Tracy Claeys has not been shy that he wants to be the next head football coach at the University of Minnesota. What he didn't know, however, was he'd get a shot to audition for that role halfway through this season.
"I've said I want to be the next head football coach here. I think I can do it. But believe me, I'm not putting any pressure on myself as far as that goes," Claeys, Minnesota's interim head coach and former defensive coordinator, said Tuesday. "But that choice, I've learned to not worry about things I can't control, like I've said. I don't have control over that. All I can do is make sure the football team is prepared as well as I can, and I'll live with the results."
Claeys assumed his role as interim boss of the Gophers when Jerry Kill abruptly announced his retirement from coaching Oct. 28, citing health reasons. Kill's history of seizures was working against him, and he elected to put his life outside of football at the forefront in order to see his grandchildren grow up.
"I've given every ounce that I have for 32 years to the game of football," Kill said.
As heart wrenching as the press conference was to watch, games must continue, which they did last Saturday for the Golden Gophers against Michigan.
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| MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS |
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4-4, 1-3 B1G ROSTER SCHEDULE |
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8:00 PM – SATURDAY, NOV. 7 OHIO STADIUM COLUMBUS, OHIO |
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ABC/ESPN2 WATCHESPN |
The Wolverines escaped Minneapolis with a 29-26 victory after a last-second goal line stand. Claeys put his team in position to win one for Kill, but came up just short.
"When you play hard and play in a great football game like that where any play and that game can change, you invest some time, you're going to be a little bit disappointed," Claeys said.
Minnesota's interim head coach, though, isn't short on confidence that his players will bounce back and play with emotion again when they make a trip to Ohio Stadium Saturday night for a date with Urban Meyer's No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes.
"We won't have a letdown. I believe that," Claeys said. "You're not very competitive at this game if you can't get ready to play this game."
Meyer, who's team's been atop the Associated Press and Coaches Polls all season, took notice about the way the Gophers nearly took down Ohio State's rival. He's not oblivious to the passion Claeys' crew played with against the Wolverines.
"I think we have a tendency to get everybody's best swing. In our stadium, night time, in the 'Shoe, prime-time and all that," Meyer said Wednesday. "You could see a little, there was swing in them last week. You'll get it again. Our kids know that. Everybody we face, you'll hear it's their biggest game."
The Buckeyes can ill afford a slip-up if they wish to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive, especially with matchups against Michigan State and Michigan looming to cap off November.
"I know this time last year we were 16th and I think everybody's kind of, at least everybody in our profession is 'keep going man,'" Meyer said. "There's a lot of football (left)."
Opponent Breakdown
Aside from losing their head coach, the Golden Gophers are a few scores away from having their record look much better than it currently does at .500.
TCU and its Heisman Trophy candidate Trevone Boykin escaped Minneapolis Sept. 3 with a 23-17 victory. The Golden Gophers scored a late touchdown to cut the lead, but it wasn't enough despite their defense largely keeping Boykin in check.
The near miss against Michigan last weekend could be another representation of what Minnesota is this season: A solid team that struggles to make the necessary plays in crunch time to win tight games.
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| 2015 STATS | RANK | CATEGORY | 2015 STATS | RANK |
| 38.5 | 16th | Points For | 21.1 | 107th |
| 15.1 | 5th | Points Against | 23.9 | 49th |
| OFFENSE | ||||
| 247.0 | 13th | Rushing Offense | 155.1 | 87th |
| 217.6 | 75th | Passing Offense | 209.6 | 82nd |
| 464.6 | 29th | Total Offense | 364.8 | 93rd |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 151.9 | 52nd | Rushing Defense | 148.4 | 49th |
| 149.3 | 2nd | Pass Defense | 176.3 | 16th |
| 301.1 | 13th | Total Defense | 324.6 | 25th |
| OFF. MISC. | ||||
| .388 | 75th | 3rd Down Conv. | .366 | 91st |
| .824 | 82nd | Red Zone | .792 | 95th |
| 12.7 | 28th | Punt Return | 2.2 | 122nd |
| 23.6 | 32nd | Kickoff Return | 18.6 | 102nd |
| DEF. MISC. | ||||
| .315 | 19th | 3rd Down Conv. | .362 | 48th |
| .789 | 33rd | Red Zone | .885 | 100th |
| 96.7 | 4th | Pass Eff. Def. | 110.2 | 24th |
| 41.9 | 7th | Net Punting | 38.2 | 51st |
| MISC. | ||||
| - 0.1 | 77th | Turnover Margin | -0.3 | 84th |
| 6.4 | 71st | Penalties Per Game | 6.0 | 54th |
| Total: 16 | THE EDGE | Total: 2 |
"We'll know if it's crushing how it goes this week," Claeys said of the Michigan loss. "I thought our kids obviously were disappointed in the fact that we lost a football game and put a lot of time in."
Minnesota had a 1st-and-goal inside the 1-yard line with 19 seconds remaining Saturday, but managed to only get two plays off despite having a timeout. Poor clock management and a stuffed quarterback sneak attempt by Mitch Leidner as time expired ended the game.
A tough way to lose, but the Gophers tested the nation's second-ranked defense in multiple ways to have a chance at winning.
Leidner threw for 317 yards and a touchdown and ran for 37 yards and another score. The team's 461 total yards of offense was the most allowed by Michigan all season.
"I think that they played their best game. They were very inspired, they played tremendous in that game on both sides of the ball. Against a very good team," Meyer said. "So, I think they're an excellent team. They're hitting their stride right now as well."
Ohio State barely left snowy and frigid Minneapolis last season with a 31-24 victory, needing a stop of Leidner and company on the game's final drive to secure its ninth win of 2014.
The Gophers play an aggressive style of defense similar to the one Ohio State faced this season at Virginia Tech Week 1, putting their cornerbacks on an island and selling out to stop their opponent's running game.
"Very good defense. Obviously they played very passionately last week, did very well," Meyer said. "Two NFL corners, that's what I see."
Those top defenders are Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray, both seniors with plenty of experience. They've combined for three interceptions this season, and junior Jalyn Myrick — listed as a co-starter with Boddy-Calhoun, who's battled some injuries — has three picks himself, including one he returned for a touchdown.
Minnesota's defense resides near the middle of the Big Ten statistically (seventh in total yards per game allowed, sixth in passing, ninth in rushing) but can make plays if you don't take care of the ball.
"They were a great team last year, too. They played us tough," Ohio State right guard Pat Elflein said. "I'm excited. Two good corners, they're going to be playing a lot of man coverage to try to bottle us up a little bit."
The onus will be on Ohio State's receivers to win battles at the line of scrimmage and get off press coverage to create space for quarterback Cardale Jones, because the chances Minnesota loads the box to stop Ezekiel Elliott running the ball are high.
"Some blitzing, but a very heavy man coverage, and just well-coached, play hard, substitute some guys through there, rotate some defensive linemen to try to stay fresh and keep coming at you," Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said Monday. "I think they will have a great deal of confidence in themselves, and they'll come in here and give us their 'A' game."
On the other side of the ball, Leidner is completing a higher percentage of his passes this season (57.8 percent) than in 2014 (51.5 percent) but the junior won't wow you with pure athleticism. He can hurt defenses if they don't account for his running ability, though, and leads Minnesota with four rushing touchdowns in eight games.
Former running back David Cobb — who ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns against Ohio State last season — now plays for the NFL's Tennessee Titans, but the new guys in place aren't slouches.
A pair of freshmen, Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks, have combined for 890 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season. They're young, but can get the job done.
"They have great running backs. Running backs run the ball hard," defensive tackle Joel Hale said. "The guy last year, I think he got drafted in the third round. Well, the next guys are ready to come in and fill his position. They've been running the ball hard all season."
Senior KJ Maye leads Minnesota in receiving with 39 grabs for 408 yards and three touchdowns. The tight end is a still prime feature to Minnesota's offense — Maxx Williams was Leidner's main target last season before entering the NFL Draft — as a solid safety net for the quarterback. Sophomore Brandon Lingen has two touchdowns this season.
"They’re motivated, they’re going to come out and you saw that last week," Darron Lee said. "Offense, they run the tight ends very well, they have a running quarterback, so it’ll be an interesting game."
The Golden Gophers are playing for Kill's legacy as the 2015 season bleeds into November, evident last week against Michigan. This isn't the first time Claeys acted as interim coach, doing so in 2013 for seven games when Kill took leave to try to get his health in order.
Minnesota was 4-3 then under Claeys, but has a bit more of an edge considering it knows Kill is officially retired.
Ohio State feels that, too.
"They are a tough team. They just lost their coach and I know those guys really rallied behind him," Lee said. "Even when he was recruiting me he was a great guy, I felt a great personality from him."
Added Taylor Decker: "I think they were really fired up for that game, losing their coach, they seemed like they were playing with a lot of passion, a lot of energy. They were fired up for that game and ready for that game. I'm sure it'll be the same for us."
It's a tough situation for any program, losing a coach midseason, especially to his own accord. But Claeys knows it is his responsibility to get his guys ready to compete Saturday night at Ohio Stadium against the defending national champions of college football. No easy task.
"I tell you, they're a good football team. They have a very small margin for error. That's what our kids have to be prepared for," Claeys said. "We have to make sure we play our brand of football and not make a lot of mistakes. If we do that, I think we showed a year ago that we'll have an opportunity in the fourth quarter."
Ohio State Breakdown
Obviously, Ohio State's biggest story of the week is another switch at quarterback, even though this time it's for a reason not related to on-field performance.
J.T. Barrett is set to serve a one-game suspension after his arrest and citation for OVI early Halloween morning.
"Text message at about 6 a.m. on whatever day that was. I guess Saturday morning," Meyer said Monday. "I told Shelley — I got up, I actually called the person who texted me and I said, did I read this right?"
As shocking as it was to Meyer to learn the news that one of his team leaders — a captain, no less — put himself and other's in harm's way by driving under the influence, the head coach turned his attention as quickly as he could to preparing Cardale Jones for Minnesota.
It is another chance for Jones to show he still belongs in the conversation to be Ohio State's starting quarterback, one that assumed to be over when Barrett wasted Rutgers for five touchdowns in a 49-7 rout Oct. 24.
"I'm one of those ones, that you get more comfortable and you perform better in practice," Meyer said. "And he's performing very well."
Jones is 10-0 as a starter, but lost the job to Barrett when the sophomore entered and played well against Penn State and then again at Rutgers.
Yet, here stands the man who in January quarterbacked the Buckeyes to their first national championship under Meyer. He knew the job was solely his then, as he does now with Barrett suspended.
"I expect Cardale to play great. He's had a really good week of practice. I feel like we all have," Elflein said. "I feel like if we all play good around him, too, that will get him going to play good as well. The whole team clicking. I think we'll do that."
It remains to be seen, especially if Minnesota is able to thwart the Ohio State rushing attack and keep Heisman Trophy contender Ezekiel Elliott in check. If Jones is forced to make plays, will he be able to do so to keep Ohio State's offense on the field?
"One of the parts to our culture is competitive excellence, which means you're ready when your number's called," Elflein said. "I've experienced that. My redshirt freshman year I had to go in a game. J.T. and Cardale's experienced that. Everyone has. You have to be ready. The game of football is someone is going to go down, you're one play away."
It could also mean more chances for Braxton Miller, listed as the backup quarterback on Ohio State's depth chart this week. His role for Saturday was hardly delved into by Meyer, Warinner or any offensive player, but the head coach is as comfortable as he's ever been with him either at wide receiver, H-back or anywhere else.
"I just think he's become a very functional, he can play 40 plays now. I'm not worried about it," Meyer said. "First four games, was he lining up wrong? Does he understand how to block? Does he understand how to do things in this offense that a receiver has to do? Very comfortable."
How It Plays Out
Though Minnesota is bound to enter Ohio Stadium Saturday with the same passionate mindset it did a week earlier against Michigan, Ohio State's talent and extra rest off a bye week should lead it to victory.
The Buckeyes debuted at No. 3 in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday, in good position to move up with a backloaded schedule. In order to still have that chance, though, they must first take care of business against the Golden Gophers.
"When do the rankings come out? I don't know. We gotta worry about today, it was third down in the red zone," Meyer said. "You move forward. I didn't even address it with our team. I thought I might, but we have too much to do."
Ohio State is a better team top to bottom, but must take care of the ball and move the sticks to better its chance to stay unbeaten. That falls on the shoulders of Jones, who gets another chance to start and play a full game at quarterback.
"I don't want to oversimplify it, but I think guys get more relaxed when the perform well in practice," Meyer said. "Because then I know they're going to be ready and understand the game plan. He's done a very good job."
Ohio State should dispatch of the Gophers and remain undefeated.
ELEVEN WARRIORS STAFF PREDICTION: Ohio State 40, Minnesota 14
