A rare opportunity

[RememberMurray]

Minnesota vs USC upcoming. Seeing as how we played a common opponent in the last two weeks, I find this stat comparison pretty interesting:

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Last Saturday, Minnesota lost to Michigan at the Big House 27-24.

Just the week before, USC lost to Michigan at the Big House 27-24.

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Minnesota out-gained Michigan 296-241.

USC out-gained Michigan 379-322.


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Minnesota 20 first downs, Michigan 15 first downs.

USC 17 first downs, Michigan 12 first downs

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Minnesota 4.5 yards per play, Michigan 4.0 yards per play

USC 5.2 yards per play, Michigan 5.6 yards per play.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Minnesota vs USC upcoming. Seeing as how we played a common opponent in the last two weeks, I find this stat comparison pretty interesting:

---

Last Saturday, Minnesota lost to Michigan at the Big House 27-24.

Just the week before, USC lost to Michigan at the Big House 27-24.

---

Minnesota out-gained Michigan 296-241.

USC out-gained Michigan 379-322.


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Minnesota 20 first downs, Michigan 15 first downs.

USC 17 first downs, Michigan 12 first downs

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Minnesota 4.5 yards per play, Michigan 4.0 yards per play

USC 5.2 yards per play, Michigan 5.6 yards per play.

How many blocked punts and missed FGs did USC suffer against MI? If PJ's Gophers could just once put together a well-rounded ST's performance, the Gophers might well beat a ranked team (and we'd probably be 4-1 right now). Even with Koi's incredible positive contributions on punt return, our special teams--Crawford's punts never flip field; too many missed FGs--are almost always a drag on overall team performance and mean we almost always lose the game-long "field position" battle. If the Gophers play a mixed offense with some up tempo to keep Brosmer hot and USC off balance; play another solid defensive game; and run a STs performance that actually adds rather than subtracts points, we can beat USC (just as we would have beaten Michigan).

OL seems like the cause of our problems this year because it is underperforming past years (in which OL was a great strength). If we can just get our young center to quit the drive-killing "arm twitch" false starts, I think our OL will progress. But our punting and FG game are really subpar. In close games, punting that can't flip the field plus unreliable FG kicking often spell the difference between a win and loss. Blocked punts plus missed FGs are absolute killers. If the Gophers find the way to play a complete, POSITIVE STs game, I like our chances against USC. Given that USC has a great punt returner, the Goph's might even consider punting out of bounds situationally during the game, if our defense is having a good game.