Strolling Through Twitterland: Illinois vs. Minnesota

It wasn’t exactly how we all scripted it, but the Gophers did just enough to earn their first B1G victory of the season. It wasn’t necessarily pretty or exciting. The Gophers used a swarming defense and the legs of Kobe McCrary and Rodney Smith to earn PJ Fleck his first ever B1G victory.

Maybe we got ahead of ourselves last week in the excitment of how well Demry Croft played in the 4th quarter against Michigan State. Maybe we were all just desperate enough for any type of hope we forgot Croft is still a really inexperienced quarterback. We need to remember this is a quarterback who has played essentially two games of football in the past three years.

His play last week showed he has the skill set to play. However, his play against Illinois also served as a reminder there are going to be growing pains. That’s not to say it wasn’t the correct decision to start him over Conor Rhoda, because it was the correct decision. It’s just saying we need to remember Croft isn’t going to be a miracle worker right away. He’s going to take some lumps, but he will also make some plays along the way. In other words, it is a process but trust the process.

Here’s my quick-hitting thoughts on the game:

• That was a pretty special moment Jonathan Celestin. Pretty darn special moment.
• Someone should check to see if Kobe McCrary is still running people over today. That just wasn’t fair.
• Rodney Smith you had a quietly good game. I didn’t expect to see you went over 100 yards rushing as well.
• That was more like the defense we saw in the early part of the season.
• Carter Coughlin you are a stud. That is all.
• Thomas Barber you are a man-child. My goodness what a game you had.
• I’m start of getting a little nervous right now Emmit Carpenter.
• Trust the process.

Ok, onto what really matters, this weeks Stroll Through Twitterland. The main hashtags for this week were:

#RTB

#RowTheBoat

#SkiUMah

#GophersGameday

#Gophers

-Pretty darn special moment.

-No, @jonsie00 I’m not crying, you’re crying. Or are we all crying over this? Having lost my father a few years ago, I can only imagine what this must have felt like for Jonathan and his family.

-I thought we agreed to never discuss this again @jonsie00

-No matter where you watch it @MrThorman watching the players take the field is also one of my favorite Gopher football traditions.

-Looks like an #Elite group @KevinZintheTC

-Ok, that’s awesome!

-If you don’t vote for Levels you are doing life wrong.

-I heart you Goldy.

-Thanks for the weekly reminder @starko44 that this is what Gopher Football is truly about.

-Last but certainly not least, someone needs to get the Gophers #1 fan @bailytherapy13 tickets to a game ASAP.

How did you feel about the game? Can Demry learn and grow from this or is this what we should expect going forward?

#RTB

#SkiUMah

Follow: @dvits14