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Minnesota Football: Golden Nugz! - 9/11/13

BBC, #PN9X and OPTION FOOTBAAWWW, Macura and more!

By Matt Humbert
This celebration after a home victory was the last game BBC will play in 2013. Sucks.
This celebration after a home victory was the last game BBC will play in 2013. Sucks.
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

I know I make a lot of jokes on the Twitters and here about #NeverForget, but not today.

Football

- Briean Boddy-Calhoun, done for seas'. Your updates from Fuller, Sandel and JoeC. I have all the tears.

Immediate effects of the injury will likely include pulling the redshirt off of Jalen Myrick to play special teams and potentially garbage time duty, considering BBC was a critical part of the special team's (KO/PR returns and defense) and had to be replaced on Saturday by Derrick Wells. Since Kill can ill afford another starter to drop at CB, that'll likely mean an increase at snaps and less rotation for Wells and Murray versus a balance between STs and secondary packages. Filling that gap? Yep, a true freshman. Rad.

Second, this is the double edged sword of depth -- if you have it, you can absorb such losses like an ACL tear... but you also suffer as the overall quality of the group goes down. Fact is, BBC was only a starter when Wells suffered a hamstring injury later in camp; Kill's intention all along was to have Wells and Murray at CB, with Boddy-Calhoun playing a significant role in rotation and nickel packages. There's nothing from the FBO statistical perspective that suggests Minnesota was better off with BBC over Wells as a starting QB, since the overall passing defense stats were almost identical (same success rate allowed, worse EVPP due to a passing TD allowed on Martez Shabazz's nap).

It's the ole next man up/Wally Pip/whatever coaching cliche you want to use, though the Gophers aren't as good back in the secondary without BBC than they would be with a completely healthy BBC and Wells. End of story.

- We're seeing a different Philip Nelson than most envisioned heading into the season, one in which emphasizes his particular skill at running the option and playing some good old fashioned MANBALL:

"We always want to be fighting for the extra yard," said Nelson, who rushed for 15 times for 122 yards and a touchdown against the Aggies. "To be honestly with you, that's kind of the way I've always played actually. For that reason right there, it's a good idea to save yourself a little bit. I've had some people tell me that, 'Every hit you take, it takes off a little bit of your career.' But I think I'm a long ways away from that."

Great attitude kid! - play without fear. Just let Mitch Leidner take some of the hits in B1G play after you get done beating down the plebes.

Hey hey! What is more B1G than not needing to pass at all and still comfortably winning football games? As Minnesota and Michigan State prove -- NOTHING. Not a single damn thing is more B1G, other than Barbisol, Rotel and HUGE LETTERS ON THE SIDE OF BUILDINGS.

Anyway, Kill relays to Brian Bennett how the staff is "bringing along" true freshman wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky, since he's 6'3" and 225 lbs. and MOAR BLOCKING RECEIVERS. #B1G #B1G #B1G. Sorry, there's also bits about needing to stop dropping footballs (probably a good thing) and Jerry sounding excited about Jamel Harbison returning from minor rule breakin'.

- Speaking of blocking, that's apparently how Logan Hutton got himself some playing time. It had nothing to do with guys named Andre McDonald, Devin Crawford-Tufts or Harbison. Not a tiny bit.

"To Logan's credit, he didn't give up, and really listened to coach Kill and learned what his philosophy was," said Lee Hutton III, who is now a Minneapolis attorney. "This year, for example, coach Kill was preaching the run. Run blocking might be more important than catching the ball, so Logan all summer worked tirelessly in perfecting angles on getting to the block and improving his knowledge of the offense."

"In order for us to get on the field as a receiver, we have to block first," Hutton said. "Coach Kill really stressed that."

Yes, blocking will earn yourself in Coach's good graces. Having no depth or available players at the position is how you end up starting, especially against teams sponsored by Case De Autos.

- Where can I sign to ensure OTE's Bowl Prediction of the Car Parts Bowl against Tejas comes true?!? I mean, everything about that scenario is awesome:

  • MCC as the new Music City/Insight Bowl.
  • A defense that can't stop the run?
  • A defense RUN BY GERG?!?
- Interesting theory espoused by Reusse: Mark Yudof couldn't just fire McKinley Boston and Clem Haskin(s) without also jettisoning then AD Mark Dienhart because of ratios or the specter of racism or something something. Sounds plausible, except when you have widespread fraud happening underneath your nose and the "dread lack of institutional control" gets branded on your chest, chances are you as the man responsible - the AD, that is - are also getting shitcanned. It's CYA, and it just so happens to be protocol.

But I like stories and storytelling, so Pat's is the version I'll tell my grandkids. It'll mesh nicely with all the "crooked AD" tales I'll recant from EL SID.

Basketball

- Oh, how I wish the hoopity orange ball news were better. 2014 Lakeville shooting guard recruit J.P Macura, a 4 star guy on the 247Sports Industry Composite, committed to Xavier over the in-state Gophers in a move that literally no one (including myself) had correctly predicted via 247's Crystal Ball. That's only half the news, however:

o_O

Oh?

O rly?

Not a good way for Richard Pitino to start his 2014 recruiting class, especially considering Reid Travis is set to officially visit Duke this weekend and everyone and their brother has him committing shortly thereafter. And oh yeah, Rashad Vaughn is all set to visit Iowa State.

Awesome welp-om wagon for Lil Pitino.

- At least he has his Pops backing him up, saying interesting things, like wanting Louisville and Minnesota to play in the future. A potential ACC-B1G match-up between father and son? Sounds pretty rad.

But Rick didn't stop there with the nugz. This one was eyebrow raising:

"I think it’s a crown jewel in the Big Ten that just needs to have their facilities upgraded to be every bit as good as any school in the Big Ten, and I think with their new AD [Norwood Teague], I think that’s going to happen. And it is happening."

That's a level of confidence in Facilitiesmas that I can get behind.

College Football

- Did you hear about this Oklahoma State "scandal?" Of course you've heard about it. Spencer has words about it over at the EDSBS mothership, Drew Magary is all "gasp!" and "oh my!" (or the opposite) and Jason Whitlock's response was basically, "F@*k Thayer Evans."

But the single best retort to the brewing Poke-gate (MUST CREDIT MVOFDT) comes from Dez Bryant, because why wouldn't it?

This is awesome because who could argue with that logic?

- Amazing read from Chris Brown of Smart Football on how Nick Saban plans to stop Johnny Football. Run, don't just lazily click, over and read this.

- Something I Fanshot'd yesterday but an interesting assessment of which teams have the best "true" home field advantage; Minnesota ranks 37th. Seems to me that the methodology is explaining the disparity between home and neutral performances as HFA which, as the article points out, wouldn't necessarily favor elite teams since their home/road/neutral variance shouldn't change much.

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