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Gophergrandpa

Gophergrandpa

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This was a game in which we lost badly by offensive statistical measures but nonetheless thoroughly beat our opponent, ala Iowa. šŸ„ø Very uncharacteristically (in recent seasons), we won because of a 70 yard pick six and a 70 yard KO return ā€¦ and because we passed for two touchdowns.

How unbalanced were the offensive stats? Syracuse ran 85 plays for 477 yards; we ran 49 plays for 215 yards. Syracuse won TOP 34:03 to 25:57.

The pick six, which swung the gameā€™s momentum, was the Gophersā€™ first since Coney Durr returned one in 2019. As good as the Gophersā€™ D has been at stifling other teamsā€™ scoring, we have not lately had an opportunistic defense ā€¦ a defense that itself creates points. Maybe that will change in 2023.

The KO return, Reddingā€™s second very good return of the year, represents a significant move away from our strategy of simply fair catching every KO (2021, 2020). Thank God.

We won today because all three legs of the stoolā€”offense, defense and STsā€”contributed to scoring. We were opportunistic on defense, not just ā€œstoppers.ā€ And we embraced the challenge of STs play, didnā€™t just play it safe. All in all, a very satisfying win.
 

I can only hope that this is the beginning of more emphasis and expectation that ST becomes an asset instead of a detriment or status quo. PJ really needs to evaluate every opportunity at hand. Our competitors (namely WI, NE, & IA) can simply out recruit us based on historical context. Couple that along with two new competitors in UCLA & USC. MN is going to have to get scrappy at put LOTS of emphasis on things like ST to win games. We are not going to "out athlete" most of the B1G. Can it happen once in awhile? Sure. But we need to win games like today.... UGLY.
 


Gophergrandpa said:
This was a game in which we lost badly by offensive statistical measures but nonetheless thoroughly beat our opponent, ala Iowa. šŸ„ø Very uncharacteristically (in recent seasons), we won because of a 70 yard pick six and a 70 yard KO return ā€¦ and because we passed for two touchdowns.

How unbalanced were the offensive stats? Syracuse ran 85 plays for 477 yards; we ran 49 plays for 215 yards. Syracuse won TOP 34:03 to 25:57.

The pick six, which swung the gameā€™s momentum, was the Gophersā€™ first since Coney Durr returned one in 2019. As good as the Gophersā€™ D has been at stifling other teamsā€™ scoring, we have not lately had an opportunistic defense ā€¦ a defense that itself creates points. Maybe that will change in 2023.

The KO return, Reddingā€™s second very good return of the year, represents a significant move away from our strategy of simply fair catching every KO (2021, 2020). Thank God.

We won today because all three legs of the stoolā€”offense, defense and STsā€”contributed to scoring. We were opportunistic on defense, not just ā€œstoppers.ā€ And we embraced the challenge of STs play, didnā€™t just play it safe. All in all, a very satisfying win.
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+1. The bolded stats are crazy.
 



Tvans022 said:
Well, I learned what's like to be an Iowa fan today.... Enjoyable. Beats dominating and losing because of crap special teams or an untimely turnover.
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Correct, but man was I worried about that on-sides kick at the end. Wish we would have tried to get a first down in either of our final three possessions (CBs were playing ten yards off our WRs, and we could have taken advantage of it on 2nd or 3rd and 1)
 

Time of possession is important. Our defensive players looked like they were nearly out of gas at the end. In the last Syracuse offensive series, the Gophers were pass rushing with only three, play after play after play; Striggow and Joyner looked like they were going to keel over from exhaustion.
 

RememberMurray said:
Time of possession is important. Our defensive players looked like they were nearly out of gas at the end. In the last Syracuse offensive series, the Gophers were pass rushing with only three, play after play after play; Striggow and Joyner looked like they were going to keel over from exhaustion.
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A 'Cuse fan at the game made the same observation. Our guys were pushed to the limit yesterday. Thank goodness no OT for this one.
 

Tvans022 said:
I can only hope that this is the beginning of more emphasis and expectation that ST becomes an asset instead of a detriment or status quo. PJ really needs to evaluate every opportunity at hand. Our competitors (namely WI, NE, & IA) can simply out recruit us based on historical context. Couple that along with two new competitors in UCLA & USC. MN is going to have to get scrappy at put LOTS of emphasis on things like ST to win games. We are not going to "out athlete" most of the B1G. Can it happen once in awhile? Sure. But we need to win games like today.... UGLY.
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The Gophers must click on all cylinders to keep up with the Big Ten storms on the horizon.
 



If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times: PJ will do exactly what's needed to win and NOTHING more. They obviously gameplan for exactly that in the week(s) leading up to the game, but he'll also adjust during the game. It's absolutely a risk averse strategy that comes back to bite 'em from time to time, but it's been successful to the tune of winning nealry 75% of games the past 3 full seasons. Not bad.
 

MGGopher said:
If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times: PJ will do exactly what's needed to win and NOTHING more. They obviously gameplan for exactly that in the week(s) leading up to the game, but he'll also adjust during the game. It's absolutely a risk averse strategy that comes back to bite 'em from time to time, but it's been successful to the tune of winning nealry 75% of games the past 3 full seasons. Not bad.
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Yes.

To play football in the SEC style, you need 4 and 5-star, game-breaking talent at QB and WR. It also helps to have good weather throughout the season, as 'basketball on grass' is less effective in the north during bad weather. And if your defense is good, but not filled with 4 and 5-stars, then the 'grind the clock' philosophy makes a lot of sense. It puts the pressure on the opponents' offense, because they know they will only have so many opportunities.

The truth of the matter is: at Minnesota, we do not have the talent-rich pool of players to draw from that elite football schools do. We are and always will be a developmental program. If we win 9, 9, 11 games over the course of 3 complete seasons, we have done really, really well. For confirmation, see the other thread on the teams that have 9+ wins in the last three complete seasons. We're in very good ā€” some might say elite ā€” company.
 

BRADLEYMICHAEL said:
Ryan Burns when you get back from your wedding, it is time to recognize that the Gophers relied upon good special teams play to win against Syracuse.
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Agreed.....although I hope we have some competition at punter for next season.
 

BRADLEYMICHAEL said:
Ryan Burns when you get back from your wedding, it is time to recognize that the Gophers relied upon good special teams play to win against Syracuse.
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I saw a tweet called for the Special Teams coach's job. I was in and out of the game to know what the issue was.
 





RememberMurray said:
Time of possession is important. Our defensive players looked like they were nearly out of gas at the end. In the last Syracuse offensive series, the Gophers were pass rushing with only three, play after play after play; Striggow and Joyner looked like they were going to keel over from exhaustion.
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Yup. TOP was a problem. Offense only ran 15 plays in the second half.....four of which came on the last drive as we were basically trying to run down the clock. The defense was on the field for the majority of the second half....and you could see how gassed a few of the guys were.
 


Apparently we didnā€™t have any depth at the DT position. That will be a problem next year. Maybe the portal will yield some results.
 


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