Gopher Football
A Bad Start
It’s difficult to imagine a worse start-to-the-game scenario for the Gophers on Saturday. After winning the coin toss and deferring, Cal went 80 yards on 9 plays to score a TD and take a 7-0 lead. The score was the type of play the Gophers wanted to avoid ““ Jahvid Best breaking loose on a 33-yard scamper. When the Gophers took the following kickoff, they executed a great reverse pitch, but Hayo Carpenter ran into the back of his blocker, which slowed the play down. Then on the Gophers first offensive play of the game, Jeff Wills was called for a false start. The Gophers would go three and out. Cal needed only 3 plays on their next drive to go up 14-0, with the big play a 59-yard pass to the Gophers two yard line. Following the Cal kickoff, the Gophers again committed a penalty on their first play, this time a Matt Carufel chop block. The Gophers would again go three and out.
So approximately 10 minutes in to the game, Cal was leading 14-0, the Gophers had 0 first downs and 2 offensive penalties. Cal led in total yardage, 166 to -10
Bouncing Back
Despite getting in the hole early, the Gophers bounced back nicely. Believe it or not, the Gophers would out-gain Cal by nearly 30 yards the rest of the game. With the exception of one or two runs the Gopher defense would do a nice job stopping Jahvid Best, the front 7 was able to generate pressure and record a couple sacks, and the Gophers were able to move the ball via an improved passing game. For the better part of the next 2 /12 quarters the crowd was into it, and momentum would be in the Gophers favor, helping them to eventually tie the game at 21-21.
Turning point
About 5 minutes into the fourth quarter, Cal took over in Gophers territory. On first down Brandon Kirksey had a great individual effort to throw Jahvid Best for a two yard loss. On second down, Nate Triplett made a nice play to hold Kevin Riley to a 1-yard gain on a scramble, when it looked like he may have had many yards in front of him. Cal then had a false start, which put them at a 3rd and 16. But with the crowd really into it, Cal QB Kevin Riley snuck a 35-yard pass in between Ryan Collado and Kim Royston. Cal would go on to score the go-ahead TD, and the Gophers never threatened again.
Decker shines ““ this time it is getting noticed
Eric Decker has had many great games in his career, but his performance Saturday is the one that will really get the attention of the nation, and may have cemented his place in Gopher lore. Because Cal is a marquee opponent the game was shown in all the major highlight packages. In addition, it’s not like Decker was going up against a bunch of chumps. The Cal cornerbacks are some of the best in the nation, so Decker putting up great numbers against top-notch competition is going to really help him when it comes time for post-season award voting.
His first catch of the day was the kind of a play where legends are made. It was a 3rd and 6 from the Cal 26 yardline. Decker’s initial route took him out to the sidelines, but it was covered. Decker then turned upfield where Adam Weber found him streaking down the right sideline. Decker leapt up and made a nice catch, and then was flattened by a huge hit from a Cal safety. Decker somehow got a foot down and held onto the ball, despite suffering a cut to the chin (which required stiches) and broken shoulder pads. Decker was back out on the next Gophers series however, and did not miss a beat. He finished the game with 8 receptions for 119 yards, and had a part in all three Gopher TDs via 2 receptions and 1 pass.
Big plays & mistakes come back to haunt
I said in my preview that one of the keys for the Gophers today was to limit the number of big plays Cal got. For the most part that they did, but unfortunately nearly all of the big plays Cal did manage to hit on led directly to scores. Jahvid Best had TD runs of 33 and 27 yards. A 25 yard Jahvid Best run was followed by a 59-yard pass to the Gopher 1 yard line on Cal’s second TD. A 35-yard pass on a 3rd and 16 led to the game winning touchdown. Of the 415 total yards by Cal, these five very important plays Cal accumulated 179 yards. On the remaining 69 they got just 236 yards.
For the most part the Gophers played a game they can be proud of, fighting back when they got down early and making some good plays. But one thing they’ll be kicking themselves over are a couple of blown opportunities in the fourth quarter. Tim Dandridge dropped an easy interception, and even though it was on a 3rd down, the ensuing punt left the Gophers with 30-40 negative yards of field position. Cal then went on to score on the next drive. After the Gophers got the ball back, Adam Weber made an ill-advised throw while under pressure, and it resulted in an easy interception for Cal. These two plays took the air out of the Gophers comeback and Cal would control the rest of the game.
Running game struggles, again
It’s beginning to sound like a broken record, but the Gopher running game was terrible once again. For the game the Gopher running backs had just 37 yards on 14 carries. The offensive line continued to struggle, and I’m starting to have my doubts that we’ll see any serious improvement this year. On the positive side, the Gophers did find ways to move the ball through air ““ despite the lack of a running game ““ so not all hope is lost offensively. The Gophers are currently last in the Big Ten with only 86 rushing yards per game. In 10th place is Michigan State with 127 yards per game.
MarQueis becoming more involved
Even though MarQueis is not getting any sets at QB, what I like is that the coaches are finding ways to utilize him (keeping true to their pre-season word). MarQueis had a couple touches in the game; sneaking under center after being in motion to run for a first down, and then being on the receiving end of an Eric Decker touchdown pass. Along those lines, you have to be impressed with the creativity of Jedd Fisch. With the running game not working, Fisch has thrown some nice new wrinkles into the offense to try and shake things up a little.
Injury Update
Injuries are starting to become an issue for the Gophers. Marcus Sherels did not play in this game again, and neither did Derrick Onwuachi. Mike Rallis will miss a significant amount of time with a broken leg, and punter Dan Orseske is out for at least a few weeks with mono. The good news is it appears that Eric Decker’s ankle injury suffered late in the Cal game is minor, and he is expected to be fine for Northwestern.
Players of the game
While none of the Gopher defenders had a real standout day, I liked what I saw out of Keanon Cooper. On the game Cooper had 7 tackles, 1 of which was for a loss. What really excited me on a few of his tackles was his speed. He could be the leader of the LB corps next year.
On offense it was easy: Eric Decker. Once again Decker accounted for nearly half of the Gophers offense, and he was a part of all three of the touchdowns. It’s nice that the rest of the nation has gotten to see what Gopher fans have known for a long time: Eric Decker is good.
Special Teams: A surprise entry on the field was backup punter Blake Hauden. You have feel really good for Hauden, he has been on the roster for a long time, and with Dan Orseske suffering from mono, he is finally getting his chance. Hauden averaged 42.1 yards on 7 punts, and his hang time was good enough to limit the dangerous Syd’Quan Thompson and Cal punt return game to just 10 yards on 3 returns.
Final Thoughts
Even though the Gophers lost, it’s been a long time since I had that much fun at a Gopher football game. (By game, I mean the actual game; the entire event of the TCF Bank Stadium opening night may never be matched.) The opponent was one you could really get excited about playing, it was a beautiful day outside, and for most of the game the Gophers were in it. It was really exciting to see the team feed off the energy of the crowd, and I’m starting to buy into the fact that TCF Bank Stadium is going to be a real home field advantage for the Gophers.
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