The first thing I will say about the game is that San Jose QB David Fales is legit. Last year 4th round pick Ryan Nassib came in to Minneapolis and the Gophers overwhelmed him in a 17-10 victory. This weekend David Fales showed that 1st round projections may not be totally off base as he threw for 439 yards with the ability to fit the ball in to spaces so small that that even Ned would feel it. He was so good throwing the ball and they were so bad running that you really have to question the SJSU coaches for running at all but especially on 4th down and again on a 3rd and 5 that were each stuffed for losses.
With QB Phillip Nelson sidelined with a pulled hamstring redshirt Freshman Mitch Leidner took the reins of the offense and managed a game any fantasy football player would be proud of--24 carries for 151 yards with 4 TDs and 5/12 passing for 71 yards (that is 41.94 fantasy points). Junior RB David Cobb added 25 carries for 125 yards and 2 TDs and the Gophers won 43-24. We only get one gif today and that is of CB Derek Wells blocking a punter on an onside kick attempt. The punter was ejected for his response to getting demolished.
But that was the non-conference, now we enter Big Ten season where teams are good enough to force you to pass. This week is particularly big because not only is it the first game of the Big Ten schedule but it is homecoming and not only is it homecoming but it is also Iowa. Need I remind anybody what is at stake?
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| Who hates Iowa? |
I've heard people saying Iowa is down, but I've yet to see why that is the belief. They look as good as I've seen them the past few seasons, and yes, this is simply based off of the Iowa State game, mixed with a little bit of the throttling against WMU on Saturday. Whoever their WR is with the hyphen last name is legit and I'm sure will give the Gophers fits.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the status of Nelson? Does he have a chance to play this game? Do we want him to or is this new kid the cats' pajamas?
Also, like you said, where are we going to get a passing game? If we're that bad against the cupcakes, how are we going to pass against legit Div 1 teams?
Why do I ask so many questions???
It is hard to know just how bad the passing offense is when you only attempt 15 passes per game. Yes, we are 118th in the country in passing yards per game (105 yards per game) but that is primarily because we rank 121st in pass attempts per game (15.5). The yards per attempt (6.8) ranks 83rd in the country but because the running game has been so effective (and the opponents have been relatively weak) they haven't been put in to very many situations where they have to throw to move the ball.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Iowa, the perception coming in to the season was that they were down because they finished 4-8 last year and that was with a senior laden team. Losing to a MAC team, albeit one coming off a BCS Bowl appearance, in week one and then beating three weak opponents hasn't done a lot to change perception although the last two weeks they have looked much better and their running game looks legit. Last year Weisman had a big game running the football against the Gophers and we haven't seen a real power running game in the non-conference so that is the part of this game that scares me. Last year we were much better against teams that like to spread the field and throw the ball than we were against downhill running teams and I haven't seen anything yet to make me think this year is different.
As for the QB "controversy," Nelson was #2 on the depth charts this past week so he was available if needed but Leidner and the Gopher offense didn't really miss a beat without him so he got another week to rest. I don't have a strong preference one way or the other between the two. Nelson seems more accurate underneath and he is faster so more likely to bust a huge run and score while Leidner has a stronger arm, is more accurate down the field with touch on deep balls that Nelson doesn't have and he is better in short yardage--we need to pick up 3 yards--type of plays. Given Kill's propensity to rotate QB's at NIU it wouldn't surprise me to see something similar in the near future.
I am worried about our passing game. When we needed to pass, we couldn't. And that was against crap teams. We can't expect to run the ball like we have been in the B1G. I also have a feeling that we're going to rely on the read option a little too much when the traditional run game gets stuffed rather than turn to a passing game. I'm hoping I'm wrong and we just weren't opening up the playbook yet.
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