Golden Nugz - 09.17.12

I gotta say, the drive back to Madison after a win is far superior to the one that follows a loss. I'm betting you all have a version of that. Here are your afternoon Nugz (apologies folks, all of us were getting slammed today). Plenty to get through, so enjoy.

Football

So, I guess #QBGAZE2012 is a thing again. Glorious? Well, maybe not (I hate QB controversy, no matter how good it might be for the pageviews). But what is glorious is that the Gophers are one of only 3 undefeated teams in the B1G, are still in a tie for 1st in the Legends West division, and as noted on Twitter yesterday, are one of only 2 remaining B1G teams with a mathematical shot at playing in the MNC game. Which is frankly, more than a little weird and messed up. Remember the Mayans people.

- All of your Shortell/#QBGAZE links, right here. Phil Miller, Rachel Blount, Marcus Fuller, Nate Sandell, and El Sid.

- Gray injury updates from Phil Beard and Marcus. Short summary? Don't plan on seeing him for until at least the Northwestern game.

- Nate Sandell breaks down the film from WMU.

- So, how about A.J. Barker? Anyone else pleased that he keeps getting it done? Rayno and Marcus both take a look at his impact. He certainly deserves a scholly now. I also love how he's stepped in to take the role of punt returner as well. WSR for Heisman!

- Kirkwood also gets love for his first 100 yard rushing performance. His powerful running style is another pleasant surprise.

- A couple of notes from Kill...on his choice to go for it on 4th down:

"If you try to pooch punt it 15 or 20 yards and it goes (into the end zone), they're going to start at the 20," he reasoned. "I felt at that time, we (could get) a guy open. We knew they were going to play cover-one, and we felt we could take a shot."

I liked the call then and I like it now. Kill made it clear after doing something similar in the Miami (OH) game last year that this is something he's comfortable with. I liked it b/c it got WMU to burn a TO, the play was there (Max just missed the receiver), and I very much believe a punt would have ended up a touchback. Kill readily admits that it's an all or nothing call in terms of how it is viewed. He also said he'd do it again.

More thoughts from Kill, plenty more Gophers news, Wisconsin sucks, Utah and BYU have a wacky ending, and about 3 dozen other links (it's a GoAUpher Nugz after all). All below the jump...

Kill was also displeased about how much (or in his opinion, how little) time the officials gave the Gophers to substitute players based on the way WMU was running their offense:

Kill complained several times that his defense didn't have time to get substitutes on and off the field. At one point, it cost the Gophers: A fourth-down stop for no gain by linebacker Spencer Reeves was overturned by the replay official, who discovered that the Gophers had 12 men on the field.

"My frustration was, give us time to match up the personnel," Kill said. "They don't have to do that if they don't change personnel -- you can go, go, go. But if you change personnel, you have to give the defense time to set up. The official said, 'Coach, I'm giving you reasonable time.'"

- Hageman had another good game, albeit his first without a sack. I loved his INT that wasn't (which was the right call...Hageman made the grab but the pass hit the ground before getting knocked into the air and towards Shede).

- Sticking with the D-Line, FSN notes that the pass rush has been solid so far and calls it out in the WMU game report card.

- The WWL Blog gives both Shortell and Barker a shared helmet sticker. I'd point out that that's the 3rd sticker awarded to the Gophers in the last 3 games. A reminder that while things aren't perfect, the team is playing pretty well overall and that we are 3 and 0!

- FBT shoots from the hip with some initial post-game thoughts.

- Yahoo names Minnesota one of the Week 3 winners. Seriously, we're 3-0, some folks are noticing that this is an improvement, and I am happy on a Monday. I know we won't win a ton more (probably) but it's nice while it's lasting.

- For those who haven't been able to catch a game yet, the U is trying to start a new tradition and have fans "Do the Gopher". I like it. It has not caught on yet (and they aren't using "I'm Alright" as the song of some reason, probably licensing) but it has the potential to be a fun thing that is uniquely MN's.

- The U has launched what is clearly a pre-prepared marketing blitz for the Syracuse game. $10 single game tickets on sale right up until kickoff. This was on the scoreboard immediately following the game, I received an e-mail about it 5 minutes later, and it was on Twitter and Facebook right after the game too. They want this thing sold out. Tell everyone you know.

- For those who can't make the trip, the Iowa game on 9/29 will be on either ESPN or ESPN2.

B1G

- Bowl projections...WWL Blog (Gophers in an at-large spot) and BTN (ALL OF THE PIZZAS)

- Power Rankings...both the WWL Blog and BTN have the Gophers 7th.

- Need evidence that the Coach's Poll is a worthless POS? Wisconsin is still ranked #24.

- Our very own Marshmoose brings us this GIF aimed at upset Bucky fans:

via i.imgur.com

- National media also find ESFU to be stupid. Great time to be a Badger, amirite?

- Oh Indiana...how very Indiana of you to lose your 3rd in a row to Ball State. Special factoid?

Ball State, which knocked off Indiana 41-39 Saturday, is 3-49 against BCS schools all-time. All three wins have come against the Hoosiers since 2008.

- Penn State got their first win of the year. This was part of it.

College Football

- For anyone concerned with our fan turnout, it could always be worse...

via l2.yimg.com

- Sticking with that theme, we could also be Notre Dame, where the ushers kick you out for cheering too loud (and yes, this is an actual problem they have).

- Moving on to Arkansas...John L. Smith is going to be fired. We should all be sad because John L. Smith is your crazy old uncle and makes for great YouTubes.

- BTW, in case you were under a rock that little speech didn't work, his team quit, and their injured starting QB went to the press conference specifically to call out his teammates as embarrassing.

- USC certainly has practice with O-Linemen cheating to get their RB's touchdowns.

- From last week's games but I wanted to get it in here. One of the worst plays I've ever seen:

- Moving on to better things. Play of the week? Play of the week. Western Kentucky used this 2 pt conversion to beat Kentucky.

via assets.sbnation.com

Uniforms

- Another week, another Oregon uniform.

- This high school uniform sure is something...

- Oh Iowa...just, no.

Facilities

- Northwestern is getting their new football facility. It will be on the lakefront and will include space for other teams to take advantage of it as well. It will cost $225 to $250 million to build. Here's a rendering:

via www.trbimg.com

- The Saint Paul Saints will be getting their new ballpark in Lowertown. I am excited!

The Smorgasbord

- MACtion Corn Maze!

- P Diddy uses his kid's roster slot at UCLA to promote himself. I...I've got nothing.

- Fantastic Ol' Miss Marine GIF. Hard to describe, just trust me, click here, and enjoy.

When Rushing The Field Goes Wrong

So, Utah/BYU. Betting most of you didn't watch it. I didn't either. Apparently we didn't miss much until the end of the game, when a huge mess unfolded.

With Utah up 24-21, BYU completed a long pass to put itself within range of a long field goal. Instead of kicking, the Cougars attempted to gain a little more yardage. The pass from quarterback Riley Nelson sailed out of bounds, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock, players, coaches and students rushed the field.

But it wouldn't be the BYU-Utah rivalry if it ended that way.

A review of the clock showed that one second remained when the pass was incomplete, allowing BYU to try for a 51-yard field goal.

So, the field was cleared and BYU attempted the kick.

It was blocked. Players, coaches and fans again stormed the field. The problem: The holder had picked up the ball and tried to advance it. Because the fans had rushed the field before the play was ruled dead, Utah was assessed a 15-yard penalty. BYU was given an untimed down to try another kick.

Seriously, can't make this stuff up.

So BYU kicker Riley Stephenson, now 15 yards closer, lined up to tie the game and force overtime. The kick went up, looked good and then…

BONG!

The kick banged off the left upright, and Utah ended up winning anyway.

Video proof of this debacle...

The Dumb and Dumber version:

The Benny Hill version:

The "View from a Utah fan in the endzone seats" version.