When the temperature drops in September, Minnesota’s football team hits a ceiling in nonconference play. Two forces of nature for four straight years.

Mississippi State’s commanding, comfortable 38-13 road win over Minnesota on Saturday was P.J. Fleck’s fourth straight regular-season loss to a Power Four conference opponent since 2023. The U also lost both legs of a home-and-home series with North Carolina in 2023-24 and fell at California in ’25.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs were faster, more physical and more disciplined from the start, and the result wasn’t close. Minnesota lost the battle on both lines of scrimmage, trailed 21-3 early in the second quarter and never managed a serious comeback.

“You go out there and play a team like this, we know exactly where you are. Like, exactly,” Fleck said postgame. “That’s why I say, it’s going to be the best thing for us moving forward. When you don’t play well against elite competition, it’s going to show. They played really well.”

In each of those four Power Four nonconference games, the Gophers have watched the other team’s best players carve them up.

When the Gophers went to Chapel Hill., N.C. in 2023, Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye completed 72% of his passes for more than 400 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in their 31-13 win. Maye became the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and took the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl last season.

Maye was gone when North Carolina came to Minneapolis in 2024, but running back Omarion Hampton rushed for 129 yards on 30 carries. In the 19-17 loss, the Gophers missed 22 tackles, many on the Chargers’ first-round pick in 2025.

When the Gophers went to Berkeley, Calif., last year, freshman Golden Bears QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapoutele threw for 279 yards, three TDs and no picks in a 27-14 win. His sophomore season has started with a two-touchdown, two-pick loss in the season opener against UCLA and a two-TD performance in a win over Syracuse.

On Saturday, Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor completed 72% of his passes for 227 yards, three TDs and no interceptions, and he added 86 rushing yards on 13 carries. The buzz around the sophomore’s potential has been growing by the week.

The Gophers’ rush defense also allowed a stunning 5.5 yards per carry as Mississippi State amassed 252 yards on the ground. Running back Fluff Bothwell was a load, putting up 116 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.

“We’ve all got to do our jobs, and at times we lacked that. And we are going to see when we watch the film where those busts were,” captain linebacker Maverick Baranowski said. “We are going to fix it, and that won’t happen again.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s top offensive threats paled in comparison against the competition from the Southeastern Conference.

Running back Darius Taylor was hampered by an injury and rushed only six times for 15 yards in the first quarter.

He added one catch for five yards in the third. As a team, the U rushed for 13 total yards as they abandoned the run in the second half.

Given the 28-6 hole at halftime, quarterback Drake Lindsey was forced to throw on every down. He finished 31 for 48 (64%) for 279 yards, no touchdowns and no picks.

“We obviously didn’t get the result we wanted,” Lindsey said. “We’ve got to dive into the film. There is obviously a lot of stuff on there that we’ve got to clean up. … It’s Week 2, we’ve got a lot of football ahead of us.”

The Gophers’ previous losses to Power Four conference competition have been harbingers. In those three years combined, Minnesota went 13-14 in Big Ten play.