I guess you can go home again. Or, you can just return to a former job and reunite with people with whom you enjoyed a lot of success. That’s what Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca did by returning to the Golden Gophers program.
Ciarrocca originally arrived in Minnesota with P.J. Fleck off the Western Michigan staff in 2017. During the 2019 season, the Gophers went 11-2 thanks to a good running game, solid defense and a chemistry between Ciarrocca and quarterback Tanner Morgan that took the Gophers offense to another level. Morgan finished the season throwing for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns. His passing efficiency rating of 178.7 finished fourth nationally behind three guys currently starting for NFL teams: Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields. Morgan, however, remains in college because his numbers suffered after Ciarrocca left for Penn State following the 2019 season.
Ciarrocca also suffered without Morgan, though. After uninspiring stints at Penn State and West Virginia, he returned to Minnesota this season, reunited with Morgan and the two are making beautiful music together again. The Gophers are 4-0 as Morgan is completing over 77% of his passes for 11.2 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns and his passer rating of 198.14 ranks fourth nationally again. As a result, he’s cracking our QB Power Rankings for the first time in the 2022 season.
Quarterback Power Rankings
No Longer Ranked: Garrett Shrader, Syracuse; Stetson Bennett, Georgia; Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
Also pinning these rankings in their lockers: Sam Hartman, Wake Forest; Devin Leary, NC State, Max Duggan, TCU, Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland; Michael Penix, Washington