At the time, I said Tim Brewster made the right call. It was the end of the first half. The Gophers were up 21-7. We had just recovered a fumble to stymie a Wisconsin drive. As Brewster was running out the clock, some in the game thread questioned the move. They suggested we should try and set up a field goal to end the half.
I instead was thinking about how aggression at the end of a half hurt the Gophers against Northwestern. I imagine that's what Brewster was thinking too. I can see both points of view, but hindsight being what it is, I'm inclined to say my initial call was wrong and so was Brewster's.
Having to read a Wisconsin fan state the following hurts:
As distasteful as it may be to say, Jefferson’s scary injury seems now to have been the turning point of the game, perhaps sucking some life out of Minnesota and providing Wisconsin with a rallying point. Consider this: The result of the play that injured Jefferson was a fumble recovered by Minnesota, giving them the ball on their own 21-yard-line with 2:05 remaining on the clock and two time outs. Instead of attempting to score — and the Gophers were at that point having about as much trouble moving the ball on Wisconsin as John Madden has trouble inhaling a tender and juicy turducken — Gopher coach Tim Brewster, either feeling overconfident with his 14-point lead or thinking it unsavory to score again on a team that just had one of its players leave on a stretcher, ran out the clock.
What do you think? Was it the right call Brewster made?
- Without giving any justification or telling us where he went to speak to a soothsayer, Charley Walters tells us that Paul Carter will lead the Gophers in scoring this year. I'd be willing to bet Shooter that Lawrence Westbrook leads the team in scoring.
- Sticking with the PiPress, Phil Miller opines that the "Colton Iverson era of Gopher basketball" has begun. Iverson did have a very nice game defensively Saturday night with nine blocks against BGSU. But the Iverson era?
- Proof anything is possible: Pat Reusse has a somewhat positive article about Gophers football.
- I know this is just some random blog, but this is why I harp on the negative perception around Tubby Smith's recruiting ability. "Tubby was a good in-game coach, but not a recruiter." I'm so sick of hearing this. Do UK fans realize Smith's 2008 and 2009 classes have arguably been superior to UK's?
- Good news for those that want that bronzed pig. Eric Decker is expected to play against Iowa.
- Don Lucia's boys kept their undefeated streak a live with a win and a tie this weekend against Michigan Tech. Gopher Puck Live has more on Alex Kangas' first shutout of the year on Sunday.