What Went Wrong and What Was Learned
by Buck Bravo on Oct 5, 2009 9:00 AM CDT
in Gopher Football
7 comments
Saturday's defeat to Wisconsin was an all-too familiar scenario for Gopher football fans. Uncertainty heading into the rivalry game, followed a glimmer of hope, and then a catastrophically deflating disappointment.
What really happened on Saturday? Why did it happen? How did it happen? What can be taken away from this loss?
First, let's take a look at the key events in the game that contributed to the Wisconsin victory:
- Duane Bennett fumbled on the first drive of the game. Since Hasan Lipscomb did not qualify for the 2009 recruiting class, two star running back Duane Bennett is the best Minnesota can field. Bennett is a serviceable back, but he doesn't have game-changing talent. The fumble gave Wisconsin an emotional edge and resulted in a touchdown by their four star running back John Clay.
- Traye Simmons commits a taunting penalty on the first drive of the second quarter. Minnesota had stopped Wisconsin on third down, and a punt was imminent. Unfortunately, Traye Simmons decided to taunt the Badgers when their third down pass was incomplete. Simmons is a senior, and he should know better than to act in that manner. The penalty resulted in three points for Wisconsin, which also happened to be the margin of victory.
- With 8:01 left in the first half, Minnesota advances the ball to Wisconsin's 1 yard line and fails to score. An unnecessary penalty and poor execution by the offense resulted in a Minnesota field goal when they started at first and one yard to the end zone.
- With 12:09 left in the third quarter, Adam Weber throws a 1 yard interception. This pass was thrown too hard, was off target, and was intended for a running back about 1 yard away from him who was covered. The pass never should have been thrown.
- With 0:39 left in the game, Weber fails to get rid of the ball and fumbles to Wisconsin. Weber had terrible blocking, failed to recognize the impending blitz, and didn't throw the ball away when the play was a bust.
Now, here's what can be learned from the loss:
- Minnesota's offense has one star player: Eric Decker. Eric Decker is a one man wrecking crew, and has gifted Adam Weber good statistics the last few years with his ability to get open on nearly every route he runs. Without Decker, this offense might not have the talent to move the ball whatsoever.
- Minnesota has a below-average offense: Wisconsin's defense is not very good, yet Minnesota could not consistently move the ball against them. Next week, expect Ohio State to light up the Wisconsin secondary like a Christmas tree. Adam Weber can be a good quarterback, but only when he has ample time to throw and his primary or secondary receivers are open. This year the offensive line hasn't blocked well, the very average running backs cannot overcome substandard blocking, and Weber doesn't have the ability as a quarterback to overcome these obstacles with audibles or speed. Freshman Marquies Gray has the athleticism to overcome substandard blocking with his legs, but if he were ready to become the starter he probably would be.
- Minnesota doesn't have top tier speed. Junior College transfer Hayo Carpenter was supposed to have blazing speed, and is supposedly one of the fastest Gophers. With 7:44 left in the first quarter, Carpenter ran for 25 yards and could see the open field...until he was caught from behind by defensive lineman Louis Nzegwu. Other than sophomore Troy Stoudermire and freshman Bryant Allen, the Gopher offense has slightly above average speed (at best) for the Big Ten.
- Neither Wisconsin or Minnesota have very good football teams this year. Minnesota has a realistic chance to defeat Purdue, Illinois, and South Dakota State. Absolute best case scenario would be 6-6, but expect 5-7. Wisconsin has a realistic chance to defeat Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, and Hawaii. Absolute best case scenario would be 9-3, but expect 8-4. Sadly for Minnesota, these two teams were very evenly matched on Saturday.
- It will take until at least 2011 for Minnesota to field a team that can compete for the Big Ten title. Two seasons will be needed to develop a top tier Big Ten offensive line, at least one or two more years will be needed to prepare Marquies Gray to start, and another recruiting class is needed to add more depth to the defense and bring in a top tier running back. Until all of those requirements are met, Minnesota will be a mid-level Big Ten team at best. That's not to say that these requirements can't be met.
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One other thing
it’s now being reported that the Tow-Arnett who plays center has a broken leg, and is lost for the year. Paging Ned Tavale!!
In order to get the most
out of this team, Weber NEEDS to hit WRs in stride. We can’t effectively run the ball, so in order to move the ball we need to throw more. To our WRs credit, they do get open for the most part, even though teams know we are going to throw. But most of the passes are to the general area and not well placed. Yes some of this may be pressure, but at this point in his career he should be a little more precise. If they could only hit the WRs in stride, the defense wouldn’t be able to stack the box and we might actually be able to break off a run or two. Too often we put ourselves in positions to need a big play just to move the chains. The extra 1-2 yards on each throw are just compounding our offensive problems. IMO
by TheEvilProfessor on Oct 5, 2009 9:16 AM CDT reply actions
Feedback on 5 points above
1) unfortunate fumble but NOT the kind of careless mistake you take the guy out of the game over. Bennett sat until he came in for one play late in the game (which he put in the endzone). I hate that coaching move.
2) If you want to sit anyone down, it should have been Simmons. Not sure if it was him or Brock who had several stupid personal fouls last year.
3) I said it at the moment and I will say it again, terrible call and it did indeed come back to haunt us.
4) Weber just looks rattled back there. His footwork, never great, looks worse under this new OC
5) I don’t want to pile on AW.
1) no doubts about Decker
2) Gray should have been inserted early in the 2nd half when the offense was going nowhere. Weber is looking like a sitting duck in the pocket this year.
3) talk about some misleading false advertising. Carpenter has not remotely lived up to the hype thus far.
4) agree, BCS=6-6
5) I am the most pessimistic I have been in a while regarding the U of M FB program.
Gophers vs Wisconsin
Gophers were outmatched in size and speed by the personel of the Badgers. Absolutely stupid mistakes, penalties and fumbles and interceptions are the reason why you lose football games.
Minnesota has not recruited to this point as well as Wisconsin even though Wisconsin is not impressive on defense at all
The QB reverse play in the final quater by Wisconsin was as predictable as a Joe Paterno screen pass and should have been defended by a defender alerted by a coach.
Unfortunateley, Adam Weber plays catch very well with Decker, but plays QB the same mediocre way he did at Mounds View, and does not have the speed to make up for a very average line and lack of control at the line of scrimmage
I am personally sick of seeing the same teams win year after year against the Gophers
The Gophers for the most part play with tremendous heart and soul, but cannot overcome the weekly mismatch against stronger teams.
by bobbyspringfield on Oct 5, 2009 12:06 PM CDT reply actions
Clarification
Wisconsin has a better than average collegiate quarterback, a bruising running back and good line play on both sides of the ball. Also a good field goal kicker and punter. Those things go a long way in the college game.
Wisky also gets Michigan and Iowa at home. The only game remaining for them that has a serious chance of an “L” is at Ohio State. Otherwise, they could easily finish the conference season 7-1. Iowa has a defense but Iowa’s quarterback is a spaz. Michigan’s defense could give up 300 yards to Clay alone.
And give the Gophers some credit. Just because they lost doesn’t mean the team is a pile of (insert appropriate reference)
It was very hard to watch - since they did have the ability to win
Lots of valid opinions – just a few other thoughts. It was a step backward in terms of playing a clean, focused game and not converting in RZ since Wisky’s D was very average. But I would give Wisky’s Offense much more credit that you do since they do have some good players. But we had chance to get up more early and take away the run game – that is how you beat Wisky – and blew our chances. This is the first game in the 3 years that really is on the coaches IMO for a variety of reasons- but they have 6 B10 games to prove they can learn and bounce back. Lots of good to come if the players and coaches hang tough and keep improving.
I Like this Change!
“It will take until at least 2011 for Minnesota to field a team that can compete for the Big Ten title.”
It’s no longer “wait until next year” with you guys as soon as the leaves start to change color. Now it’s “wait until two+ more years!” See you in November of……THIS YEAR!!
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