Golden Nugs 10.28.2009

by Buck Bravo on Oct 28, 2009 3:00 AM CDT in Golden Nuggets

Down With Goldy gives a synopsis of the Gophers and their weekend performance:

Sadly, they will beat South Dakota State and either Michigan State or Illinois, win six games, and go to a crappy bowl and some fans will point to this as a successful season. At this point, the only way you could consider this successful is if they run the table, including a win over Iowa, or they win three games with MarQueis Gray at quarterback.

Golden Gopher Football Blog poses the question: What Now?:

Eric Decker was the only thing that was keeping Adam Weber afloat in this offense. A safety-valve in a sea of stunt blitzes, poor pass blocking and unimaginative play calling. Decker shone like a beacon of light in an offense of darkness for Adam Weber... now that light is gone.

Michigan State blog Jolly Green Giants previews the matchup with Minnesota:

Defensively the Gophers are last in rushing offense and that plays into MSU's strength. The passing game revolves around Weber throwing to Decker, much in the same way Cousins and White are a combination. Expect the weather to be a determining factor in the outcome of this game, with the team that is able to establish a running game and limit the turnovers, winning.

Another perspective on the upcoming game:

Minnesota converts their third downs less than 35% of the time, while Michigan State gets it done just over 41% of the time. That slim, but extremely BIG difference, can change a game within the blink of an eye. Third downs make or break drives, converting on third down is CRUCIAL.

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

BleacherReport is right

That guy with the third down conversion percentage analysis is definitely on the mark. Professional handicappers will tell you that is one of the key stats they always focus on when trying to pick a winner.

by Garrick on Oct 28, 2009 9:50 AM CDT reply actions

and we have been terrible

on both sides of the ball on 3rd down this year.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you

by GopherNation on Oct 28, 2009 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions

lucky

to be 4-4.

by TheEvilProfessor on Oct 28, 2009 10:56 AM CDT up reply actions

And couldn't you just as easily say

that Iowa is lucky to be 8-0? Spare me.

Buck – did you really need to lead off the Nugz with a link to DWG? When it comes to baseball and b-ball, he has some interesting analysis. When it comes to college football, you might as well be linking to Simmons blah, blah, blah.

by the accomplice on Oct 28, 2009 11:14 AM CDT reply actions

I assume you are talking to me

and yes, Iowa is lucky to be 8-0. How many of those wins required low probability big plays…mostly Decker catches? With as accurate as Weber is (although ironically more accurate on longer passes) we should feel fortunate.

If our o-line was better, Weber would look better as he is much more likely to be able to time a deep pass versus hitting people in stride on short routes. But they aren’t…so he doesn’t.

by TheEvilProfessor on Oct 28, 2009 1:06 PM CDT up reply actions