The Gophers flipped the formula Saturday but it ended with another negative number.

Instead of holding a lead at halftime and then playing poorly, like it did in losses to Iowa and North Carolina, Minnesota trailed No. 12 Michigan at halftime, but outscored the defending national champion 21-6 in the second half to make it a close 27-24 loss at Michigan Stadium.

Now, the Gophers (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) need to put together more-complete games in the remaining seven conference games this season. Their next opportunity is against a new Big Ten opponent, USC, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The 11th-ranked Trojans (3-1, 1-1) are 9.5-point favorites over the U.

“I’ve got to get a lot of things right to get us to play better, more consistent in 60 total minutes,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Not near perfect football, but that’s we’re striving for. That is what we are capable of doing. It’s my job to get us to do that, and I’ve failed three times.”

Here are five things Minnesota can do to improve going into the Trojans game this weekend:

Cut down on O-line miscues

Minnesota had seven total penalties Saturday — including the disputed onside kick offsides call — and five were called on the offensive line. While setting back the offense, it just added to the attention on one of the team’s most-maligned positions group.

Michigan and its vaunted D-line had five sacks, including four in the second quarter, and Minnesota running backs averaged 3.6 yards per carry, which is right at the 3.8 season average going into the Little Brown Jug game. One of Fleck’s points was to better establish the run early, but the Gophers haven’t done it much at all against Power 4 competition.

“Those guys are playing their tail end off,” Fleck said Saturday. “Again, it comes down to the discipline, the execution, being more sound.”

Tailback Darius Taylor had two short touchdown runs behind the O-line during the big comeback, but more still needs to be done up front to get in the win column.

Without a player seizing the right tackle spot to begin this season — which has been a years’-long void — Minnesota has moved Quinn Carroll, who is better at guard, back out to tackle. Ashton Beers has come in at right guard for the first three starts of his career.

Add regular tempo

A bigger source of the Gophers’ success on offense has come when they go up-tempo. They should incorporate this more when they aren’t forced to because it fits quarterback Max Brosmer’s skill set. It also helps Fleck’s new tactic of throwing the ball to set up the run.

Fleck puts varying tempos on a scale: No. 1, which is bleeding the play clock down to the final seconds before each snap, up to No. 7, which is playing at “warp speed” as if the game has one second left. The U was at 3 or 4 on the scale Saturday, Fleck estimated.

“But when you get (down) 21-3, you got to make big-time adjustments,” Fleck said. “Those aren’t little tweaks. If you are not executing, all you are doing is giving them the ball back.”

In the second half, Brosmer executed with more pass attempts, yards, completion percentage and his only touchdown of the game. He finished 27 for 40 passing for 258 yards, one TD and one interception.

Another helpful wrinkle was offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh mixing in more screen passes to try to use Michigan’s tenacity in its front seven against them. It worked Saturday, and should be more of a linchpin, too.

Limit missed tackles

Minnesota allowed Kalel Mullings to scamper on a too-easy 27-yard touchdown run on the Wolverines’ first drive of the game. It was a continuation of the biggest downfall in the previous week’s loss to Iowa.

Other than that explosive play, though, the Gophers kept Mullings in check with a 3.6-yard average on 23 carries. That was an improvement.

But Pro Football Focus tallied the U with 14 missed tackles. The Gophers have been in double-digits misses in each of their three losses in 2024. There is a trend.

Players on all three levels were to blame for not making stops when in the spot Saturday. Michigan was able to string together long drives with the run game and  “lean on” Minnesota, as Feck described.

Make Joyner’s game a launch pad

Gophers defensive end Jah Joyner wasn’t shy in preseason by stating he wanted double digit sacks this year, so it stood out when he was well below that pace with only 1/2 sack through four games.

But Joyner got his first full sack Saturday and it helped slow down Michigan after the Wolverines took a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. After the third-down sack of Alex Orji, the U scored its first points, a field goal, on the ensuing drive. Joyner’s sack can be traced to helping start the comeback.

“Great call by the D-coordinator,” Joyner said postgame of Corey Hetherman. “It was great to finally get a sack.”

For Minnesota’s defense to start stacking wins toward possible bowl eligibility, its best players need to make more impact plays. Joyner started to pop Saturday. He also had eight tackles and a season-high five pressures, per PFF.

Keep on, keepin’ on, Kesich

Dragan Kesich, who was named Big Ten kicker of the year in 2023, is now 6 for 11 on field goals this season. That jumps off the page because his 55 percent success rate is down from 85 percent last year.

On the U’s second drive Saturday, Kesich’s 55-yard attempt had enough distance to be good from 60 in the wet weather but moved wide right. That direction also has become a theme.

Three of Kesich’s misses have come from 50 yards or longer, so half of his misses have been far from chip shots. But he has not been his usual self through five games, and in two close losses, those two misses can be amplified.

Fleck had Kesich in his office after missing the game-winner against the Tar Heels in late August. He wanted to help his senior along, and will likely be doing so again now.

Rekindling Kesich’s confidence and sweet spot in the second half of the season could, on its own accord, help turn a close loss into a win.

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