I can't get over how all the things that encompass football being a "game of inches" all went tOSU's way. Here are the plays I can remember off the top of my head (I just watched the entire game, so it's pretty fresh)
1.4th down and 2 for tOSU: Gophers stop the RB short and somehow it's not reviewed despite a long delay between plays. Next play is a TD
2.Tyler Johnson fumble: Gophers driving and they lose the ball on a bang bang play that wasn't really caused by anything the tOSU defender did
3. 4th down conversion for tOSU: Antonio Shenault had great coverage (for once) and the ball literally ended up in the only place the receiver could make a catch. This one didn't turn out to matter as much because the Gophers would stop the next 4th down attempt on the same drive.
4. tOSU one handed TD: Gophers get confused by an alignment (WR lines up in H back position) and Kamal Martin doesn't cover him. He's open, but Haskins makes a rare bad throw unfortunately the receiver makes a fantastic catch and runs in for the TD.
5. Ibrahim big run in the third quarter: The next few plays are all from the same sequence with the Gophers down by 6. Ibrahim has a house call on this run and the last guy reaches out with one arm and takes him down.
6. Annexstad misses Tyler Johnson on a slant: Zack misses Tyler for what would have been a first down inside the tOSU 5
7. Pass knocked down/Bateman open for 3rd down conversion: tOSU defender gets up from the ground and knocks down a would be conversion on 3rd
8. Cashman missed chip shot: this can't happen especially when tOSU backup kicker just drilled one from 47
9. Witham big play on the reverse/flea flicker: Much like Ibrahim there was one guy between Bryce and a TD, though this time it was a much more solid tackle
10. Annexstad interception where he leads the safety to the ball: Tyler Johnson was open for a TD that cuts the Buckeye lead to 2. If Zack doesn't stare him down, it's a TD. If Zack doesn't put so much air under the ball, it's a TD. The only way this isn't a TD is exactly what happened.
11. Cashman missed FG: 49 yards isn't an easy kick, but against tOSU made one from 47. It's a one score game if he converts here.
When you are a 30 point dog, having half these plays go against you usually result in the favorite covering easily. Today, if the Gophers simply had 3-4 of these plays bounce their way, we could have experienced the biggest upset in most of our lifetimes. This is extremely frustrating because it seems like the Gophers never get that favorable bounce/lucky break in big games (with the notable exception of PSU almost 20 years ago). At some point you have to make your own luck though. It's also annoying that they would definitely have Floyd if this Gopher team showed up last week and the overall perception of the program would be so much different, but again that's not an excuse.
Positives:
I have to start with the Oline and Dline play: I didn't think we could compete in the trenches going in to this season and, for one game at least, this team was able to compete. On the offensive side, they opened holes for Ibrahim and gave Zack just enough time to get passes off. There was at least one fairly gain for Ibrahim where Greene and Faalele were both line up on the left side of the line and Andries was the Right Tackle. It was an interesting wrinkle, especially because they ran right and not left on the play. On the defensive side, they were stout against the run and finally got a sack from someone not named Carter Coughlin (Jerry Gibson). Big picture, it was nice to see Big E flash and while I am not sure he got credited for any sacks (might have shared one with Coughlin) he made his presence felt.
Carter Coughlin: Deserves his own spot here as he was absolutely fantastic all day. The tackle lined up on him actually had a meltdown late in the game. After a Coughlin sack, he's screaming at the official that Coughlin was offsides (he wasn't) and the very next play he gets called for holding (very obvious) and has a tantrum about that. This kid was lucky that he wouldn't be on the field for any more plays that mattered (Gophers would miss a FG to essentially end the game the next drive). On the downside, it would totally be Gopher luck if Carter's fantastic day IN A LOSS caused his draft stock to rise to the point where he leaves early.
Kirk Ciarrocca: He had a fantastic day calling plays. It says a lot that the team could up and down the field most of the day without ever really completing a pass outside the numbers. I am really excited to see what a Ciarrocca offense can look like when he has more confidence in his quarterback and his offensive line.
Coach Fleck: Had the team prepared to play in a real difficult spot. I am sure it has been mentioned, but the Gophers were without there best CB and their best run stuffing DT today. I was encouraged by what I saw today.
Mo Ibrahim: This kid ran hard, blocked well and played well above my expectations.
Negatives:
3rd down defense/blown coverages?: I don't want to be too hard on Robb Smith because his defense was without at least 3 starters and then lost Durr to targeting. That said, it's frustrating to see his defense not be able to get off the field on 3rd. On at least 3 occasions that they stopped the 3rd down play, they allowed enough yardage for tOSU to comfortably go for it on 4th down. The aforementioned play where the tOSU receiver made the one handed grab was a total coverage breakdown and so was tOSU's final touchdown in what amounted to garbage time. Perhaps the most disappointing conversion of the game was to open the 4th quarter when the Gophers had tOSU deep in their own territory and facing like a 3rd and 14 and they get a guy wide open over the middle for a easy conversion. With games coming up against Nebraska and Purdue, eliminating these breakdowns in pass coverage will be crucial.
Zack Annexstad: This one might be controversial, but I am a little bit down on Zack after 3 B1G games and seeing how other true freshman have performed at QB across the country. Don't get me wrong, I am nowhere near giving up on him, I just don't think he's cementing himself as the future at QB. The first interception of the game was horrific and never should have been thrown. The second interception of the game should have been a touchdown. I felt like some of the passes he had batted down today were also the result of him locking in one receiver. He was missed on some fairly easy completions and is developing a scary habit of being high on the slants which is going to end up getting his receivers hurt and/or resulting in turnovers sooner rather than later. There's still plenty of season left, but we are going to need Zack to take a bit of step forward not only to win games left on the schedule but also to feel confident about him going in to 2019.
Overall, this is probably the most encouraging loss from a Gopher football team in a long time. I just hope they are able to build on it and the best performance of the year won't be wasted in a loss.