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I decided to do something new today, not to take any notes what so ever. You know what; it works for me so I don't think I'll takes in the future either. That right, I'm a blogger, not a journalist! Despite me not being a member of the third estate, as a member of the fifth estate I still have opinions (and today only, stats). That's right, it's time for 3 Quarters / 4 Thoughts / 5 Quarters.
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Three Stars
Star 1 - #5 Chris Streveler (QB - RS FR)
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Sure, he was on 1-7 on passes, but I thought he threw some nice balls, especially that deep one the end zone (which should have been caught). He gets the #1 star because he is starting his first game and he is a freshman. You could have expected him to be timid, but he ran like a crazy man (maybe too crazy, QB should not be knocking over tacklers) with 161 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries (8.9 yards/carry, long of 30). That's nuts! He also didn't mess up. Sure, he threw one interception but from my view at the game it wasn't so much a horrible pass as much as it was an athletic interception. Remember, he was also missing our #1 target, #88 Maxx Williams (RS - SO), who was out with an injury. QB Gaze? No, but maybe.
Star 2 - #27 David Cobb (RB - SR)
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Due to his fumble in the end zone he almost didn't get this star, but he gets it because, well wow! He ran for over 200 yards for the second time this year getting 207 yards on 34 carries (6.1 yards/carry, long of 19) with 2 touchdowns. This is even more impressive as everyone in the stadium knew he was going to get the ball. That means he carried the ball on 53% of our offensive plays. He didn't get much of a rest with #32 Berkley Edwards (RB - RS FR) getting 3 carries (9 yards) and #20 Donnell Kirkwood (RB - SR) getting 2 carries (5 yards).
Star 3 - The Defense
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Ok, maybe they should have the #1 star as they only gave up seven points even with the two offensive turnovers, and they had 5 turnovers themselves. If I was going to give this to only one player, it would go to #31 Eric Murray (DB - JR). His great interception at the end of the first half, which lead to a Gopher's touchdown, really sealed the game as it took away momentum from San Jose. My other top player is #5 Damien Wilson (LB - SR) who is quietly just awesome; the best player we have on defense game in and game out. The defense wasn't perfect, they looked confused at times, missed some tackles, and gave up some passing yards at time, but it was a solid game. San Jose only had 68 yards on 32 attempts (2.1 yards/carry) and 168 yards passing (16-33, 5.6 yards/attempt)
Four Quarters
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Quarter 1
Good start with an interception but only getting 6 yard on three runs didn't bode well. Still, they got 3 points on their first drive. Afterwards, running kinda took off. 85 yards on 9 plays for a touchdown made me feel good.
Quarter 2
Drive down the field only to fumble in the end zone. I know Cobb was reaching for a touchdown but it was not smart. Thankfully San Jose thought they could score, so instead of running out the clock they turned the ball over. Going it for 4th & Goal with 4 seconds left was gutsy and it paid off. Touchdown!
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Quarter 3
Did both sides agree not to score? They both seemed to do everything possible not to score.
Quarter 4
My first weather delay. Gophers did what they needed to do to put the game away; I'm guessing San Jose was worried about missing their flight. For those of you who left when it started to rain (I'm talking about you Dad), boo. For those of you who stayed until the weather delay, pat yourself on the back (I'm patting myself on the back). For those of you who stayed until the end, stand up, shake the water off, and take a bow; I salute you. The University should give you a prize.
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Five Thoughts
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1st Thought
Giving up two 1st downs due to having 12 men on the field, not good, not good at all; taunting the opponent after you make a tackle, even worse. The whole penalty thing today was horrible; it kept San Jose on the field and in the game. San Jose had no penalties...but they should have had one or two. When I listened to the end of the game on KFAN, the announcers said Kill had been angry all day with the officials, and I had the feeling they agreed. To be honest, sitting in the upper deck I didn't really see anything major except perhaps the 1 or 2 pass interference calls. Gophers had 10 penalties for 80 yards.
2nd Thought
Defensive had some decent penetration today but with better tacking they should have had some more sacks and tackles for loss. Still, good job, led to some turnovers. Defensive backs also did good job overall with just a couple of big play given up. Still concerned about missed tackles but it was better this week compared to the last two games. All the turnovers (and the blocked field goal) was awesome, a bright spot of the day.
3rd Thought
Not that they had a lot of opportunities but not catching balls that are more than catchable kills your quarterback. When we finally had a completion late in the 4th it got a standing ovation! QB GAZE? I almost wish that completion wasn't made because having zero passing yards, zero completions; well it would have been something.
4th Thought
I was really surprised that Kill/Limegrover didn't spread the ball around with our running backs. Cobb must have taken 99% of the snaps and had 87% of the handoffs. Let's hope his body holds up, he is in my opinion the most important offensive player this year, more important than the quarterback.
5th Thought
San Jose's running defense is something awful. How can you give up so many yards when you know it will either be Cobb or Streveler running the ball every play! Its not like we had a lot of plays with multiple backs in the backfield.
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