B1G Recap Week 2

In Summary

Western Kentucky 34, Illinois 42

Illinois scores 21 in the 4th quarter led behind Wes Hunt's 456 yards passing to come back and win at home against the Hilltoppers.  More importantly, not only does WKU have a corner named Wonderful Terry; he actually scored on a 95 yard fumble return.  Lunt now has 741 yards passing and 7 TDs on the season, which are numbers Mitch Leidner might get to in December. 

Favorite fan comment:

Sunshine Melissa Payne

Illinois should abandoned sports

Sunshine abandon class when they discussed past and present tense.

This week: @Washington
Prediction: Pain

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McNeese St 24, #19 Nebraska 31

Nebraska needed a score in the last minute to defeat the mighty Cowboys of McNeese State.  Ameer Abdullah caught a short pass and went HAM on everyone for 58 yards to joel stave off disaster.  Tommy Armstrong didn't let his pesky 50% passing rate get in the way of him slinging it bunch, but he was much more effective on the ground, rushing for 131 yards.

Favorite fan comment:

Paul Sutton

McDeusch St doesn't stand a chance in hell and will get completely blown out. GO BIG RED!!

This week: @Fresno St
Prediction: Lucky that Carr is gone.

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Akron 3, Penn State 21

McGloin!

It was a good week for the Nittany Lions as not only did they win semi-convincingly, but they were allowed to play in the post-season this year.  Penn State took to the skies with Christian Hackenburg again this week to the tune of 319 yards.  However, PSU did have a couple of INTs and a fumble that kept the game a little closer early.  Hackenburg has thrown for 774 yards this year, but has 4 INTs against 4 TDs.

Favorite fan comment:

Joshua: The Big 10 (B1G/14) is looking strong this weekend. The FCS is looking stronger though

Wat?

This week: @Rutgers
Prediction: PSU is -4, should be a good game.

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Howard 25, Rutgers 38

Very interested in the TX BBQ Thickburger

Howard, who appears to have stolen the Buffalo Bills' logo, falls despite out-gaining Rutgers.  This game was all Rutgers, though.  The Bison scored twice in the 4th when hope was broken and bloody in the gutter.  Champagne Super Nova was on point, going 15-19 for 4 TDs.  RB Paul James followed his 173 yards rushing from week one by gaining 43 on the ground and 100 through the air on two TD receptions.  He had 3 total touchdowns.

Favorite fan comment:

Dave: Howard? I guess the McCann School of Business wasn't available?

This week: PSU
Prediction: Nova vs Hackenburg, one on one for your Nintendo

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Central Michigan 38, Purdon't 17

Punter KTFO

Lucky for Purdue they weren't the only B1G embarrassment this week. CMU has a RB named Rawls, but sadly not Bill or even Lou.  Anyway, Rawls rumbled for 155 on the ground and QB Cooper Rush only needed 16 throws to rack up 172 through the air.  Nice defense, Purue. 

Purdue QB Danny Etling was a horrid 17-32 for 126 yards.  That's 3.9 yards per attempt.  RB Raheem Mostert had 19 carries for just 53 yards, so that didn't really work either.


Favorite Fan Comment:

Steve: A team that went 1-11 in 2013 NEVER overlooks anybody BOILER UP!

This week: @ #11 ND or fold the program
Prediction: No pots of gold for Purdue

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Western Illinois 3, #18 Wisconsin 37

I love how he's so calm about it.

Maybe WIU was stacking the line against the run, because Melvin Gordon didn't do well on the ground, but the Badgers had a great passing game going, especially in the second half.  Tanner McEvoy went 23-28 for 283 yards and 3 TDs.  McEvoy also had 55 yards and a score on the ground. 

Favorite Fan Comment:

william:  McEvoy looks really terrible. Anderson needs to find a real QB and soon.

william:  I said earlier that the badgers needed a QB, boy did I ever screw up, McEvoy looks like a different person so far

Keep us posted, William.

This week: Take a week off guys, you earned it.
Prediction: State Street drunk-fest.

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Ball St 13, Iowa 17

Iowa out-gained Ball St 455-219, but needed two TDs in the last four minutes to get the win.  Jake Rudock's 322 yards passing was a career high.  Too much butter on the delicious Iowa sweet corn caused two fumbles lost, one for a score.  They also missed three FG attempts.   Ball State's RB Jawhan Edwards ran for 81 yards and I really hope he's related to Jewhan.  Ball State won like 10 games (too lazy to check) last year, so they're not a cupcake, but that's two tight turkeys in a row for Iowa.

Favorite Fan Comment:

left hook: wiesman----222 YARDS

 Or, you know, 13.

This week: vs 0-2 Iowa State
Prediction: Kevin Costner in a corn field.

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Northern Illinois 23, Northwestern 15

Ouchie

Northwestern drops to 0-2 following a second tough match-up; this time against the NIU Huskies.  The internet tells me the Huskies now have 16 straight road wins, which seems hard to do.  Trevor Siemian is apparently ok, after getting folded up like a pretzel with 3 minutes left.  Super subbie Zach Oliver did come in and throw a 54 yard TD pass to close the gap, but it was too little, too late.

Favorite Fan Comment:

Extant: As an ex player for a perennial losing NIU squad (97-98)... Gotta say We whooppin big ten #$%$!!!!

This week: Bye week
Prediction: More time to study!

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Maryland 24, South Flo Rida 17

Maryland fumbled 7 times and lost 4, and threw two interceptions, yet still had enough to beat USF.  QB CJ Brown connected with WR Marcus Leak on a pair of scores and Avery Thompson scored on a blocked punt for Maryland. 

Favorite Fan Comment:

Travis Callis:  Maryland should dominate USF, with that said, turning it over 6 times and still winning is dominating a team. MD needs to clean it up now, WVU isn't nearly as bad as they were last season when we beat them 37-0

This week: vs WVU
Prediction: Fear the 3-0 Turtle

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#7 Sparty 27, #3 Oregon 46

At least this happened.

Sparty, no.  If games were 35 minutes long, MSU would have had this one in the bag.  They're not though and Oregon reeled off 4 unanswered touchdowns to prove it.

Favorite fan comment:

---: As an Ohio State fan, I have finally come to terms that the Big Ten indeed sucks.

We're right there in the muck and slime with the rest of them.

Is the slime primordial though?

This week: Bye week
Prediction: Licking wounds.

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Michigan 0, Notre Dame 31

The beatings will continue.  The Wolverines were ineffective and over-matched in the "final" edition of this rivalry.  Devin Gardner became a turnover machine in the second half, giving the ball up 4 times en route to the worst loss for Michigan in this long early season rivalry game. 

Favorite fan comment:

Harley Guy: Time for Brandon and Hoke to move on. They don't have a clue. Nor did the search committee that hired them, and Hoke's predecessor, Rich Rod. One of the storied football programs in history continuing to slide and everybody but UM administrators are able to see it

This week: vs Miami OH
Prediction: Wally Szczerbiak trips in the stands and hurts his ankle.

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Virginia Tech 35, #8 Ohio State 21

Excited to spend time with family.

Yep, so the "powers" of the conference pretty much all poo'd themselves. This could have been a 40 word blog post, but who's counting?

JT Barret was 9/29 for 219 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.  The last interception was a 63 yard pick-6 that came with :46 remaining with tOSU down a touchdown.  Yuck.  The offensive line wasn't doing any favors either as he was sacked 7 times.  VaTech might actually be good again.

Favorite fan comment:

John: If this continues at OSU, Urban Meyer will quit to spend time with his family.

This week: vs Kent St
Prediction: Golden Flashers?  One can hope...

Saturday's Talkers on Monday or Tuesday: Post-MTSU

So, that first half on Saturday was fun, wasn’t it? That's among some of the best football the Gophers have played in the last ten years: the offense was clicking, mostly on the ground, but Leidner went 5/8 to start the game and that’s pretty good; Cobb was doing what Cobb does, finessing his way through the creases in the line. Defensively, we were fantastic as well – the previous week MTSU had scored 61 against Savanah State, sure, they’re a historically bad program, but 61 points demonstrates some measure of competence, right? We came out, stopped the run and kept them from stringing anything of significance together through the air. Add in a pick six from Jalen Myrick and an interception from our tackling machine and you can start to smell the exorcism of that fateful 2003 team.

And then we got to the second half. For reasons that, as far as I can tell, are unknown to players, coaches, fans and maybe Jo’bu himself, the second half just didn’t go the Gophers way. After halftime, the defensive intensity was lost, our rock solid secondary started taking bad angles in pursuit, Eric Murray looked mortal and our offense violated Newtonian physics by becoming even more one dimensional. Sure, we ended up with 300 yards rushing so it’s not like we were totally at the hind teat. And yeah, our defensive backs fell victim to the BACK SHOULDER THROW JUMP BALLS and some, uh, generous non-calls for offensive pass interference on their receivers. But when we were up 28-nil, I wanted more. I longed to see the Blue Raiders mascot turned to red mist before my eyes. I wanted 60 or 70 points, a beating typically reserved for schools that have a hyphen in their name.

I compared the EIU game to the 2013 UNLV, where we started slow offensively and ended up winning comfortably through killer special teams and opportunistic defense. What we ended up with against MTSU was something closer to the 2012 Purdue game, albeit for slightly different reasons. In that game, Philip Nelson and the Gophers exploded for 34 first-half points, heading into halftime with a 34-7 lead. The second half was a much tighter affair as the offense went uber conservative and the Gophers hung on for a 44-28 victory.

I remember being at that game and watching half the crowd leave at halftime. They had just witnessed aerial blood sport, as the hapless Purdues were torched by AJ Barker and the Boilers seemed utterly toothless as they went into the intermission. No reason to stay until the end of this one - why not get a beat on traffic or do some celebratory shots at Sterb’s? Well, I stuck around and, while I was never nervous exactly, I do recall looking up at the game clock, silently willing it to move faster. Purdue looked much better in the second half and we looked, well, vanilla. The aggression was gone. We had shot the proverbial wad and were just killing time.

If you attended the game against MTSU game, you know exactly what I mean. Euphoria that first half, wet fart the second half. We can’t really conclude anything from it – nor should we try: the game was in hand, nothing positive would come from opening up the playbook and/or potentially getting some [more] of our key players hurt. We turtled up, took the win and moved on. It failed to satisfy my bloodlust and I’m sure the coaches were less than pleased with some of the missed tackles and bad angles. But I don’t think it’s a harbinger of poor play to come.

Now, on to the talkers from Saturday! Remember, we’re exploring the main talkers that came out of the last game now that we’ve had a day or two for perspective. We’ll also opine as to whether the issue has been overplayed, underplayed or is flexin’ in the Goldilocks zone.

Leidner’s play hurt the team and will hold us back this year – Overplayed

Hey, we’ve been at this two weeks and we’ve already got our first repeat. Hu-effing-zah. Without any doubt whatsoever, the biggest talker following Saturday’s game was the passing game in general, but Leidner’s performance more specifically. I’m sure it was a minority, but holy hell were they vocal. Leidner finished 5/11 for 67 yards. That’s pretty poor by any measure; but, as I stated last week, I’m not really sure we can read into Leidner’s performance at this point. When you only throw eleven times, almost by definition, you’re not being asked to do very much. In my opinion, most of the games Leidner played in last year are a better measure of what to expect from him than what we’ve seen this year. The bowl game on the good side, Northwestern to the bad and everything else sort of meh. He might be amazing, he might be horrific, more likely he continues a slow progression along the meh axis. Bu I, like all of you, will have no idea what sort of QB he will be until the offense opens up a little bit. Which brings us to our next talker….

The play calling, I mean, woof – Goldilocks

MV and I had a good conversation via the Twitterz following the game where we discussed the play calling. He used a metaphor which I will now steal – but that’s okay, since he stole a metaphor from me on the BHGP podcast a few years ago. There’s nothing Steven like even. At any rate, MV said he wasn’t sure whether the coaches were holding their cards close to the vest, or they were just making it look like that since they actually didn’t have any cards to play. And there is the fundamental question of the pre-season thus far: Are the coaches holding the playbook in reserve, not showing too much to inferior opponents? Or are we going full bore into all running, all the time, consequences be damned?

I suspect it’s the former, but there’s precedent for the latter: See 13, 20. We stormed through the non-conference schedule, running roughshod over everyone. We didn’t have much of a passing game, but that was okay, because we didn’t need one. Why pass against inferior opponents? we told ourselves. The we got to the Iowa game, couldn’t run the ball and were totally up the creek. Limegrover effectively admitted as much by stating that he was too bull headed to adjust the offense when we were unable to move the ball. We muddled through the next two games, losing one and winning the other before the offense really opened up against Nebraska.

Given that context, the questions are many: have Limegrover and the rest of the staff learn from last season? Are we a run-at-all-costs offense irrespective of the looks provided by the opposing defense? Are we holding the passing plays in reserve for when they are needed?

All of these questions are legitimate, though I tend to believe there are many plays still in the fold. For example, we haven’t seen any plays out of the inverted wishbone yet this season, and that was used pretty extensively last year. We should know soon enough, though, as I suspect we won’t get much offensive quarter from TCU this weekend.

We’re doomed if Leidner missed time - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is a fun one, particularly when juxtaposed with the ‘Leidner sux’ talker.

There’s two ways to go with this. If the coaches are holding plays back for tougher competition, then we may very well be in trouble with Leidner out. I saw Leidner in practice and, genuinely, he looked good. Made smart decisions, threw nice balls at varying distances, hit receivers in stride, ran through progressions. That wasn’t necessarily the case with QBs two through six. If there is a secret cabal of mystery plays, we’ll need the most competent quarterback to execute them. From everything I’ve seen, that’s Leidner and if he’s out, we may very well be doomed.

If, on the other hand, the Gopher Illuminati playbook is a figment of my maroon tin-hatted imagination, then it really makes no difference who the quarterback is. We’re going to be a run-first offense and, frankly, Streveler may be the better runner. Hell, it could be an advantage to have him in there.

Pretty sure Twitter and message boards were designed so that histrionic fans could talk themselves into circles. Congratulations, Internet gods.

Kill and staff blew it by not recruiting some JUCOs for depth this year – Underplayed

Underplayed not because I believe it, but that I think it’s an interesting talker that hasn’t been discussed much

One could pretty justifiably argue that we were precariously young at quarterback, linebacker and defensive tackle. Should the staff have done more to solidify those positions with JUCO players? With the benefit of hindsight, the answer may be yes; but it’s more nuanced than that.

JUCOs come in expecting to play right away. In which of those three positions could a player earn immediate playing time? The obvious answer is defensive tackle. We had Scott Ekpe and Botticelli as the starters, then Peppers, Legania, Timms, and Richardson as the principal backups. With the rotation of players Clayes employs, and the disappearance of Peppers so far this season, it’s certainly possible a JUCO transfer could have earned some immediate play. Great, right? Well, athletic 290lb dudes aren’t sprouting out of the woodwork around there parts. The scheme we use requires defensive tackles to penetrate and pursue – we don’t have much use for 320lbs fire plugs. Guys who do fit what we’re trying to do have offers to more prominent programs, making it pretty tough to land them. So I wouldn’t be surprised to hear we pursued a few JUCO DTs, but were unable to pique the interest of anyone who fit our criteria.

How about quarterback and linebacker? Nope. The staff was doing everything but blowing the horn of plenty building Leidner up as the starting quarterback and leader of the program. While the staff may have wanted to bring in a security blanket in the event Leidner got hurt, it isn’t exactly an easy sell to get a quality dude with pro aspirations to come to a program with a defined starter at his position.

And linebacker? What did we have, six linebackers in the 2013 recruiting class? It would have been nice to get a JUCO LB in to balance out the classes a little bit, but we don’t do a lot of rotation at the position and it’s hard to believe he would have unseated Wilson, Campbell or Lynn for a starting gig. Again, it wouldn’t shock me if they investigated some options and there was no mutual interest.

[EDIT: of course, a decent writer would have double checked all of the commits for this year's class and seen that Cody Poock was, in fact, a JUCO LB. So they did get someone; he's just injured too. My humble apologies to Familia de Poock and my esteemed readers. Hat tip to Twitter warrior Jake Kleiner for correcting what is probably the third of 2 million egregious mistakes I'll make here.]

Who knows? With a little luck, we’ve made our sacrifice to Lord Anterior Cruciate and he will require the souls no further virgin ligaments this year.

(Frothy's starting word count: 16,411; Finishing word count: 18,235)

Friday Night Descent to the Fiery Depths of Despair

Ok, so we’re starting a new tradition on Still Got Hope. And by tradition, of course, I mean likely to fail after exactly one go ‘round. We’re at something like four straight weeks of content here and still going strong. I think we’re in good shape until we lose. Once that happens, we’ll either open our veins and spew articles about the shame, despair and hopelessness of Gopherdom or withdraw into spider holes until we win again or we announce our Caring Bridge site to raise funds for liver transplants. We’ll hope for the former while knowing full well we’re destined for the latter.

At any rate, it occurs to me that I spend most Friday nights before games watching college football, have a few cocktails and whiling away the hours watching TweetDeck scroll by. Filled with anxiety and dread. Lots and lots of that. So I figured as long as I’m here, chewing the tattered remnants of my fingernails and self-medicating with benzos (not really) and bourbon (really) to find the sweet, cold embrace of sleep, I may as well do something marginally productive. And thus begins the Friday Night Descent to the Fiery Depths of Despair.

Basically, the shtick here is to type whatever comes into my head between 9.00 and 11.00 PM on Friday nights. Like I said, it’s probably doomed to fail.

*     *     *

Fear Level: 4

I feel pretty good going into the MTSU game and I’m not sure why. We were hardly world beaters last week but we still pretty soundly defeated what I believe to be a pretty decent team. As I said in the Saturday's Talkers piece, it’s the sort of game you expect to see in the first week. We were sloppy, but the depth from 22 extra scholarships in FBS (notwithstanding all of the partial scholarship rules in FCS which I’m going to totally ignore for the sake of expediency) became evident fairly early in the second half. But there were enough issues where I feel like I should be more concerned than I am: flaccid passing game, missed blocking assignments by the line and TEs/FBs and a swath of defensive linemen scythed down. Coupled with MTSU’s high-octane, 61-point performance last week (yes, it was against something called Savannah State, but 61 points is 61 points), I feel like there should be some dyspepsia in play.

Nevertheless, here we are, smokin’ butts and flexin’ nuts. I mean, a Fear Level of four is about as low as it gets for me. By way of comparison, I was a six prior to last week’s game. Against an FCS opponent. I don’t know. If I made sense, I wouldn't be so damaged. I think what it comes down to is this is the sort of game that Jerry Kill has no history of losing. Sure, there was New Mexico State and North Dakota State (/shakes fist while yell crying), but that was in his first year. Throughout his career, he’s been pretty consistent in winning the games he’s supposed to win once he’s established his system. And we’re pretty close to having a concrete foundation – no sand! – for the program now. Aggressive defense? Check. Commitment to running the ball? Check. Solid fundamentals and few mistakes? Check. We’re still missing the dynamic offense he built at NIU and, despite our performance against Wisconsin and Michigan State last year, there are still some questions about our ability to defend power running teams.

Still, it would seem we have the pieces to match up pretty well against MTSU. They’re a spread offense and our strength is the secondary. Our ball control offense against their relatively undersized defense should work in our favor. Yes, we are young and undersized along the defensive line, but the speed provided by the lack of size may work in our favor as long as gap discipline is maintained. While that’s a concern with a bunch of dudes who were at prom three months ago, we have no choice but to trust the coaches. I’ll quietly repeat that to myself while fighting off the room spins later tonight.

*     *     *

I probably shouldn't take as much joy in Wisconsin losing as I do but, again, I’m damaged. Outside of family and all of the really important stuff, I care the most about the Gopher football team. It’s important to me that they do well and, right or wrong, between September and January, my personal satisfaction depends quite a bit on the performance of the team. A not-too-distant third or fourth in the rankings of my rooting interests, though, is whichever team is playing Wisconsin.

I’m not a big UNIT, CORPS, GOD, FOOTBALL CONFERENCE guy, but generally speaking, I’ll root for the B1G over most teams from other conferences. Never, ever Wisconsin, though. I grudgingly, and halfheartedly, supported Iowa against LSU last New Year’s Day (and mocked them when they lost – it’s a win/win in that sense). I was an LSU fan in full throat this past Saturday, though. It’s remarkably shallow to derive satisfaction from the failure of something you don’t like. On a rational level, I understand that completely. But with Wisconsin, it just doesn’t matter.

The Decade of Despair certainly has something to do with it. You don’t lose ten consecutive games to your most hated rival without some psychological wreckage.  And beyond that, they’ve repeatedly achieved things in the last 20 years that I’d be happy doing once: Big Ten Championship Game, Rose Bowl and, during that God-forsaken Russell Wilson season, a legitimate (and aborted, thank Jo’bu) run at a national championship. So, yeah, there’s probably some insecurity and bitterness there. But fuck Wisconsin.

Anyway, I bring this whole thing up because it’s been fascinating watching the chaos following their loss to LSU. Melvin Gordon allegedly had a hamstring injury, then he allegedly had a confrontation with Gary Anderson, then he allegedly had a hip flexor problem. Joel Stave was allegedly injured, then he was allegedly fine, then he, apparently really, had the yips. It’s the sort of madness that happens occasionally in the sports world, but the Badgers have avoided since the 2001 Shoe Box Affair. Some, even Badger fans, have speculated that this is evidence Anderson is in over his head. It certainly was a series of pretty egregious PR snafus, but it’s hard for me to believe it’s going to come off the rails like this. Wisconsin has certainly had a remarkable run of success and I’m hoping as much as anyone that it ends with the thud of a planetoid strike on earth. Let’s just enjoy the current chaos and optimistic it will eventually turn the tide in our favor.

*     *     *

Well, we’re rapidly approaching posting time so, by rule, I’m required to wrap this up. I think we’ll get off to a slow start tomorrow, but I’m not going to panic. For whatever reason, we just aren’t very good getting the offense going at the start of the game. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we go down early and, potentially, be losing at halftime. We’ve been a very solid second half team so try to mitigate the compulsion to shotgun beers at the sweet, sweet beer vendors throughout our stadium.

I love you all. Stop by our tailgate tomorrow and we can hug it out.

(Frothy's starting word count: 15,182; Finishing word count: 16,411)

Know Your Enemy Week 2: MTSU Blue Raiders

#boltup

Actual instant messenger conversation after seeing the image above:

TRE:  Its just a mess.
Frothy: Minneapolis isn't Raider City though.
T: I'm completely confused.
F: Is the storm coming to Minneapolis?
T: Will they rename the city after they storm us?
F: What is their mascot?
T: Blue Raiders
F: What does that have to do with storms and lightning?
T: Not sure.  Mascot is named Lightning.
F: Is it a horse?
T: Sort of.  Anthropomorphic horse-guy.
T: Do they only raid when it storms?
F: I kind of dig it.  Like an inverse centaur.
T: Yes.
F: Like a minotaur, but a horse.
F: Oh wait, he has wings.
T: WHAT?  Like a pegasus-man?
F: Pretty badass mascot, imo.
T: My Little Pony
F: Yeah, some brony at work there.
F: Whoa.  From wiki:

MTSU's original mascot was Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate General and the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Because of Forrest's ties to the Ku Klux Klan, the mascot was later changed to a blue-colored scent hound dog named "Ole Blue" in the 1970s.

MTSU's current mascot is a blue winged horse named "Lightning," adopted as the mascot in 1998, when the athletics department updated its image in preparation for the 1999 upgrade to Division I-A football and subsequent transfer to the Sun Belt Conference.^[8] "Lightning" symbolizes the university's aerospace and horse science programs and the region's heritage in the walking horse industry.^[9]

T: WHAT? Horse science has evolved.
F: Moar like pegasus science.
T: Put effing wings on horses now.

HOW'S THAT FOR KNOWING YOUR ENEMY?

They're a freaking Klan school that partakes in some sort of Island of Dr. Moreau shit on horses.

That's MTSU on the left.

:dropsmic:










Oh, you're still here?  I suppose I could at mention something about the football.

MTSU cruised to a 61-7 win over lowly Savannah State last week.  Their QB went 15-17, they scored a million TDs on the ground, and they dominated on special teams as well.


Against Savannah State.

Savannah state went 1-11 (0-8) in 2013 playing in the MEAC, whatever that is.  So, unless you think Minnesota is akin to Morgan State, there isn't a lot to take from this big win.

MTSU is coming off of an 8 win season, but no longer has QB Logan Kilgore or the top two receivers from last year.  Both guards and the center are new this year as well.  So, hopefully the new Gopher starter at NT Steven Richardson is ready do some damage.  They do return a stable of running backs and new QB Austin Grammer can also run it.

The MTSU defense is filled with a number of veterans and they are strong up the middle defensively.  Junior T.T. Barber is the weak side linebacker and the one to watch on defense.  He led the team in tackles with 98 last year and sprinkled in some sacks and passes defensed as well.  Leighton Gasque is on the other side at linebacker and is a frequent blitzer, recording 5 sacks last season.  Kevin Byard at safety is another standout. 

MTSU All-Namers

Keemem Berry, CB - Like Mushmouth saying Keenan.
Canon Rooker, PK - Should have been a priest or a quarterback.
Quay Watt, LB - "Quay Watt? I can't hear you"
Chase Pennycuff, FB - Wears a monocle.
Ed'Marques Batties, WR - just awesome
Sir Patrick Stewart, DT - Picard!
O'Shae Bridges, DT - 239 lb leprechaun

MTSU Team Apostrophe count: 3

Prediction Time!

TRE thinks the Gophers passing game is helped by the return of Wolitarsky and that storm is not in fact coming to Minneapolis.  Gophers 41, Pegasus-Men 24.

Frothy says he thinks the Gophers are down at the half but rally to win, 35-21.  And adds, "Deez nuts".

B1G Recap Week 1

We laughed, we drank, we ate linked meats, we won.  

Here's a look at what happened last week in the rest of the Big Ten.

Rutgers not Buttgers

I like Rutgers' shiny helmets quite a bit, so they are my favorite B1G newcomer.  The Scarlet Knights were +8 going into this game, but got a touchdown from senior running back Paul James with 4 minutes left to claim victory over Washington State, 41-38.  James racked up 173 yards and 3 TDs on the ground and QB Gary Champagne Super Nova threw for 281 and 2 more TDs.  Washington St QB Connor Halliday threw for a whopping 532 yards and 5 TDs, but it wasn't enough.  Here are a couple of my favorite comments from the Yahoo! scoreboard:

G said: "41 points to Rutgers? Wazzu is going to give up 100 to Oregon. Seriously, where is the defense?"

You Got to Be Kidding Me said: "Glad RU won but their secondary is GARBAGE. The last 10 years the secondary has been a strong point on the RU D.. They were horrible last year and they were horrible in this game.. This game should have been a blowout for RU. Granted Washington St QB is good but the yards after the catch was ridiculous. Horrible horrible horrible arm tackling."

MSU Gave Up Points to Jacksonville State

While it was nice to see my body twin on the field for Jacksonville State, they were no match for Sparty en route to a 45-7 beating.   Former Gopher Max Shortell got most of the snaps at QB for Jax and threw the lone TD; a nine yard strike to Markis Merrill.  Just about every player on the MSU roster got a rush or a pass or took some time at QB.  Junior WR Tony Lippett caught four balls for 167 yards and 2 scores.  On to the Yahoo! comments:

Douglas said: "Heard all week that Jacksonville State has an offense like Oregon. If that's true, Oregon should be worried."

Anthony said: "Solid game for Sparty. Lots of good on both sides of the ball. A few things to work on. Sparty will be ready for a little roast duck next weekend! Go Green."

ABeezy said: "I like Jax State here +34. They are a hungry team, and will come out ready to compete (but still lose by 24-27 points)." [oops]

Fan™ said: "Kudos to Jacksonville St for travelling North of the Mason Dixon Line to face a good football team in their own stadium. Something that most SEC schools are afraid to do." [Yes, so bold of JSU]

Penn State Sneaks by Central Flo Rida

Penn State played in Dublin to piss off Notre Dame and won on a field goal with 17 seconds remaining, 26-24.  Sophomore QB Christian Hackenburg threw for 454 yards; most of it to the duo of Geno Lewis (173) and DaeSean Hamilton (165).  This was good, because PSU's running game never got going as they amassed just 57 yards on 28 total carries.

Just one insane comment from Bill N: "The pride of Penn State Jerry Sandusky got a smile watching the game. Finko Harris and his angry mob was re energized to hunt PSU employee's who helped bring down the ( SIGG!) The Silence is golden group lead by Paterno, Snadusky Spanier Curley and Shultcz all enjoyed the game. Either watching it their million dollar homes, or in hell, or even if the 60 plasma tv on the protecve custody unit in the prison. The only thing that will change is Jerry will so have his buddies Spanier, Curley, and Shultcz join him watching that TV."

Pete the Penguin Nearly Brings the Noise

The Illini score two touchdowns in the last 8 minutes to beat Youngstown St, 28-17.  Sophomore QB Wes Lunt threw for 285 yards and 4 TDs.  This play didn't do Youngstown any favors:

Punt in the rear.

Jeff said: "First half and Illinois has been out played, If this was a big 10 game they would be getting blown out. A very poor showing up to half time. I guess we will see what the Illini are made of in the second half. Do they finish strong, or continue to show they're a mediocre team. I wouldn't want to be in that half time locker room."

Larry Bird is Not Walking Through That Door

And even if he did, he wasn't a football player, so the point is moot.  Junior Tevin Coleman ran for 247 yards and 2 TDs and Senior D'Angelo Roberts added another 129 on the ground as Indiana pasted the Sycamores, 28-10. 

John said: "Total dominance by IU except for those three red zone stops. Dubious decisions and calls there, and the passing game needs work. But this score may lure some IU future opponents into complacency."

Don't wake the sleeping dragon that is IU!

Hawkeyes Cage Panthers (GET IT?)

When these two teams get together you can throw the records right out the window! Cliche Bomb!

UNI exposed some weaknesses, but didn't have enough against the Hawkeyes, falling 31-23. This despite Junior Sawyer Kollmorgen throwing for 380 yards and 2 TDs.  It was an inefficient performance though as he was 17-37.  Kollmorgen sounds like he's probably a highlander, so don't rag on him too much or he'll decapitate your ass.  203 of those yards through the air belonged to RB David Johnson.  Johnson laid a steamer rushing, but that's some serious damage receiving out of the backfield.  (Berkley Alert!)  Iowa spread the ball around quite a bit and Jake Rudock was a very efficient 31-41 for 250 yards passing.

A B said: "Iowa defense is horrendous. Might as well just have linebackers sit on the bench...they'd be just as effective"

Erik said: "Iowa struggling against a good 1-AA UNI team. Looks like another 8-4 season complete with mediocre bowl game against a weak schedule. Go Hawks!"

R W said: "There's no doubt they are playing in Iowa City, first half Northern Iowa has 10 questionable penalties and Iowa has zero. Done nothing wrong, perfect angels. Why don't the refs just go ahead and change into their black and gold uniforms."

Appalachian State Magic is Gone

Michigan pounded App St 52-14 behind the arm of Devin Gardner and the legs of Derrick Green.  Gardner was particularly impressive, going 13-14 passing for 173 yards and 3 TDs.  Wide receiver Devin Funchess was the recipient of all three TD passes including the above where he stuffs a poor defender into the turf.

Lt. Libiot said: "Why did the Yu-na-verss-ity of McChicken wait all these years for a re-match ... and why did they have to have home field advantage?

Pathetic beyond words."

Schuyler said: "well................. at least you boys finally beat Appalachian.. who knows - you could finish in the top four of the Big whatever it is"

Purdidn't Lose at Least

Jarvion Franklin and Frankie Williams of Western Michigan stuck it to the Boilermakers repeatedly, but in the end they were overwhelmed by an underwhelming Purdue squad, 43-34.  Raheem Mostert and Akeem Hunt (above) were formidable in the running game. 

Bob said: "Agree PhillipD. WM is 10th in the MAC. Purdue is going to get clobbered all year long. 467 yards of offense against Purdue's D is pathetic. Purdue continues to demonstrate that they are playing at a much lower level than the Big 10. Maybe that's the reason there are now 14 teams in the Big 10. Some old teams may fall by the wayside."

Navy Passed 4 Times

Braxton-less Ohio State played it fairly close to the vest with QB J.T. Barrett at the helm, but scored two unanswered TDs in the final 9 minutes to win it 34-17.  Navy had a kick-ass 63:4 rushing:passing plays split and mustered 370 yards on the ground at 5.9 ypc.

Barrett held his own, keeping the passes short mostly and letting the receivers do the heavy lifting; going 12-15 for 226 yards and 2 TDs/1 INT.  He also led the Buckeyes in rushing, carrying 9 times for 50 yards.

SBLDLL1006 said: "The first half looked really shaky, but this game went almost exactly as I expected. Close for three quarters with the superior talent of the Buckeyes overwhelming Navy over the full 60 minutes. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but a decent game to build on with so many new faces."

Ron said: "A quarterback who had to step in 12 days, who also being a Freshman, had never taken a snap in college football. Rebuilding the O and D lines........they did excellent today. It has to improve quickly for their schedule but good job today, Navy is no slouch. I"m from Ohio State, and Oh How I Hate Michigan! Wolverine also known as the Skunk Bear and it should be." [LOL, skunk bear]

Steve B said: "Navy don't have a player on the field over 300lbs and OSU's defensive front are getting man handled."

Maryland Desecrates Corpse of James Madison

The Turtle spread it around and trounced James Madison, 52-7.  Their uniforms are still terrible.

FAU Suffers Death by 784 Yards

Nebraska resorted to trick catches out of sheer boredom as they slap around Florida Atlantic to the tune of 55-7.  Dual threat QB Tommy Armstrong Jr. doesn't throw like T-Magic, so they have to feel good about that.  Ameer Abdullah racked up 232 yards on 21 carries.  Anyone dub him the AmeerKat yet?  Let's do it.

USA said: "No matter that the opponent was FAU you have to be impressed, Nebraska just kept coming with weapons from everywhere, this was like watching the old Huskers of 20-25 years ago and it shows some promise. If they play like this every week, nothing will stop them but themselves."

Bears>>>Wildcats

NW took the first two and a half quarters off and ran out of time to come back, losing 31-24.  Jared Goff outplayed Trevor Siemian, throwing for 281 yards and 3 TDs.  Northwestern was driving late for the tie, but a sack followed by an interception off tipped pass sealed it.  Both plays were made by linebacker Jalen Jefferson.

Al K said: "Is there anybody left in the country who still thinks Pat Fitzgerald is a good coach? Another time out burned on 4th down due to indecision. The guy has not improved at game-day coaching in the 8+ years he's been at NU. This is supposedly the most talented team in NU history, based on recruiting rankings (such as they are) and we'll be lucky if we win 4 games this year."

Rotten Arsenal said: "NW spent too much time trying to get a Union and not enough time learning how to play football."

Wisconsin Loses 4th Quarter 15-0

It looked like we were going to get a heavy dose of Tito Ortiz style ground and pound from Wisconsin, but then LSU went in for the submission in the 4th round.  LSU held on after the INT (above) to win it 28-24.  QB Tanner McEvoy had a cool 34.2 QB rating, going 8-24 with 2 interceptions.  RB Melvin Gordon's 140 yards rushing accounted for nearly half of the entire Wisconsin offensive output.  LSU QB Anthony Jennings only completed 9 passes, but it got him 239 yards and 2 touchdowns.

icky said: "Wisconsin football is at an all time low. Gary Andersen is a terrible coach and a horrid recruiter. He lost at least 6 close recruits and his play calling by his staff is ridiculous. the punter is so embarrassing I can't even bring words to describe it and McEvoy could not make my high school team as QB, maybe not even my 8th grade team. This guy is an abortion at QB and Stave sucks too. the Badgers are in deep trouble and need a new coaching staff and a new start. It is going to take a decade.... Barry Alvarez needs to go as well"

Rod said: "Wisconsin was out coached, out played, and out footballed. What a pathetic secondary we have, what a pathetic quarterback we have, what a pathetic quarterback coach we have. Since when did quarterback coaches teach a division 1 school quarterback to constantly throw off your back foot or to even jump in the air and throw the ball. Pathetic. Our head coach admitted he doesn't even keep a little close count on how many times our backs are even running the ball. Pathetic. We will be lucky to win half our games this year. This is what happens when Wisconsin plays a half decent team outside our conference. They lose every single time."

greg said: "Wisconsin fan here and it was hard watching the second half. We were totally outcoached. Why didn't we run the ball more with Gordon? Our weakness at quarterback exposed again. Outside of Russell Wilson for one year. we haven't had a decent quarterback in years. Why can't they recruit a quarterback that can consistently make plays and lead this team? Our receivers are young and confused and our defensive line is small with a lot of question marks. Wisconsin in need of help on both sides of the ball. At best this team will win 5-6 games."

Mmmm, tasty Wisconsin tears.

Saturday's Talkers on Monday or Tuesday

Well, that sure went a lot better than it could have. The weather, I mean. Notwithstanding a few showers during tailgating and a refreshing mist during the fourth quarter, I’d say the elements were just about perfect. We got a few games of bags in, grilled some fine Kowalski’s meat and only had to dive under the cover of my road dog’s canopy once to keep from getting drenched. Given the forecast early in the week, that was a win.

As to the game, the adage of it being easier to coach teams up after a win than a loss probably came to be after games like this one. Our Gophers got a win and there are plenty of teachable moments that will need correction prior to the start of conference play. This is standard fare for Week 1. It is the exception rather than the rule for teams to come out firing on all cylinders on opening week.

I can’t shake the notion that this game was essentially a replay of last year’s UNLV game. A flaccid first third of the game by our offense, which looked moderately better as the game went on, though never spectacular. A bend-but-don’t-break defensive effort, with a few mistakes, but general brilliance from the secondary. And a remarkably opportunistic special teams unit that put points on the board to solidify momentum in the Gophers’ direction. When viewed within that context, seeing as last year turned out okay and Eastern Illinois was probably not materially inferior to the 2013 UNLV squad, I can’t help but be fairly satisfied.

Of course, that reality hasn’t stopped some Gopher supporters from contemplating self-defenestration. It’s easy, particularly during a rough patch of a game or in the hours following a game’s conclusion, to breathlessly react to a player’s poor performance, inept decision making by the coaches, or the failure by a unit of the team to execute their jobs. We, along with every other fan base of every sport ever played, succumb to these pratfalls. There’s certainly nothing wrong with it – it’s not really harmful to the program, though it can get played out pretty quickly on message boards and Twitter - but some perspective can be useful.

So, we at Still Got Hope are going to try and bring some of that perspective. On the Monday or Tuesday following games, we’ll provide an overview of the big talkers from the previous Saturday and opine as to whether they are being underplayed, overplayed or are in the Goldilocks zone, receiving the right amount of attention. Yes, we’re homers and will probably see things through maroon-colored glasses a lot of the time; but we’ll try to be objective and, if you disagree, let us know in the comments or Twitter and we’ll take it under advisement. If I can change…and you can change…we all can change.

So, without further ado, here are the Saturday Talkers on Monday or Tuesday.

Leidner’s play hurt the team and will hold us back this year – Overplayed

Where to start. Leidner didn’t look great last Thursday, we can agree on that. He missed some throws that were there and made a couple of pretty questionable decisions, particularly in the first half. But he wasn’t horrific, either. His final stat line was 9/17 (52.9%) for 144 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. Excluding the first quarter, though, his stats look considerably better: 8/13 (61.5%) for 142 yards and one touchdown. Not Heisman-winning statistics by any stretch of the imagination, but a 62% completion percentage with an occasional play of 20+ yards is sufficient for this point in his development. Further, he didn’t really screw anything up too badly. The fumble was bad, but we escaped without any damage and he didn’t throw any interceptions. Not colossally screwing up is pretty important for QBs in a run-first offense (see Mcevoy, Tanner). Again, while he wasn’t great, laws of physics still hold the sky firmly in the, uh, sky.

Given that context, I think we can definitively say one thing: we don’t have any idea how good or bad Leidner will be this year. He looked uneasy in the first quarter, but got better as the game progressed. Hopefully that was nerves and won’t be an issue going forward. He was competent for about 75% of the game. Provided it’s sustainable, that level of performance won’t cost us any games this year – we’re not asking him to do that much at this point. And there’s always room for upside. We’ll have to wait until the TCU game, at least, to really get a look at what we’ve got with Leidner. Until that point, it’s silly to pine for Demry Croft to forgo his senior year of high school to join the Gophers to be our savior at quarterback.

With Scott Ekpe’s injury, we are screwed at defensive tackle – Goldilocks

This is the issue that has kept me up since last Thursday and my paranoia was justified today when Kill confirmed Ekpe was out for the year. Ekpe’s stats were modest coming into the year, but he had earned Hageman’s old spot during spring ball and was the model of consistency in the open fall practices. While no one was anticipating he’d be in the running for conference honors this season, he was one of the elder statesmen at the tackle position, despite only being a true junior. Naturally, his absence likely means freshman phenom Stephen Richardson will be promoted to the starting spot. While this isn’t ideal, Richardson has the build, athleticism and mentality to succeed at the head table. It’s the way the second and third teams start to shape up where things get concerning.

With Yoshoub Timms out for an undetermined amount of time, the 2^nd-team defensive tackles appear to be redshirt junior Robert Ndondo-Lay and true freshman Andrew Stelter. We heard good things about them from camp, right? Sure! But they weigh 250 and 245lbs, respectively. That will be fine for the non-conference season, as the teams we’ll be playing use spread variants (AIR RAID REPRESENT) as a their base offense; but I can’t believe we’ll be able to survive so undersized at defensive tackle come conference play. There’s been some speculation across the ‘Tronz the Gophers may adjust the defense to account for our (relative) strength at end and go with a 3-3-5 or 3-2-6 or, hell, maybe switch to the 3-4 and let Legania (now switched back to DT after a glorious two-week tryst with OG) be the fire plug we all knew he could be. Of course, I’m not sure we have the linebackers to field a 3-4 when we were concerned about the horses in the stable to run three linebackers out there. What do you want from me?

Given all of that uncertainty, I think the amount of angst expressed over the defensive tackle position in the last five days is totally justified. Let’s hope Timms gets back quickly and everyone else stays healthy for the year.

The offensive line was a train wreck – Overplayed

Nah. The line didn’t have a great day, but they didn’t do that badly. Pirsig looked like a guy playing in his first game and the rest of the gents had some bad moments, but on the whole, I think they did a decent job. As has been noted by the astute Gophers 247 commentariat much of the vitriol directed toward the offensive line should truly be aimed at their supporting crew: full backs and tight ends. We can give the tight ends the benefit of the doubt - Maxx missed a few seal blocks, while Plsek and Goodger failed to get sufficient drive off the line; but they’re proven guys who we know will be consistent in the long run. Fullback is more concerning. Quite a few folks have quite rightly stated they had no idea Mike Henry was so important to the team until seeing the game last Thursday. And it’s true: Tyler Hartman and Miles Thomas didn’t look great. Whether that was just a poor game or something that portends an evil emerging trend, we don’t know.

Regardless, the offensive line doesn’t bear responsibility for the missed blocks of the TE/H-back/FB cabal. The OL wasn’t great, but they weren’t as bad as some of the peeps on the tubez are portraying them.

We’ve got a sweet stable of running backs – Underplayed

I haven’t seen a whole lot of praise for our running backs and I’m a little perplexed by that. Sure, Berk has had his praises sung (how could he not, with that explosive 44-yard touchdown run that left the EIU defenders flailing at air); but I really like the diversity of skill and build we have with our current backs and that hasn’t really been a talker from last Thursday’s game. That could be due to the pedestrian play of our line and missed assignments by their supporting skill position players, of course. Nevertheless, I thought Cobb looked great when he wasn’t getting hit behind the line of scrimmage – he has such good vision and his balance allows him to slide through creases by changing direction – a skill that the other backs haven’t demonstrated at such a high level. Nug and Kirlkland, both looking lighter on their feet after losing some weight in the offseason, can still punish defenders in short-yardage situations. And Edwards, of course, has the ability to find a hole, plant his foot and jet to the open field – something that was missing from the position group in years past.

We have been and will continue to be a run-first team. Having a stable of backs that bring multiple dimensions will allow us to be more versatile in game planning based on what defenses are showing. Cobb is well suited for a base cover-2 defense. Bring the safeties up to stack the box or run blitz and we can counter with Berk on a stretch or a pass to the flats. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this much talent at the position. We should be talking about it more.

(Frothy's starting word count: 13,496; Finishing word count: 15,182)

Gophers Position Preview: Leidner Launch Targets

I choose you...

Since we are biting off more than we can chew as usual, we've decided to combine the tight ends and wide receivers.  This is apropos because the best receiving target for Leidner is likely to be the starting tight end, Maxx Williams.

At the wide receiver position, sophomores Drew Wolitarsky and Donovahn Jones will likely start on the outside.  Both are 6'3", with Jones being the more dynamic athlete and Wolitarsky now at a whopping 226 pounds.  When the hell did that happen?  Woli seems to have talent at finding openings in the defense and being more of a possession type receiver, but at that size may just decapitate corners at the line to get open.  Jones was used in a number of ways (JET SWEEP) last year to take advantage of his playmaking ability.

RS Senior Isaac Freuchte is back and will likely play plenty.  He's a terrific blocker and a high effort guy, but had just 13 receptions last season.  KJ Maye has been pretty highly hyped again this off-season and will probably be used out of the slot.  He had just 7 receptions and 2 carries last season. 

Depth includes RS Senior and back-flip-football-catcher-master Logan Hutton, RS freshman Eric Carter and freshmen Isiah Gentry and Melvin Holland Jr.  Let's face it, we seem to see a new wide receiver come out of the woodwork each year and make an impact and there's no reason to think this season will be any different.

As mentioned, Maxx Williams will be a leader among receivers after catching 25 balls and scoring 5 touchdowns as a true freshman.  His ability to go in the air and use his body to make the reception is outstanding.  He's also often open right over the middle because the attention the linebackers pay to the running game.

There is quite a bit of depth at the tight end position behind Williams.  Senior Drew Goodger has had a solid career at Minnesota and will again be in on two TE sets.  He has 22 career receptions and 4 TDs.  Junior Lincoln Plsek is another big TE that can block and catch the ball a little.  Speaking of big, 6' 10", 265 pound Nate Wozniak has also created some press this off-season and is a massive mismatch.  You won't miss him when he takes the field.

The position is strong enough where two incoming freshmen, Gaelin Elmore and Jerry Gibson, are playing at DL and WR respectively.  Freshman Brandon Lingen remains at the position and is more of a blocking tight end.

TRE's Grade

Rubric:  Ben Utecht B+

Utecht was a tight end that did a little bit of everything for the Gophers, including a little punting.  Over four seasons he amassed 82 receptions for 1201 yards and 15 TDs.  He went undrafted, but ended up playing with both the Colts and the Bengals.  He was a starting tight end alongside Peyton Manning during their 2006 Superbowl run.  Unfortunately, concussions cut his NFL career short.

Today Utecht is a renaissance man.  He's a Christian musician, an actor, a writer, a public speaker and he could probably change the oil on your Saturn if need be.  I encourage to check out his website, holy smokes. 



Gophers 2014 Tight Ends/Wide Receivers: B

This group is solid enough, especially with the tight ends included to deserve a B.  A lot of players had to learn on the job last year and now they can take the next step in 2014.  However, this is primarily a running football team, so we'll need to see if the passing games is allowed to develop a little more this year.

Frothy's Grade

Rubric: Tutu Atwell A+

If Still Got Hope has a friend of the site, it's Tutu Atwell. People search for him on Google and end up at our site. Oh, you thinking I'm kidding?

Yes, we appear. Our small, insignificant site with a dozen readers has moved the Google needle. We matter. Thank you Tutu, for making us relevant.

Also, the search results show us that Strib columnist Michael Rand co-opted TRE's WATNATG feature

on Atwell. If you're going to steal shtick, wait more than three months to do it, Brosef Stalin.

Anyway, Tutu was the man, amassing 171 receptions, 2640 yards and 17 TDs over his career.

Gophers 2014 Tight Ends/Wide Receivers: C+

There's a lot of potential here, certainly more than in past seasons; but it's difficult to go much higher than this until we've seen more. The argument could be made that Maxx alone brings the grade up to a B and there's probably some merit to that. However, the wide receivers have been something of a sucking chest wound the last few seasons. Even when a player does emerge, like A.J. Barker and Derrick Engel, they go all rambling manifesto or get injured, respectively.

Our three best performers last year, Maxx, D. Jones and Woli, were freshmen, so all signs point to a unit with tremendous upside. But potential energy don't get the bourbon in the glass, yo; you need that kinetic ish. The ability for this unit to gel with Leidner and exceed expectations is the difference between a six-win season and a nine-win season. I'm guardedly optimistic some of that potential will be realized. But I want to see it in action before I set my expectations too high.

(Frothy's starting word count: 13,211; Finishing word count: 13,496)

Gophers Position Preview: Barbers and Tapehs

The State of our Running Backs is Strong

Going into last season we were looking at a combo of bowling ball Donnell Kirkwood and the Nugget, Rodrick Williams.  We were left wondering who the big play back would be with many thinking true freshman Berkley Edwards would take on that change of pace role.  As Spiro Agnew once said, "My what a difference a year makes!"

David Cobb became the beautiful man that brought back the days of great Gopher running backs.  He rushed for 1202 yards on 237 carries.  Its especially impressive because in the first 6 games he only reached double digits in carries twice even though 5 of his 7 TDs were in the first 4 games.  In his last 7 games he had 169 carries for 828 yards.  Work effing Horse.

So, for 2014, we fully expect MOAR COBB.  Its not outlandish to think that he could surpass that 1200 yards since he's the man from the get-go.  However, as Thomas Tapeh said in his caption, the state of our RBs is pretty damn strong.  Donnell Kirkwood, who I still kind of like as a little bowling ball of a man is probably the #4 running back.  Nugget will be in the mix as a backup grinder and the long-awaited debut of Berkley Edwards will be this year.  I saw one of the knobs on BTN say that Berkley Edwards is THE key player for the Gophers this year.  That's a little absurd, but he really has some skills that this team sorely needs, namely SP33D.  He'll probably line up in a number of spots sort of like Donovahn Jones did last year and do a bunch of really cool shit.

The cherry on top for the Gophers is that it looks fairly likely that 4-star recruit and Washburn star Jeff Jones will be able to be at Minnesota this year.  WE have already admitted Jones, but the NCAA is still reviewing the case and a ruling is expected prior to September 2nd when classes begin.  Jones would redshirt one has to assume, but just having him here with the team is a massive win.

TRE's Grade

Rubric:  Darrell Thompson A

Darrell Thompson started all four years at Minnesota and amassed some pretty incredible career numbers.  He ranks 8th in career rushing yards in Big Ten history (since 1956) with 4,518 yards.  He's also 14th in career TDs with 43.  In the midst of the Gutekunst era, Thompson unfortunately only played in one bowl game.  He was drafted by the Packers 19th overall in 1990.  He was a beast for those Gopher teams and is still involved in our community and with the Gophers as a broadcaster.  And here he is getting ice thrown in his face:

Ice ice baby ALS.: http://t.co/V0meHCNhkl @MikeGrimm3 @TyroneCarter954 @corbustathes @STollackson50 @BolderOptions @GopherHole #SLADE
— Darrell Thompson (@DThompsonMN) August 22, 2014

2014 Running Backs Grade B+

I expect big things from Cobb and I feel great about the depth and the changes of pace we can throw at teams.  I look forward to a boatload of yards from Cobb and some home runs from Edwards.

Frothy's Grade

Rubric: Chris Darkins A-

1994 was an odd year for Gopher football. The team was materially better than the God-awful 1992 and 1993 squads. They had closed the disparity in rushing yards per game from a whopping 60 yards in Jim Wacker's first season to a mere 15. The problem was one that would be a constant throughout Wacker's tenure: we couldn't stop anyone from scoring. Despite comparable passing and rushing yards per game, the Gophers allowed more than one touchdown per game than they scored. The ol' bend-and-break defense.

None of this was Chris Darkins' fault, mind you. He had a spectacular 1994 campaign with 1,443 rushing yards and 11 TDs. He contributed another 300 yards and two TDs receiving. There was a short-lived Heisman campaign for Darkins going into the 1995 season, but injuries limited him to only eight games. He also was drafted by the Packers, where he converted to DB and enjoyed his cup of coffee in the 1997 season before retiring.

2014 Running Backs Grade A-

Eff it, I'm all in with this crew. I think we've got a good finesse back in Cobb who will get the majority of carries, a couple hammers in Nug and Kirkland to mash the soft underbelly of opposing defenses and a diminutive slotback in Berk who will keep defenders honest on the edge. This is as deep a stable as we've had since 2003, with a really diverse set of capabilities. Cobb will remain the bell cow and will push the 1,200 mark he had last season. I suspect Edwards will get as many passes to the flat, in space, as he will carries, which should spread defenses out a little bit. And it will be interesting to see how Nug and Donnell are used. Both are capable, but, barring injury, there are only so many carries to go around.

(Frothy's starting word count: 12,899; Finishing word count: 13,211)

Know Your Enemy Week 1: EIU Pamfs

Zack knows.

Each week before the game I like to try and use the mysterious powers of the intergoogles to learn more about the given week's opponent.  For week 1 of the 2014 season the Gophers are taking on FCS power Eastern Illinois.  The FCS schools are a little tougher to research than say, Nebraska, but let's see what we can find out.

My first stop is to the official EIU Panthers Website and their preview against Minnesota.  As a side note, congrats to EIU grads Janelle and Warren for winning the USTA Mixed Doubles Grass Court Championships:

Janelle clearly carried the team.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, so the EIU site has 5 things to watch which amount to:

1.  Kim Dameron is their head coach and its his first year.  It's a dude named Kim; this is 2014, bro.
2.  Who will replace Jimmy Garoppolo at QB?  Answer, two guys that transferred from NMSU and Kentucky respectively.  NMSU guy Andrew Manley actually beat the Gophers in 2011 and if I recall correctly, is a ginger.  Suddenly I have the fear.  Jalen Whitlow started some games for Kentucky and was a dual threat type.

Minnesota is preparing for two quarterbacks against Eastern Illinois -- maybe two at the same time, Kill says.
— ESPN Big Ten (@ESPN_BigTen) August 26, 2014

Wait, what?

3.  There's a new punter and new kicker(s) this year.  They're riding the "hot foot" at kicker.  There's a 70% chance the opposing kicker wilts under the glare of SANTOSO.
4.  They beat San Diego State in the opener last year and narrowly lost to Northern Illinois.  However, they are 0-6 against the Big Ten.
5.  Despite losing Jimmy at QB and WR Erik Lora, the recent Vikings undrafted free agent cut; they return 2900 receiving yards and two other FCS All-Americans.  They also return both running backs who combined for 2500+ yards in 2013 including Walter Payton Award watch listed Shepard Little.

More on Garoppolo

Not Related

If you're living an NFL-free lifestyle, you may not know the name Jimmy Garoppolo.  This spring he became something of a pre-NFL draft sensation; he was a late add to the Senior Bowl after playing well in the East-West Shrine game.  The guy threw for over 5000 yards and 53 touchdowns as a senior, breaking records that Tony Romo set at EIU.  He won the Walter Payton award which is like the FCS Heisman.  The Patriots selected him in the 2nd round, 62nd overall and he'll be starting the Pats final preseason game on Thursday while his Panthers take on the Gophers.  Word is he may play the whole damn game.  Clearly, losing Jimmy will be a big blow to this team, but this still a strong offense that the Gophers defense should not take them lightly.

Any @EIU_Panthers fans that forgot how good @JimmyG_10 was, he is having a pretty good exhibition season 24-of-37, 334 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT
— EIUPanthers.com (@EIU_Panthers) August 24, 2014

Eastern Illinois All-Namers

WR Keiondre Gober - Fastest WR, deep threat!
DE Fedney Delphonse - OLB/DE SuperFedney
DB Elven Walker - Lives in a tree
WR Stephen Bravo-Brown - Hooray!
*Note:  Not a single apostrophe on the squad

How will the game go?

Under the previous regime, Garoppolo and friends ran a high-tempo, high-octane offense.  Dameron and new OC Greg Stevens intend to slow it down and use their very capable running backs tandem.  Dameron is considered more of a defensive-minded coach and has a lot of returning starters.  The defense has strength up the middle with DT DinoFanti and MLB Robert Haynes. 

The bottom line is this is another one of those non-conference games where the Gophers need to just execute and rely on the fact they are the bigger, better, stronger, faster, better looking team.  A strong start could be crucial.  If the Gophers can get the running game going and the crowd behind them, it could be all downhill from there.  If they make early mistakes and give up an early lead, it could be a painful slog.  We at SGH? believe our defensive backfield is a strength and this will be a great early test.  My dream would be a solid early lead with the opportunity to stretch the field for some passing to Jones, Maxx, Maye and Woli. 

TRE's Score Prediction:  Gophers 30, Panthers 17
Swan's Score Prediction: Gophers 35, Panthers 10