now we move on and do everything we can do be 1-0 at UCLA."
Losses to North Carolina, Iowa and Michigan surrounded wins over lesser opponents Rhode Island and Nevada had the Gophers staring at a rough season with those LA schools and a very difficult schedule ahead.
But beating the Trojans, and now a game against perhaps the new Big Ten's worst team in UCLA can get their season back on track.
Fleck said he's never been to the Rose Bowl, but says anytime you travel to that iconic stadium it's special, but for the team it's just a football game.
"Our job is to prepare for a football game, go play our best football on the field, go win a game," says Fleck. "All the other stuff is for everybody else. There's a lot of people here who are really excited about heading out to Pasadena, going to the Rose Bowl, connecting memories and moments from their family's past, the Gopher's past, and that's really special. Life's about moments and memories. But our job is to find a way to be 1-0 and play our best football game we played of the year against a good football team against UCLA. And if you really study them and watch them, they've got a lot of really good talent in a lot of areas."
There isn't a lot of history shared between the two teams. Their last matchup was in 1978 which was played in the LA Coliseum, a UCLA victory. Minnesota won in Minneapolis a year earlier and also beat the Bruins in their last actual Rose Bowl trip following the 1961 season.
GAME PREVIEW
Minnesota (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) at UCLA (1-4, 0-3), Saturday 8 p.m. (BTN)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Minnesota by 5 1/2.
Series record: Minnesota leads 2-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Minnesota is riding the high of a 24-17 upset of Southern California. The Gophers now enter a six-week stretch with three road games, two byes and only one home game, still three wins from ensuring bowl eligibility with games against Penn State and Wisconsin late in the season. The Bruins completed their run of three straight top 10 opponents by falling 27-11 at No. 4 Penn State. Even though there have been signs of improvement, first-year head coach DeShaun Foster needs a victory to really have something to sell to the team, recruits and fans.
KEY MATCHUP
UCLA’s run game vs. Minnesota run defense. The Gophers lead the FBS in pass defense, with just 114 yards allowed per game, but they’ve been vulnerable to breakdowns in their run defense whether by missed tackles or misalignments and have allowed four different opposing RBs to post 111 rushing yards or more. USC’s Woody Marks had 20 carries for 134 yards and a TD last week. The Bruins are 132nd out of the 134 FBS teams with 64.2 yards rushing per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota: RB Darius Taylor was a one-man wrecking ball, pummeling USC for 144 yards rushing on 25 carries and 56 yards receiving on five grabs. It was Taylor’s fourth career game with 200 all-purpose yards.
UCLA: QB Justyn Martin had some good moments in his first career start, going 22 of 30 passing for 167 yards and one touchdown. While it looks as if Ethan Garbers has recovered enough from an apparent foot injury to be on track to play, it might make sense to carve out something in the game plan for the more mobile Martin, a third-year sophomore.
FACTS & FIGURES
Only Washington (85.3) has a lower opponent pass efficiency rating in the FBS than Minnesota (86.7). The Gophers also lead the Big Ten and rank second nationally with 10 interceptions. … UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger has 40 tackles over the past three games, including 15 against Penn State. … Minnesota is 7 for 7 on fourth down this season. … Bruins P Brody Richter and the coverage unit are producing a net punting average of 41.9 yards, which ranks 22nd in the FBS. … Gophers freshman Koi Perich has six punt returns for 135 yards, most in a season for the program in 10 years. Perich’s average (22.5 yards) is on pace to break the single-season record set by Paul Giel (16.9 yards) in 1953. .. The Gophers last made the Rose Bowl after the 1961 season, a 21-3 victory over the Bruins (a road loss in 1978 came when UCLA was sharing the LA Memorial Coliseum with USC).
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