Minnesota Football: Loss to USD... What we thought we knew, What we found out
by JDMill on Sep 13, 2010 10:30 AM CDT
in Gopher Football
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PrintLast week I took a look at the win over MTSU, what we thought we knew about the Gophers heading into that football game, and what we found out during that game. We'll continue with that idea this week, taking a look at the home opener at The Bank, and what we learned in the debacle that we now believe actually happened, the Gophers losing to the University of South Dakota.
On Saturday I had the joy of attending the opener at The Bank, and I couldn't have been more excited. There I sat on a beautiful Saturday morning, outdoors, in the sun, my gal next to me, a few barley pops in my belly, high above the field turf of TCF Bank Stadium, fully prepared to watch the Gophers take the Coyotes out behind the wood shed.
That's what I thought was going to happen. Ouch. Let's look at what we thought we knew, including some of the same points we looked at last week.
What we thought we knew:
We knew that the Gophers were talking about being committed to the run, but after having said the same thing last year, we weren't ready to believe it until we saw it.
What we found out:
Horton and Brewster still seem very committed to the run. The Gophers had a much more balanced offensive attack against USD, rushing 38 times, compared to 31 throws. The Gophers played from behind the entire football game (a phrase that makes me sick to my stomach all by itself), so probably threw the ball a bit more than they would have liked, but they still did a nice job running the ball. Averaging 5.4 yards per carry, putting up over 200 yards on the ground and producing another 100 yard rusher (Bennett) sounds like a pretty successful rushing game, and it was good to see Horton stick with it and not completely abandon the run.
What we thought we knew:
We thought we had a pretty talented defense, but we were a little nervous about how that talent was going to come together.
What we found out:
They haven't come together. In fact, they drifted apart. I actually think I saw some of the players on the field breaking up with each other. I swear I saw James Manuel tell Ryan Collado, "it's not you, it's me." Actually boys, it might be Kevin Cosgrove.
Once again we had no pass rush. Once again our secondary got torched. Once again we made a quarterback look like an All-American. The difference this week was that we got TORCHED from beginning to end. 352 passing yards, 11.7 yards per pass. Dante Warren made us look foolish, and USD's screen passes and slants made us look inept all day long, and maybe worst of all, Kevin Cosgrove was never able to figure it out and get his players in position to make plays. Even if Cosgrove had figured out what USD was doing, it might not have mattered because even when we were in position we spent a good portion of the day missing tackles.
What we thought we knew:
We thought Adam Weber would be more comfortable, and therefore more productive, in Jeff Horton's simplifed offensive scheme.
What we found out:
Weber looked much more comfortable in the second half of last week's game, and that comfort level carried over to this week. Yes, Weber had two fumbles, both on runs where he was doing everything he could to make something happen for his team, but Weber looked comfortable and confident and put up good numbers: 21/31, 258 yards and 3 TD's
What we thought we knew:
We thought the Gophers had the size, talent and home field advantage to maybe finally put away an opponent, any opponent, under Tim Brewster's watch.
What we found out:
We found out that Tim Brewster has the distinct ability to get out-coached even by guys who get paid loads of money less than he does. The USD coaching staff was one step ahead of the Gopher staff all day long. They coached to their team's strength and allowed Dante Warren to carve up the Minnesota zone secondary time after time.
Here's what was obvious very early in the football game on Saturday; whatever the Gophers were doing on defense wasn't working, but either Brewster and his staff couldn't figure out how to stop the bleeding or they didn't have enough confidence in their squad to make the adjustments.
What I thought I knew:
My lovely wife and I had some people over for a little happy hour on Friday evening and I was asked by someone who I had never met before, "So what do you think of Brewster?"
My wife will tell you that I squirmed at the question. All I could say was, "He's still got a lot to prove." I thought that Tim Brewster still had a lot to prove.
What I found out:
What I found out on Saturday afternoon, and again on Sunday evening when I re-watched the game, is that Tim Brewster may have proven everything that we needed to know about him against USD: he proved that he's in over his head.
I don't believe that our football team was prepared for this game, I don't believe that the coaching staff took USD seriously, and I don't believe that they had any clue what to do when they found themselves down in the 3rd quarter of their home opener by 18 points to a FREAKING DIVISION I-AA SCHOOL!
What I do believe, more than ever, however, is that when the fish stinks, it stinks at the head. If Jedd Fisch's offense was too complicated for the college level, it was Tim Brewster's fault. If the defense is having trouble tackling, then it's Tim Brewster's job to make sure that his d-coordinator is fixing the problem. If the problem isn't fixed, it's Tim Brewster's fault. And if the Gophers are getting beat by an FCS team at home, it's Tim Brewster's job to make sure that the right adjustments are made to make it stop. If those adjustments aren't made, it's Tim Brewster's fault. If the defense acts like they just won the Rose Bowl when they make a tackle for loss instead of acting like they've actually been there before, it's Tim Brewster's fault.
Tim Brewster's job is NOT to say to Kevin Cosgrove "it's not working, fix it." THAT is the job of the fans, and it's a job that we all took very seriously on Saturday. Tim Brewster's job is to say to Kevin Cosgrove "it's not working, what are WE going to do to fix it? Here's what I saw. What did you see? What will we do to fix it?"
Tim Brewster's coaching job against the University of South Dakota: fail. Epic fail.
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Last Yeat
Since this is obviously Brewster’s last year, the question is this:
Is anyone comfortable with letting Maturi make the next coaching decision?
I’m in the “Hell No” camp.
Me neither...
I want Maturi gone, sooner than Brewster… His athletic priorities are messed up.
But this poses a more difficult question… Are we ok spending money on sports that matter to 10 people in this state (I’m looking at you rowing) if that means we can’t afford a better football team? We were told the on-campus stadium would mean more money in the budget, plus the Big 10 Network, yet we’re behind every Big 10 school (even Indiana!) when it comes to the football budget. Like it or not, budget = commitment. So while the U can say what it wants about its commitment to the football program, it really isn’t committed. And let’s face it, less than half the seats of The Big House doesn’t cut it, not if they want to generate football revenue. It further shows the lack of commitment and the lack of confidence in turning the program around. And it further shows when they hire a head coach on the cheap instead of trying to get a proven coach that may cost more.
While the Sears Cup is probably a nice feather in Maturi’s cap, it’s easy to be higher in the standings when we participate in more sports than Wisconsin (2 more) or Iowa (5 more). I don’t care about the Sears Cup. I care about football, men’s basketball, and hockey in that order (you know, the 3 sports that actually make money instead of losing it)… Everything else is well and good, but not at the cost of the three I mentioned.
That IS a good question
Cutting a few programs would be a wise move, IMO. Then again, I don’t play the non-revenue sports nor have interest in them, so it’s easy for me to say.
Couple of thoughts:
1) Not sure why picking a stadium size of 50K shows lack of commitment. That’s where the school is. I don’t know why a larger stadium with empty seats for every game not involving a border rival (where the extra seats are filled with their fans) is somehow showing more commitment.
2) I’d recommend reading MV’s take at FBT from earlier this summer on the football funding numbers if you haven’t already. Basic summary? While we’re not funding at the highest levels, each school reports their expenses differently and its not an apples to apples comparison (most specifically, none of the stadium debt/expenses get reported by the U b/c they consider them to come from a different pool of money).
3) That said, I do believe that Maturi does care too much about the success of the whole dept above the success of the revenue generating portions. Or at the very least, doesn’t doesn’t care enough about the revenue programs to do things in a way that dispels this notion.
Bottom line: football pays the bills
At least unless you’re Duke, UNC or a handful of others. Totally agree they did the right thing in starting with a 50,000 seater with the capability to expand to 70k or 80k if the program ever takes off. But yeah, if you’re football team is winning you’re going to make more revenue than if you’re high in the standings for the Sears Cup but your football team sucks.
No argument here...
You’re also going to get more money in donations for things like basketball practice facilities and baseball fields. Winning is contagious. There is a reason OSU gets to pride itself on the overall strength of its athletic dept without any asterisks about revenue team performance.
Very Well Said
This is about the most level-headed and “readable” recap of Saturday that I’ve found. Nicely done. What kills me is that I’ve been watching Gopher football closely for 20 years, from the time I was in high school, through paying out of state tuition in the early ’90’s to attend the U, up through Saturday. I’ve seen the lowest of lows. I always go back to the fact that our players always looked sub-par historically compared to other Big 10 teams. We never had speed, strength, skill to matchup to anybody else in the Big 10. We always had the dark, depressing dome. We finished about where we should finish (during the Wacker days), and we slightly exceeded expectations under Mason.
What I find now is that our players look legit. Fast, muscular, athletic. The uniforms, the stadium, the sun shining…it looks better than it ever has. EVER. But the team is terrible. They play awful football. They don’t adjust during the game. There is no discipline. Late hits, fumbles, mental errors. It’s a team out of control.
I hate to bash Brewster, because he’s been in over his head since day 1 but I genuinely liked his passion. He seemed to say what I’ve been thinking for so many years. “I’m tired of MN being horseshit, and it’s time to change that. There is no reason for it to continue, this is a great school in a great city with great facilities!” But that’s ok as long as a coach surrounds himself with football IQ. Let Brewster be the rah rah guy, let his team of coaches carry him with the X’s and O’s. The problem is, turnover and lack of skilled hires has left the team in shambles. It’s time to hold Brewster accountable. I would be fired from my job (especially in this economy) if I performed 1/2 as poorly as Brewster has. The athletes are there. The wins are not. Not even close. We aren’t “just missing the mark”, we are not even on the board!
You can take all this with a grain of salt coming from a guy who wasn’t happy when Mason was fired. I felt all Mason needed was to make it to the opening of the new stadium (that he worked so hard for!) and he’d be competitive at the highest level. Mason beat Oregon, Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, etc. during his tenure..sure he had the greatest collapses in school history (Michigan, Wisconsin as botched punt was recovered in the end zone, Texas Tech), but the guy never had the opportunity Brewster did with the stadium. Nothing pisses me off more than when Gopher fans crap on Mason. He made lemonaid every year out of lemons (ok, aside from Maroney/Barber/few great tight ends and linemen of the glory years)…and I agree with him, with what he had to work with, Gopher fans should shut the fu*& up and enjoy their 7-8 win seasons with bowl games. At least until the new stadium’s been open a few years. Maturi let emotions of the TT loss lead to firing Mason (though I understand why he did it, and that’s fine). The rest is history though.
I’m babbling. This is the lowest lowpoint of the program, and is a sad day for a sad program. The U of M is a joke and I’m personally pissed off about it. I’m tired of excuses. Spend some money, hire a big gun, and turn the program into something again.
well said Jimipig
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Sep 13, 2010 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
except
I’m not sure Mason would have succeed even with new stadium. He had totally given up on recruiting and put no effort into it. You should hear some of the stories the GopherIllustrated guys tell about his lack of recruiting efforts.
Mason – coach but couldn’t recruit (or didn’t recruit)
Brewster – recruiter but can’t coach
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Sep 13, 2010 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Agreed. Good post jimipig
A good point about “Brewster surrounding himself with coaching IQ.” Not only has he not been able to do that, but he’s had zero staff continuity. The fact there’s been coaching turnover every single year he’s been here should say something. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Northwestern is not what I would call a “destination” job, but you haven’t seen assistants fleeing Evanston for better jobs under Pat Fitzgerald. They’re loyal to him. Iowa and Wisconsin have very little coaching turnover. Brewster can’t keep people on his staff because they either bolt for a better job or have to replaced due to incompetency.
Absolutely.
I live in Chicago, and I’ve become a big NW fan from a “that’s the right way to do it” perspective (let’s not kid, I bleed maroon and gold 365 days a year). Pat Fitzgerald to me is a lot like Joe Girardi (interestingly, both went to NW). A player you just knew was going to be a coach while they were still playing the sport. I’m excited that Fitzgerald won’t accept mediocrity at NW, and his passion for his alma mater is contageous. We need “one of our own” to really understand what we’ve all been through. I believe Brewster tried, Mason arguably didn’t try, etc….but we need one of our own to hurt when we hurt. Dungy is pie in the sky, but “Dungy-like”, if there were such a thing, would be perfect. Like if Eslinger came back or something. Just using it as an example, but you get my principle. Not comparing Eslinger to Dungy obviously. Trying to think of some of the “smarter” football guys we’ve had and he came to mind.
Yet another reason why I want Kevin Sumlin
He didn’t play here, but he’s coached here before (I know it was 1993-97 but things haven’t changed that much, and what has is only better. Like the new stadium) and understands the situation better than an outsider would.
Probably right GN…I’m just at a loss which is turning me into an idiot filled with half-thought-out theories and a warped memory. I feel like I’ve had the crap beaten out of me for so long that I’ve become a psycho trying to think of schemes to take over the world. I sit and ask my wife if she thinks I’d even be happy if the Gophers were a powerhouse. I then started feeling sorry for fans that every so often get to win a championship. Sorry for them! They never get to feel this level of pain, so they don’t ever get to feel as good as we would feel if the planets aligned right and we won it all. That’s not right.
This being said, I know I felt pretty damn good in 2005 when the White Sox won it all. Man that felt good. Water tasted better, the air smelled nicer, food tasted more elegant…ha ha ha….but to me, I would trade in an entire lifetime of great athletic moments for just one glorious football season by the Gophers. I doubt my father thought when he was sitting and watching the game in 1961 that it would end up this way.
I'm from St. Louis
and its times like these I wonder why I didn’t go to Missouri
Tubby is my only consolation
JDMill
I feel your passion and pain. Saturday’s shame still hurts on Monday night. This should be a strong program, not a joke. I do worry though, when I see the complete break down on the left end of the defensive line, and how do you make the defensive players we have faster? It was mainly the defense that let us down as 38 points should win you the game. Was it the coach and/or the players?
by bobbyspringfield on Sep 13, 2010 5:39 PM CDT reply actions
DL isn't too slow
If you watch the rollouts and bootlegs, they weren’t staying in their lanes and the QB was getting outside of where the containment should be. This indicates to me the DL is fast enough but not football-smart enough to keep the QB in the pocket. Maybe they can be coached out of this, maybe not. Also, not smart enough to recognize a screen. So to me football-smarts and tackling were the issue, not speed.
As a college football fan
who has never had a moment of interest in Minnesota football, other than just enjoying watching college football, may i suggest to you to embrace the words of florida athletic director jeremy foley when midseason he said “what must be done eventually, must be done immediately.” and the cancer that was ron zook was gone. and the sun began to rise again. the flowers started to bloom. for the sake of college football, move on to a new era. and tell your illinois brothers to do the same.
by yourgatoroverlord on Sep 14, 2010 3:27 AM CDT reply actions
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