Gopher Football
Indiana Backfield vs. Minnesota Linebackers
The Hoosier backfield has been fairly anemic this season, providing flashes of good play, but often disappointing in the end. Coming into the season, fans were expecting big play from sophomore BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and why not? Last season, he held a 4.2 yards per carry average and finished the season with nearly 1,000 yards. Things have changed this season, however, as Green-Ellis is struggling mightily against Big Ten opponents; against Northwestern and Ohio State, he rushed the ball a combined 38 times for a dismal 65 yards. For the season, he is averaging a mere 3 yards per carry. Still, Green-Ellis will be getting help from other backs, including junior Chris Taylor, a perennial back-up who has contributed well this season, going for 166 yards on 40 carries.
Lining up under center for the Hoosiers will be former Notre Dame quarterback Matt LoVecchio. LoVecchio, known for his somewhat elusive running ability as well as his mediocre arm, could pose issues for the Gopher defense. After experiencing a rude awakening to the Big Ten last season, he seems to have settled into his role as a player that needs to make plays when plays are needed and not make mistakes. So far, his touchdowns are up this season (9 so far this year, 3 last year), his interceptions are down (6 compared to 9), and he is on track to throw for more yards this year than last.
Opposite these players will be a group of Minnesota linebackers who last week showed an intensity which has often been absent this season. Junior Kyle McKenzie played his best game of his career last week, getting 2.5 sacks to go along with 12 tackles. McKenzie was all over the field on Saturday, but fans can’t forget the solid play of Terrance Campbell this season. Campbell leads the team in tackles with 61, and though he hasn’t registered any sacks this season, he’s still a leader for this defense. Nickel formation linebacker Brandon Owens saw restricted playing time last week because of more dependence on a base set, and barring some sort of new game plan from the coaches, shouldn’t see the field much this Saturday either.
Summary:
Indiana is anemic; they don’t have the amount of talent in their backfield that Michigan, Michigan State, or even Toledo has. However, the Gophers linebackers need to focus their energy and come up with yet another big performance to give them momentum heading into the Border Battle next weekend. Minnesota’s players can’t afford to overlook anyone, and they won’t this weekend.
Advantage: Minnesota
Indiana O-Line vs. Minnesota D-Line
Indiana was young last season on their offensive line; they gave up 40 sacks and couldn’t block well enough to protect Matt LoVecchio or anyone who was taking snaps. This season is different, yet much is the same. The Hoosiers have surrendered 17 sacks thus far, still too many for a team with a semi-mobile quarterback. Holes for the running backs have not been developing well, leading to a team average of 2.8 yards per carry. Against Michigan, the Hoosiers were held to 61 net yards of rushing; in that contest, they gained only 139 yards on the ground and lost 78 yards. The blame should be put on the offensive line; they have allowed opposing defenses to disrupt plays in the backfield, leading to many 3rd and long situations.
For the Gophers, the defensive line has been quiet lately, being overshadowed by the linebackers in last week’s contest and overmatched in the Michigan State game. Still, big Anthony Montgomery has been having a solid season. 5.5 tackles for loss to go along with an interception and a fumble recovery is pretty decent for any lineman, let alone a 6’5″, 300 pound nose tackle. Darrell Reid will be crucial in this game as well; his pursuit of LoVecchio and ability to blow up plays in the backfield could be the difference between allowing 150 yards rushing or 50 yards.
Summary:
Minnesota has the better athletes yet again in this position match-up; whether or not they execute to their full potential has yet to be seen. With such experience up front, look for the Gophers to pressure LoVecchio using only their four down linemen, allowing the linebackers to spy both he and Green-Ellis. Barring a meltdown, the battle in the trenches should go to the Giants of the North.
Advantage: Minnesota
Indiana Receivers vs. Minnesota Secondary
The star of the Hoosier offense this season has to be receiver Courtney Roby. Roby, a sprinter on the Indiana track team, can often be found deep, averaging 17.2 yards per catch this season. He can also be found in the end zone, a space Roby has occupied 5 times this season. Roby isn’t a big receiver (6’0″, 185) but he makes up for his lack of size with his big play ability and speed. Travis Haney, a 6’4″ receiver who was supposed to help alleviate the Hoosiers’ passing woes, has been almost a non issue this year, registering 10 catches for 160 yards in 6 games.
The Gophers secondary, banged up last week, put together one of their best performances of the season. Freshman Jamal Harris, filling in for the injured Trumaine Banks had his first career interception last week and blanketed the Illinois wideouts all game long. One of the most underrated players on this Gopher defense, at least in this writer’s opinion, is free safety John Pawielski. His big hits and ability to assist in all phases of the defensive game are a huge asset to the Gophers, and one that could play a big factor in stopping a run first offense with an experienced quarterback.
Summary:
The recurring theme in this preview is that the Gophers should have the upper hand; Matt LoVecchio, though experienced, has had some trouble getting the ball to his receivers. The Gopher secondary, on the other hand, has been very opportunistic this season and should be able to take advantage of any and all mistakes which LoVecchio commits. Unless LoVecchio has a career day and the Gophers come out firing on 1 cylinder, this match-up shouldn’t be close either.
Advantage: Minnesota
Overall Summary
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have a big chance to string together two solid defensive performances and get a much needed confidence boost heading into two rivalry games. Indiana, while dangerous, should not give the Gophers much of a challenge and Minnesota ought to be able to put up some impressive defensive stats in this one. Bigger upsets have happened, but I don’t see it happening here.
Overall Advantage: Minnesota