SOUND OFF: Post Game Thread: Gophers Crushed in 2nd Half Loss at Penn St

The only remaining game I feel confident about is Northwestern.

This is the most Minnesota of Minnesota seasons. Don’t think I’d ever been higher on the Gophers than after the Michigan State blow out. The wheels have fallen off.

Only realistic way to even partially salvage this season is to beat NW, Rutgers, and Iowa, then win whatever crappy bowl we’d get. 8-4, but an ugly 8-4.

Edit: ugly 8-5.
 

well, if you're looking for positives, the Gopher Volleyball team did win tonight, beating Purdue 3 sets to 1. Gophers were down in the 1st set but came back to win.

Men's hockey lost to the Fighting Who in OT.
 

It would appear Wright quitting on that route that led to the last INT last week put him in the doghouse as I didn’t see him on the field at all today. Wouldn’t shock me to see him entering the portal (again). Just the way college football now works.
 

It would appear Wright quitting on that route that led to the last INT last week put him in the doghouse as I didn’t see him on the field at all today. Wouldn’t shock me to see him entering the portal (again). Just the way college football now works.

The young man does have supreme athletic talent, so I sure hope he can learn to maximize it. He's throwing it away right now with mental mistakes. Otherwise, he's just gonna show up on the roster of Abilene Christian or Houston Baptist next year and then probably disappear from rosters all together.
 

It would appear Wright quitting on that route that led to the last INT last week put him in the doghouse as I didn’t see him on the field at all today. Wouldn’t shock me to see him entering the portal (again). Just the way college football now works.
According to KFAN's pregame, Wright was back in the Cities because of an injury, but is expected to be back next week.
 


I've been giving the O-line the benefit of the doubt since the Purdue game because defenses have consistently been throwing plus numbers at them with blitzes. It's often up to the OC, QB and receivers to step up when that happens, and they didn't. Tonight, though, it was obvious the O-line was not in tune. Several times, especially the RG and RT, I saw them going the wrong direction and blocking air while a defender blasts the ball carrier. They need to figure that crap out. Fast.
 

Some positives:
  1. run Defense to start the game
  2. Walley Int
  3. Athan throwing some nice passes
  4. Catch by Brockington
  5. Mo's hard running
  6. MBS actually went up and kind of high pointed a ball on the Gophers last td drive. He has speed and is one of the few guys that seems to get separation. Maybe he can improve.
The Negatives:
  1. Linebacker play especially in the middle. By my count Sori-Marin was responsible for three TDs and just had a rough game. the LBs in general were outclassed as they struggled with Penn State's speed and when they were used to blitz they were picked up easily.
  2. The missed assignment after Walley went out. Someone has to recognize that there is an unguarded WR on the edge there (safety, linebacker and coaching staff)
  3. play by WR group. The sad thing about this one is I don't think it can be fixed this year.
  4. That dang play to the right called for Potts has been a negative play every time it's called. It has killed drives at key times.
  5. The lack of trust in Athan early in the game really hurt the team. After Walley's interception and other drives while the Gopher defense was holding tight really set the tone.
Definitely still supportive of this team and still think they can win 3 or more games. They are in a rut and need some positive things to happen to get out of it. If they can show improvement and finish strong I won't be as disappointed in the season.
 

According to KFAN's pregame, Wright was back in the Cities because of an injury, but is expected to be back next week.
Thanks for the reply. Still wouldn’t shock me if it wasn’t injury related, being coaches don’t have to be honest when it comes to this kind of thing. But interesting nonetheless.
 

Gophers played terrible. But I also learned it's illegal to call PI on Pedo State U
 



* Coaches tried to protect AK to start the game by only running the ball, but it actually hurt him. The whole stadium knew Mo was getting the ball every play. Slow start = bad for the Gophs in any game.
* Receivers sucked donkey balls once again when it counted.
* Defense started OK, but then totally fell apart in the 2nd half. Almost like they quit.
* Right side of the O-line has no idea what it's doing at times. Guys go completely unblocked at times.
* Gophs got absolutely no breaks from the refs and it hurt them badly by multiple scores when the game was still close.
* I like AK as a QB. He has promise.
Nice post.
 


1st & 10, 2nd & 8, 3rd & 12 from PSU 14 yd line after great int & return. Fleck doesn’t let Athan throw the ball even 1 time? He thought 3 points would matter there. That’s just sheer stupidity. He thought running the ball on 2nd down would be a good idea there. That was just sheer stupidity. He waits to get down 17-3 and then is like welp, gotta throw the ball, and goes 90 yards for a TD in less than 2 minutes.

Imagine you come out with that mindset at the start of the game??? Imagine you go up 7-0???? Imagine you make PSU’s defense defense BOTH the pass and the run? Stop being so scared to lose PJ. The odds were overwhelming for you to lose anyway.
 

I assume everyone has seen the Waterboy. Cirocca to me is like coach Klein, had everything cooking 3 years ago here, left, totally lost his confidence calling plays and is now lost. If not for MO our offense looks like the same one I ran in 7th grade. I feel like they are coaching scared
 



I assume everyone has seen the Waterboy. Cirocca to me is like coach Klein, had everything cooking 3 years ago here, left, totally lost his confidence calling plays and is now lost. If not for MO our offense looks like the same one I ran in 7th grade. I feel like they are coaching scared
Sounds like this is more of a Fleck thing than a KC thing.
 


Two comments:

1. We deserved to lose, because Penn State is the better team and played and schemed well. But we started off well and, had the game been called fairly, deserved to be in a close game, losing a hard, more even fight with dignity.

2. We got "crushed" both on the scoreboard and emotionally because certain referees ventured beyond ordinary incompetence into open and obvious bias territory. The PI non-call when MBS was pushed/yanked down leading to a drive-killing INT might have been incompetence--or just "letting the guys play." The follow-up "inverse" PI call on Terrell Smith on a stunningly uncatchable ball thrown nowhere near the receiver, essentially gifting PSU a TD, is a form of open, ham-handed bias that makes me sick. The non-calls on hyper-obvious, game-changing holdings by Penn State leading to big plays make me wish we just had robotic AI referees, who would act fairly, without bias, and arguably distribute their incompetence equally between both teams. The tone was set by the early-game cheating by PSU DL and LBs, leading to several false starts that killed an early drive. Call it once on the Gophers, but calling it twice in a row on the Gophers when both times it was a PennState penalty. Bias beyond incompetence killing a young QB's chance to bring a score.

We got beat because, for some reason, we couldn't cover a releasing TE (twice) and left a WR totally uncovered by lining up a CB on the wrong side of the field. Three touchdowns we gave Penn State that are not how we normally play. And we lost because a Penn State receiver who was covered like glue perfectly high-pointed a contested pass for a TD. We lost because (to borrow from Dorothy Parker), our offensive play calling runs the "gamut of creativity from A to B." We lost because our WRs, in the patterns they are asked to run, can't achieve separation and seem disinclined to leap for contested throws. Those are really big issues, dooming us to a loss--and maybe a another one or two this season. But they are not the ones that "crushed" emotionally us on Saturday.

I believe we got crushed, and our players' morale brutalized, because the players see when the referees are calling a clearly biased game. One set of "non-call" rules for PSU and a different set of unequally punitive calls against the Gophers. The players see that no matter how hard they fight the game isn't going to be called fairly. When you are locked in a battle with an athletically-superior team and the referees make several momentum- and game-changing calls that show outright bias for the superior team, it has got to affect you emotionally. It beats you down, and there is nothing you can do to change it.

So, I feel bad for how we were prepared and how we executed in the game. We deserved to lose. Our coaches need to take a look inward. Are our schemes the optimal fit for the talent we have? But we didn't deserve to be crushed emotionally in this game. That is on a couple of seemingly biased referees who appear intentionally to have ruined what could been an exciting, well-played football game featuring a debut QB who stayed calm throughout, playing in a noisy madhouse. But maybe that is what the B1G wants. The rich get a lot of highly-favored treatment in life, so I shouldn't be surprised to see the same dynamic in football, I guess.

I personally think the B1G would be a better league, more entertaining and worth following, if it made clear--seriously clear--to officiating crews "call it the same both ways." And if a referee has simply got to be biased, at least don't make it so damned obvious!

P.S. Athan is going to be a great one. He stood tall during a baptism of fire. His confidence will spill over to the offense--which needs a big shot of confidence (and some variety in play calling). I love Tanner, he has been a great for the Gophers for so long. But maybe it is time for the Athan Era to begin. Even if it means we lose a game Tanner might have won done the stretch.
 
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I assume everyone has seen the Waterboy. Cirocca to me is like coach Klein, had everything cooking 3 years ago here, left, totally lost his confidence calling plays and is now lost. If not for MO our offense looks like the same one I ran in 7th grade. I feel like they are coaching scared
Its called not having Johnson and Bateman.
 

I'm depressed as hell.

This defense sucks, which I thought would be good to great, and is going to suck heading into next year.

Our offense next year will still have no receivers, along with no MO, and no center who is an all American.

I'm pissed off, because we are the gophers and in danger of becoming a laughing stock yet again.

I'm also pissed, because we will go back to Morgan, which is worthless and totally pointless.

If someone would like to blow some sunshine up my ass, it ain't going to work.

By the way, I hope no receiver recruits are actually watching this shit.
Although no one wants to believe this, this may be the beginning of a prolonged dark period for Gopher football. The future does not look so hot.
 

Although no one wants to believe this, this may be the beginning of a prolonged dark period for Gopher football. The future does not look so hot.
Oh come on don't sell yourself short. You want to believe this....so it isn't no one. There are a couple others that will gladly join you.....you know who they are....like you they post a ton after losses and get real quiet after wins...
 

Adjusting to the noise, and the inexperienced QB probably had a good bit to do with that early on...
According to the post game presser Fleck believes something else was going on to cause those.
 


Two comments:

1. We deserved to lose, because Penn State is the better team and played and schemed well. But we started off well and, had the game been called fairly, deserved to be in a close game, losing a hard, more even fight with dignity.

2. We got "crushed" both on the scoreboard and emotionally because certain referees ventured beyond ordinary incompetence into open and obvious bias territory. The PI non-call when MBS was pushed/yanked down leading to a drive-killing INT might have been incompetence--or just "letting the guys play." The follow-up "inverse" PI call on Terrell Smith on a stunningly uncatchable ball thrown nowhere near the receiver, essentially gifting PSU a TD, is a form of open, ham-handed bias that makes me sick. The non-calls on hyper-obvious, game-changing holdings by Penn State leading to big plays make me wish we just had robotic AI referees, who would act fairly, without bias, and arguably distribute their incompetence equally between both teams. The tone was set by the early-game cheating by PSU DL and LBs, leading to several false starts that killed an early drive. Call it once on the Gophers, but calling it twice in a row on the Gophers when both times it was a PennState penalty. Bias beyond incompetence killing a young QB's chance to bring a score.

We got beat because, for some reason, we couldn't cover a releasing TE (twice) and left a WR totally uncovered by lining up a CB on the wrong side of the field. Three touchdowns we gave Penn State that are not how we normally play. And we lost because a Penn State receiver who was covered like glue perfectly high-pointed a contested pass for a TD. We lost because (to borrow from Dorothy Parker), our offensive play calling runs the "gamut of creativity from A to B." We lost because our WRs, in the patterns they are asked to run, can't achieve separation and seem disinclined to leap for contested throws. Those are really big issues, dooming us to a loss--and maybe a another one or two this season. But they are not the ones that "crushed" emotionally us on Saturday.

I believe we got crushed, and our players' morale brutalized, because the players see when the referees are calling a clearly biased game. One set of "non-call" rules for PSU and a different set of unequally punitive calls against the Gophers. The players see that no matter how hard they fight the game isn't going to be called fairly. When you are locked in a battle with an athletically-superior team and the referees make several momentum- and game-changing calls that show outright bias for the superior team, it has got to affect you emotionally. It beats you down, and there is nothing you can do to change it.

So, I feel bad for how we were prepared and how we executed in the game. We deserved to lose. Our coaches need to take a look inward. Are our schemes the optimal fit for the talent we have? But we didn't deserve to be crushed emotionally in this game. That is on a couple of seemingly biased referees who appear intentionally to have ruined what could been an exciting, well-played football game featuring a debut QB who stayed calm throughout, playing in a noisy madhouse. But maybe that is what the B1G wants. The rich get a lot of highly-favored treatment in life, so I shouldn't be surprised to see the same dynamic in football, I guess.

I personally think the B1G would be a better league, more entertaining and worth following, if it made clear--seriously clear--to officiating crews "call it the same both ways." And if a referee has simply got to be biased, at least don't make it so damned obvious!

P.S. Athan is going to be a great one. He stood tall during a baptism of fire. His confidence will spill over to the offense--which needs a big shot of confidence (and some variety in play calling). I love Tanner, he has been a great for the Gophers for so long. But maybe it is time for the Athan Era to begin. Even if it means we lose a game Tanner might have won done the stretch.
Nailed it
 

As I mentioned after the Illinois game, time for PJ to find 2 different coordinators.
 

After 6 years of PJ's recruiting, we should have better skill players than we do.
 

The wheels have come off the season. Fleck has to get the boat turned around quickly and get some Ws versus Iowa and Wisconsin or the murmurs will start. Next year at least on the surface seems to be a rebuilding year and NIL and conference and division realignment will permanently alter the landscape. I really thought the stars would align this year. Very disappointed but life will go on.
WI acted decisively with Chyrst. There is a scenario where we would have to do the same at the end of this season.

Let’s hope we win out and look back at this as a minor bump.
 


1st & 10, 2nd & 8, 3rd & 12 from PSU 14 yd line after great int & return. Fleck doesn’t let Athan throw the ball even 1 time? He thought 3 points would matter there. That’s just sheer stupidity. He thought running the ball on 2nd down would be a good idea there. That was just sheer stupidity. He waits to get down 17-3 and then is like welp, gotta throw the ball, and goes 90 yards for a TD in less than 2 minutes.

Imagine you come out with that mindset at the start of the game??? Imagine you go up 7-0???? Imagine you make PSU’s defense defense BOTH the pass and the run? Stop being so scared to lose PJ. The odds were overwhelming for you to lose anyway.
The coaches did AK a disservice early in the game. I understand wanting to establish the run and ease AK into the game. But you can still be conservative and still mix it up a little. Get him on the outside where it’s easy to throw it away if there’s nothing there or allow him to run for a few yards. Then when they got behind they didn’t have a choice but to open things up.

Running 3 times after that INT was ridiculous.
 

The coaches did AK a disservice early in the game. I understand wanting to establish the run and ease AK into the game. But you can still be conservative and still mix it up a little. Get him on the outside where it’s easy to throw it away if there’s nothing there or allow him to run for a few yards. Then when they got behind they didn’t have a choice but to open things up.

Running 3 times after that INT was ridiculous.
I'm curious what play they would have run on 3rd and 7 before the false start. Might have been a run but not convinced it would have been. Once the false start happened and it became 3rd and 12 there was no doubt in my mind that the 3rd down play was going to be a run. I'm sure Fleck and KC knew PSU was going to bring a ton of pressure on that play so they opted to take the points after the penalty.
 


Move on, nothing to see here. Just the remains of a once promising football team.
 




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