Minnesota Football: In win over MTSU, Gopher Defense did it's job.

Excellent point. A young squad might need some moral victories to build on before they get into the tougher competition.

their 22 carries for 146 yards is a 6.6 yd average! The secondary was very soft. Lewis was ugly as as safety. And the overall tackling needs to dramatically improve.

But the DL did a fine job, the LBs were usually in position to a make plays and the coverage didn’t allow many big plays (at least no REALLY big plays). The first play of the second half when Tinsley filled his gap and had their RB for no gain but whiffed; which resulted in a huge run play was a good example of being in the right spot but just have to make the play.

for the most part. Some poor tackling led to some big gains, and hence, their scoring drives weren’t very time consuming. Being in position is good—it shows that the players are executing the game plan correctly and the coaches are putting them in position to succeed. More experience will hopefully mean better tackling in the future.

The thing with poor tackling is that you don’t know if it is a one time thing, or will be a continuing problem. If guys are out of position, coaching can help with that. There isn’t a whole lot that can be done when guys just plain don’t finish off the play.

Okay, its not exactly a tangent—it is completely off topic, but TCU and Boise State could meet in the national championship game. Of course, it will take a loss from Alabama and Ohio State, but it is not that far off from a reality.

It would be ironic, and fitting, if two non-BCS schools end up in the championship game and THAT is what causes the most clamoring for a playoff as opposed to their ABSENCE from such a game. Sweet irony.

The truth of the matter is that TCU actually has a pretty tough schedule. They just played Oregon State and then they will have to play the MWC—which is a lot better than people think with the likes of BYU, Utah, Air Force, et al.

I’m going to disagree with GN on this topic. The defense only did its job in the sense that the team got a ‘W.’ But they had about as little as possible to do with that outcome. The Time of Possession is a terrific indication of how well the offense performed. It’s entirely misleading, however, when it comes to Minnesota’s defense since the TOP discrepancy actually would have been less drastic had the defense not been sliced and diced for the 2nd quarter and early 3rd.

They did force one turnover (which basically fell into Rallis’ arms), but they got zero pressure on the QB and made very few big plays. The third-down defensive stats would look worse had MTSU needed three downs to move the sticks for much of the night.

I realize they are young and will most likely improve with game experience, but here’s the bottom line: If Cosgrove and Lee don’t find a way to get consistent pressure on the QB, they won’t create turnovers and that rookie secondary will get sliced and diced beginning with the USC game.