Minnesota Football: Tim Brewster coaches to avoid a blowout

by JDMill on Sep 20, 2010 10:00 AM CDT

As I watched the Gophers play USC during the 1st half on Saturday I was feeling pretty decent. There we were, playing tough, moving the ball, doing a serviceable job of slowing the the Trojans. By game end I was still in a pretty good mood, but it was no longer because of the football being played on the field.

I know you read this everywhere, but on Saturday once again I was just dazzled by The Bank. Perfect weather, perfect day, good seats, a few barley-pops before the game with the TDG staff... It just doesn't get any better than that for me. Anyway, on to the football.

As Jeffrick and I sat in section 222 watching the Gopher offense began to feel a little bit like "Groundhog Day." "First down... here comes the run," Jeffrick would say. "2nd and long... here comes the run," I would say. Until the 4th quarter, we were almost never wrong.

Then on Sunday evening I decide to re-watch the game on DVR and I hear the announcers say that Tim Brewster mentioned wanting to get two first downs per possession and play a field position game and pinning USC deep in their own territory on punts. Exciting stuff.

Let me be clear, I am not upset about the coaching staff staying committed to the run and continuing to try to make something happen on the ground. Specifically in order to keep the offense balanced and in order to allow the play-action pass to be effective throughout the game. What I do, however, have an issue with, is how they went about it.

Minnesota had 12 offensive series against USC
7 of those 12 drives started with a run
6 of those 7 drives that started with a run, were followed up... with another run.
Let that sink in a moment: HALF of Minnesota's 12 drives started with 2 runs in a row
Of 27 first down plays that the Gophers ran, 17 of them happened in the first 3 quarters.
14 of those 17 (82%) first down plays in the first 3 quarters were runs.
In the 4th quarter reaction (or: Too Little "Creativity," Too Late) file, 4 of the 5 drives that didn't start with a run happened in the 4th quarter, and 9 out of the 10 first down plays the Gophers ran in the 4th quarter were pass plays.

Then we get stuff like this from Brewster.

"Was there anybody who thought we would be ahead in the third quarter yesterday? Nobody. Period."

Yes Tim, great work. That really was a magical 8 seconds. I'm glad that you feel good about that, but I would bet your players don't.

This is a USC team that is not the USC we've seen in the past. They are undisciplined and susceptible on defense, especially in the secondary. They are highly talented on offense, but they don't quite have an identity.

And yet, our coaching staff did nothing to take advantage of the most beatable USC team in a decade. All signs point to Tim Brewster being satisfied with keeping it close instead of trying to take advantage of USC's weaknesses, mixing it up a bit on offense and trying to catch USC off guard... until the 4th quarter, when it was already too late and they completely abandoned the game plan that they had refused to get away from for 3 solid quarters.

Yes, Tim Brewster, your team took the lead against USC in the 3rd quarter (again, for a whopping 8 seconds), and you did it because your 4 year starting, senior quarterback threw an absolutely perfect ball to Da'Jon McKnight.

You have to establish the run, you have to have a willingness to stick with it to keep the defense honest and open up the play-action pass. You'll find no argument here. But you can do it with some creativity, you can do it by mixing in a pass on first down every now and then. You don't have anything to lose against USC. Everybody expects you to get blown out. You don't shock the world by having a game plan that fans sitting in the stands can see coming.

Instead Tim Brewster lead a game plan that could best be described as scared. Screw moral victories. After watching USC play on Saturday I believe more than ever that this was a winnable game.

Tim Brewster missed a golden opportunity at finally beating a ranked team and getting a signature win in his 4th year leading this program because he was too scared to push his offensive coordinator to be creative.

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I swear I have mentally checked out

of Football and am just waiting for Basketball to start. Please tell me they hire an up and coming college coordinator who really understands the game and can recruit well. Not great, but well and actually wants to build a solid reputation here. That’s all I ask for.

No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.

by TheEvilProfessor on Sep 20, 2010 10:13 AM CDT reply actions

I would rather have...

…someone who already has head coaching experience with success. There are plenty out there.

by rencito on Sep 20, 2010 5:30 PM CDT up reply actions

me too

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Sep 20, 2010 5:32 PM CDT up reply actions

Frank Solich?

I remember he was my top choice after Mason was fired.

by rencito on Sep 20, 2010 5:33 PM CDT up reply actions

This is pretty much what I saw on Saturday.

I was joking with my roommate that,halfway through the game,it looked like coach Brew had got himself a moral victory over USC,but even that evaporated when they gave up that TD immediately after they had briefly taken the lead in the third quarter,when it devolved into just another Saturday embarrassment for the Gophers. I get the feeling that,with Timmy at the helm,even moral victories are going to be few and far between. I wonder if it’s even possible to have a moral victory over Northern Illinois.

by mahogma66 on Sep 20, 2010 10:54 AM CDT reply actions

It’s easy to say “we blew it, we sucked, there’s no excuse for losing” after you lose to South Dakota. I would have respected him a lot more if he would have said something like that after the USC game because the fact is it’s a loss. Yes USC is more talented than the Gophers, but that Trojans team on Saturday was beatable.

"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, Dude."
Off Tackle Empire
The Daily Gopher

by JDMill on Sep 20, 2010 10:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Moral victories are more excusable in his first year as coach

but in year 4? Year 4 he’s still peddling this crap about moral victories and good effort?

by Jeffrick on Sep 20, 2010 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions

It's basically embarrassing

Does anyone know why Mark Mangino was on the Gophers’ sideline? I know the official line is he was a guest of Brew’s. I don’t buy that. Why would Brew invite him?

by ande1455 on Sep 20, 2010 11:44 AM CDT reply actions

According the GN coaches do this all the time

so apparently nothing to read into it here. GN is that correct?

by Jeffrick on Sep 20, 2010 12:02 PM CDT reply actions

that was according to someone at the U

Mangino most likely initiated the visit. He was on campus for a few days. He’ll probably be at another school next week. I was told that this is fairly common.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Sep 20, 2010 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions

JDmill

I agree with your read of the game. Offense was way too simplified and predictable. Another empty feeling after the game experience.

by bobbyspringfield on Sep 20, 2010 4:47 PM CDT reply actions

Simplified offense

I cried about this after the MTSU game and broke down the game much like JDMill did here. I was fearful that Brewster was going to keep this up for the rest of the season.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—Brewster’s downfall was abandoning the spread in year 3. That system got the most out of Weber and would get the most out of Gray.

What do you think Northern Illinois is going to do against us? They are going to stack the line and make Weber throw the ball. Somehow, I think Brewster will be dumbfounded by this and not adjust until after halftime when we are down 17-7.

by rencito on Sep 20, 2010 5:36 PM CDT reply actions