Gopher Football vs. Montana State review
by GopherNation on Sep 15, 2008 12:30 PM CDT
in Gopher Football
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PrintWe knew very little about the Bobcats coming into this game and while they were better than I expected this was not a pretty win. There were some disappointing things we saw, but at the same time we did enough to win the game and end result is that we are 3-0. We will need to continue to get better cause the effort and execution we saw today will not be enough to get it done in the Big Ten.
I think Brewster said it best in his post game press conference.
"We are pleased to be a 3-0 team. Obviously there is some disappointment there in that I'm not sure we improved as much today as I wanted us to improve. I thought we improved greatly from week one to week two, I don't think we improved as much today from week two to week three."
OFFENSE
Overall the offense lacked crispness and confidence today. It felt like they were sleep-walking through the first half and then started to execute in the second half. As I watched the game I felt we had two positives and two negatives.
First of all our offensive line is a serious issue. Injuries are one thing but there have been very few series where we have controlled the line of scrimmage. I was hoping that facing an FCS team would give this line a chance to figure some things out and gain some confidence by dominating the line of scrimmage. We did not at any point and then our best remaining lineman, Dom Alford, went down.
Although our offensive line wasn't great, it was nice to see a good rushing game from DeLeon Eskridge. 119 yards and three touchdowns was exciting to see. He may have had a lot more if he had some holes. I don't think we got as much out of him in the passing game as we did with Bennett, but he had a good day running the ball.
Weber was OK statistically and he didn't turn the ball over but it is becoming more and more obvious that he needs to find another receiver. Decker is getting great opportunities to make plays and he is a great reciever, but Weber is staring at #7 from the snap till he catches it. If we can develop another receiver where Weber can look at Decker then look back to another weapon this offense could grow in it's explosiveness.
Finally I love how we are scoring at key times and taking care of the ball. Three games complete and one offensive turnover. This offense is not turning the ball over and when the defense gets the ball back for them, they score! The turnover margin is one thing but taking it and turning it into points is taking an extra step.
DEFENSE
A couple sacks and a few interceptions highlighted a solid day by the defense. Willie VanDeSteeg and Lee Campbell both had solid games and led the defense. This defense is not dominant so if there isn't much to say about them then it was a good day. Big Play Traye came up with a key first half pick which led to seven points three plays later. Theret and Sherels each had fourth quarter interceptions to hold off any rally the Bobcats had in them.
Statistically it was an OK game. The defense only gave up 16 points, they allowed 356 yards which isn't good but we have seen worse, they got MSU off the field on six out of 17 third downs and forced six punts. None of those numbers jump out at you as dominant but we can handle those kind of numbers from a young defense.
Top 5 Observations
1. So far this season Decker has been the recipient of 41.67% of Weber's completions. Bennett has 20%, Kuznia has 11.67% and three are tied with 8%. The Weber/Decker combination is exciting but it getting more and more predicatable with each passing game (pun not intended). The tight ends were very involved in the NIU game and hopefully we'll see them getting the ball thrown their way a bit more as we inch towards Big Ten play.
Someone please send a text to Bryce McNeal, we need some big play help at the receiver position. Michigan is terrible, they have no quarterback now or in the near future. Come to Minnesota, be the second option for a year then spend the next three breaking Decker's records!
2. That Crawford kid is FAST. He racked up a few yards and the kick return for a touchdown, but it was nice to see that he didn't have the same kind of day the last FCS running back had against our D. Tyler Roehl's 263 yards rushing was embarrassing. It should be noted that we have given up only 113 rushing yards per game so far in 2008.
3. Look out top 25, we are coming. FOUR VOTES received in AP poll. Someone should really take Sid's voting privileges away.
4. Troy Stoudermire is averaging 8.1 yards more per kick off return than did Harold Howell a year ago. He was one cut away from housing one in the third quarter. How he let the kicker tackle him, I don't know but I am eagerly awaiting his first return for six.
5. We lost some significant commits from the 2008 recruiting class but those who are still here have contributed greatly. On offense true freshmen have accounted for 26% of our scoring and 44% of our rushing. Defensively there has been very little contributions from freshmen but the JUCOs have helped in tremendous ways. Brock is our leading tackler, Lawrence has 1.5 tackle for loss and a forced fumble, and Simmons has an intercpetion and four pass breakups through three games.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You can question how prepared we were and poorly we executed to start the game. But in the final three quarters we 35-17, the defense only game up 10 points and we did what was necessary to win the game. Next Saturday's game is another statement type game for this program. Nobody believes we are ready to compete with the best of the Big Ten, but starting the season 4-0 and beating the team that torched you for 580 yards a year ago would continue to demonstrate how far we have come in just a year.
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AP Votes
The guy who voted for us at #22 is from Bergen, NJ. In trying to pronounce his name I get the distinct feeling that he didn’t grow up around football – http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/onlinenews.ap.org/top25/index.php?SITE=KYLOU&name=KINKHABWALA
Nice Recap
I agree with most of your assessments. I think our DL and OL are in for big trouble with Big Ten teams. We have got to figure out how to get more pressure on the QB than we do. Overall, a decent day, but not much to get excited about other than being 3-0. I can’t figure out for the life of me why the Frosh WRs are not getting in the game more often.
On another topic, how about those BYU cougars? Feeling inspired this week? Attaboy.
BYU
that game is exactly what I was looking for, I’m not going to swap them and OSU or anything but they will certainly make an appearance.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
Re: AP Votes/Voters
I presume that the Hartman reference was just a joke, but just to be clear, for those that don’t “get” sarcasm – Sid Hartman does not have a vote in the AP poll (thank God.)
We didn’t actually get 4 votes; rather, one voter voted us in for 22nd place, which is good for 4 points (25th=1 pt, 24th=2 pts, etc.)
FishingMN, your post was extremely rude, bigoted and uncalled for. I am the most un-PC guy you’ll ever meet, but assuming a person’s background based on their last name is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know anything about her (yes, HER), but she was born and raised in NJ, and has spent her whole life around football. She has been getting paid to write and talk about football for a long time, and she’s probably forgotten more about the sport than you or I will ever know. Next thing you’ll say is that she doesn’t know football because she’s a woman. Man, get a clue and think outside your little box before you make such ill-informed comments.
AP Voter
There are voters that honor teams’ improvement from season to season by putting them in the top 25 between 21-25. She might be that kind of voter.
In other polls, do you think OSU’s performance has earned them the (not so) coveted #5 slot in ESPN’s bottom 10?
by Ski U Mah Gopher on Sep 15, 2008 4:11 PM CDT reply actions
dpod
First off – speculating on someone’s name of origin does not make me bigoted – maybe it was bad speculation on my part that this person was a foreigner but I think most people would make that assumption as well.
Secondly – it’s obvious that this reporter knows very little about football – she put the Gophers in the Top 25. I rest my case.
Enough With The Negativity..
FishingMN, you need to stop with the comments; every time I see you post, it has to be something bad about the team, so I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thinks that you need to either start talking positive or get off the blog. You must not be a fan being like this, and you’re ruining the reading for all of us. Maybe a fishing blog would be more appropriate for you?
If this woman had voted us in the Top 25, there has to be a logical reason given her credibility, and, as far as I’m concerned, you’re lacking considerably in that department. So, until you start getting paid for writing about football, I’m listening to her.
I rest OUR case.
I don't think he's that far off
I mean do any of you really believe that the Gophers are a top 25 team right now? As much as I would enjoy that, it’s not true. We’ve beaten 3 mediocre to bad opponents, and they haven’t been easy. We had 1 win last year.
Judging by her last name, I’d say she is foreign. There’s nothing wrong with pointing this out.
How can anyone from New Jersey have possibly seen the Gophers play and have any kind of info beyond the box score as to how good they are. I think this is on of the major problems with writer polling. Nobody can have actually seen all of these teams play.
why not?.......
put the gophers in the top 25?
I mean the teams that are 20-25 rotate weekly anyways because they are getting knocked off or they move up in the polls cause someone else did especially at the beginning of the season
sure we haven’t beaten anyone then again neither has georiga besides an ugly 14-7 at south carolina (who everyone picks as a huge sleeper in the SEC just because spurrier is their coach )
I don’t necessarily agree with putting the gophers in the top 25 but most teams in those last five spots at the beginning of the season are teams no one expected to win and have one signature win
as far as the montana state game goes the way I see it last year we would have lost that game had we played that average this just goes to show that the team has improved in talent level and confidence
sure brewster was a little excessive two days after with some of his classic embellishment but our top players like weber know that they expect more out of themselves and the team after a sub par performance like this one I just can’t help but believe that although our defense still misses more tackles than any team at any level Ive ever seen and that adam weber never checks off and throws to only one guy throughout the game that this team is going to make some noise come big ten time even though most people (including gopher fans) don’t really expect it out of them
rose bowl? no of course not but this team is definitely capable of winning all of its home games this year when you look at the schedule and maybe an upset is brewing at purdue or illinois
when you get young talent excited about a season (which is what a 3-0 start tends to do) things begin to seem a little less impossible
Are you guys for real?
The point of my post is not whether the Gophers deserve to be in the Top 25. For the record, I don’t think that they do. My point is that you claim somebody doesn’t know anything about football because she chose to exercise her right as an AP voter and place the teams as she saw them. And that she doesn’t know anything about football because she’s a foreigner (which I’ve established that she ISN’T). You can assume all you want, but you know what they say about people who assume.
You guys really need to get your head out of the sand and move on into the 21st century. Racism and bigotry like this is what has held this country back from being all it could be. Either do that, or move over to Wisconsin with the rest of the rednecks.
Buddylee, thanks for the support.
Top 25.
Our friendlt voter from NJ is just a couple weeks ahead of everyone else. When we beat the still-too-highly-ranked Buckeyes in the conference opener on the road, the rest of the voters will be looking to New Jersey with a tip of the cap!
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.
?
dpodoll, You criticize us for racism and bigotry, and then make a generalization that the entire state of Wisconsin is rednecks? I don’t get it.
Also, just assuming someone’s name is foreign is not racism. The definition of racism is:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
I did not assume that this person was clueless about football, I merely thoguth that she was foreign, which does not fall under the definition of racism.
I guess semantics is where it's at
As for the Wisconsin reference – I think anyone with even a modicum of sense realizes that it was a joke. If you’re not familiar with the MN-WI mutual disdain, you obviously haven’t been a Gopher fan very long.
If you want to parse words, how about I use “xenophobia”? Would that fit in your box a little better?
FishingMN was the one who implied that she knows nothing about football because she is “foreign”, and that’s who that particular comment was directed at. And while we’re on the subject, you stated “Judging by her last name, I’d say she is foreign. There’s nothing wrong with pointing this out.” Really? Nothing at all? Pray tell me good sir, what does the person’s nation of origin have to do with anything football/Gopher-related? Seriously, if you don’t see the problem in bringing a person’s race/nationality into the discussion, then I truly feel sorry for you. A person’s race/creed/gender/language/sexual orientation/whatever other label you want to apply has no bearing on the quality of person they are. We’re all just people (and hopefully Gopher fans, if we’re smart).
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