Sorry, for missing the update last week. In case you missed it the Gophers defeated Northwestern 20-17 in a game that felt a lot more like a 27-10 blow out. I say that because that should have been the score if not for a little home cooking that took away a Gopher TD and gave NU the ball back on a failed 4th down conversion. Nonetheless, here are the highlights if you've been living under a rock.
Cliff Notes: Ra'Shede Hageman is a beast and with the ESPN cameras focused on him he played arguably the best game of his career (up to that point) with an Int and 3 pass break-ups.
However, that is old news. This is the new news: the Gophers defeated Nebraska 34-23 to bring their record to 6-2 (2-2) and make them bowl eligible.
The most impressive thing about the win to me was that it didn't feel like there was any luck involved. We were clearly the better, more physical team that shoved the ball down the throat of the Huskers.
By the numbers:
- Gophers outgained Northwestern 430-328
- Gophers rushed for 271 yards
- As an indication of what play-action can do when the running game is working, Gopher QB Phillip Nelson needed only 7 completions to throw for 152 yards.
- The Gophers averaged 7.5 yards on first down
- The Gophers had 4 sacks of Nebraska. Nebraska had only allowed 3 sacks all season heading in to the game.
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Tracy Claeys = Peter Griffin, Bo Pelini = Candy Bar
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What to expect: Offense. Indiana has a really good one (#10 passing @ 342.7 ypg / #8 scoring @42.4ppg) and a really bad defense (#112 run defense @ 221 ypg /#110 scoring @ 37.1ppg). The recipe for a win will be to keep the ball on the ground, eat clock, and score TDs to keep the Indiana offense on the sideline.
Two reactionary questions:
ReplyDelete1) Does this mean Claeys is a better coach for this team than Kill? I feel like I sort of know what you're going to say, but I want to ask the questions anyways...
2) Should we be worried next season when Claeys takes a HC job somewhere else? Is Claeys the new Mike Tomlin?
Also, where has this offense been for 2.5 seasons? That was a ton of fun to watch with all the pre-snap motions and misdirections. The freaking OT spread out wide at one point.
ReplyDeleteI obviously want the team to win, but even if they don't, that offense was way more fun to watch than the repeated 3 yard plunge into the line. Hopefully it will continue.
Actually more comment, then I will go away... Nelson needs to be the QB of this team, unless he's hurt. He's so much better and should have had a much bigger day if not for so many dropsies. He was in control of the game the entire second half and looked damn good.
ReplyDeleteThe game really could have and should have been more of a blowout.
I know Kill used two QB's at NIU, and I'm wondering why we NEED to say there's only one guy for the job. They are winning, and Nelson seems sharp as soon as he comes off the bench. Leidner was effective in his first series against Nebraska as well. The last two weeks, it seems like they are being creative in how they are using their personnel. When you set expectations with your players, your guys should be ready to go -- at the start of the last two games, Nelson has been on the sideline with his helmet on looking like he's ready to sprint onto the field for any play. (Juxtapose this with the Vikings, who clearly have no idea what they are doing with their QB's.) Basically, I'm wondering why people can't grasp the possibility of there being two QB's that receive playing time within a single game.
DeleteMy biggest argument for sticking with one QB is establishing a rhythm on offense... sort of like a guy finding his stroke in a basketball game. I think it messes with a QB's focus to not know if he's going to be playing on the next snap or not. And as we know, the QB is the leader of the offense and the most important guy on the field.
DeleteThe bowl game last year was a perfect example of this... Nelson had a hot hand and was clearly the better QB, but they continually pulled him our or switched series with Gray and it stopped momentum quickly for the team.
Also, from what I've seen, Nelson is clearly the better passer, but can also run. The threat of both is tougher to defend for a defense, vs. a guy who they are 95% sure is going to run or hand off anyway.
1) Does this mean Claeys is a better coach for this team than Kill? I feel like I sort of know what you're going to say, but I want to ask the questions anyways...
ReplyDeleteI think the program and systems are in place. The players and coaches understand the task at hand and have the structure and support to do their job. Kill is the architect of that, as he has done it at many places, but his staff understands it and have helped implement it. My view of a head coach in football (and this differs from other sports) is that his job is to oversee his many coaches and coach them (and that is a big part of why genius coordinators often fail when promoted--it isn't about the x's and o's any more but rather overseeing the staff). I do love Tracy Claeys but I don't think having Claeys win the last two games demonstrates more competence than when Kill was there.
2) Should we be worried next season when Claeys takes a HC job somewhere else? Is Claeys the new Mike Tomlin?
If/when Claeys leaves for a head coaching job my fear would replacing him at DC. He is a very competent coordinator and has done wonders with this defense. Kill's specialty is more on the offensive side than defense so replacing Claeys would be harder than replacing Limegrover. I'm sure he probably has somebody else on the defensive staff he would be comfortable with (for instance, the LBs coach has been the DC at Miami & Michigan State) but you'd be losing a good defensive coach so that carries risk.
3) Also, where has this offense been for 2.5 seasons? That was a ton of fun to watch with all the pre-snap motions and misdirections. The freaking OT spread out wide at one point.
I agree. This is the closest the team has looked to the offense that NIU brought in here and demolished the Gophers with in 2010. Obviously part of that is the OL opening holes and giving the QB time makes everything look better. However, that doesn't really fully answer why we haven't seen the pre-snap motion and quirky alignments until now. My best guess is that they're more comfortable with our personnel and their knowledge of the offense that they finally are opening up the playbook. It was a breath of fresh air to see too.
4) Nelson needs to be the QB of this team, unless he's hurt. He's so much better and should have had a much bigger day if not for so many dropsies. He was in control of the game the entire second half and looked damn good.
Yeah, it could have been a much bigger margin. Engel had some drops that really hurt and Nelson missed some guys that could have scored TDs (Fruechte got behind the D once and was overthrown) or made big plays (Henry was wide opened and he threw a bad pass that was dropped, Maxx Williams was wide open late for a big gainer and Nelson missed him). The last two games Nelson has looked better but Leidner looked much better against San Jose St and Michigan than Nelson had against Iowa. Nelson is more consistent with his motion and therefore more accurate and he reads the D better. Leidner is more punishing of a runner when he pulls it down and he has the bigger arm but he needs to work on his mechanics to become more consistent. I personally like the 2-QB system and rolling with the hot hand while you develop both QBs. If one develops to a point that he is clearly better than the other then I'd give him the starting job. It seems as though with this offense and the QB runs you need to have two QBs ready to play every week anyway because they're going to get bumped and bruised along the way.