Another Brilliant Performance by Offensive Visionary Matt Limegrower

[MrC]

NM. Was late to the party.

 

[Formo]

I love big plays, especially when the offense is able to produce them. If the Matt Limegrover system were working, the Gophers would have bowled UNLV DLmen and LBs straight down the field, and the Gophers big plays would have been offensive ones, not special teams bailouts. After watching this game I am very concerned about the Gophers chances of winning more than a few football games this season, as they will struggle to gain 200 yards or score a couple of TDs a game. That won't cut it past game #4. No BCS-level team should have the QB run as their only way to move the ball against UNLV at home. If that's the case, bring out the option running game because it's the only chance you have.

This exact same thing was said after last year's game vs UNLV. And we somehow managed to win 6 games.

 

[GophersInIowa]

So let me get this straight:

A few Gopherholers go on and on about how even if we blow UNLV away, the media will still find something to complain about.

Then we blow UNLV away, and a few Gopherholers goes on to piss and moan?

Really guys? Jesus Christ you few actually are the absolute worst.

Corrected it for you.

 

[Formo]

So let me get this straight:

Gopherholers go on and on about how even if we blow UNLV away, the media will still find something to complain about.

Then we blow UNLV away, and Gopherhole goes on to piss and moan?

Really guys? Jesus Christ you actually are the absolute worst.

 

[BarnBoy]

And that hits on another concerning item - why did the UNLV offense led by their 1st-year OC look disciplined, prepared, and executed plays with substandard talent, while our 3rd-year OC could barely muster up a play more inventive than an off-tackle dive or 5-yard slant into coverage? If we're to accept that it's a TALENT deficit on the Gophers' side of things, then certainly the talent deficit of UNLV should lead to equally bad execution, not? Kind of blows that theory out of the water, unless one wants to argue that UNLV has much better talent on offense than the Gophers (and I have trouble believing that).

Theory: The coaching staff knew that our guys are bigger, stronger and faster and the coaches actually have patience. On the other hand, for UNLV, it's their Super Bowl. They were throwing out hook-and-lateral plays in the first half for God's sake. There might be something to not spilling out our entire playbook for the rest of the conference. These coaches are all about building a solid foundation. Wouldn't surprise me if they had a game plan like "we are going to run 5 plays and kick their ass".

Some of you might call that stubborn, or stupid. We'll see.

 

[tinyarch]

It's game 1. We get the kinks out and improve in game 2. Limegrover kept it simple. We won. Can't complain.

 

[cncmin]

This exact same thing was said after last year's game vs UNLV. And we somehow managed to win 6 games.

Hell, why not predict TEN victories after that shellacking? How can anyone beat our mighty Gophers after that impressive performance? Undefeated season, maybe?

 

[tinyarch]

Not concerned about "bland". Concerned that we couldn't move the ball against a mediocre D. If bland works, use it. If you need your special teams and defense on the field to score against UNLV, I'm sorry but that's a huge problem.

Take away our special teams points and we still win. How is winning a huge problem?

 

[MrC]

Can't complain.

Dude, you do know this is Gopherhole, right?

 

[SonoranGopher1]

It was the gophs that had the inferior talent at receiver (Look at 81 for the rebels)! Why can't we ever get the 6' 3" receiver with good hands and speed? Nelson is a solid qb but he needs a playmaker. Look at the interception he threw, a stud receiver would have hauled that in for a td.

 

[cncmin]

Theory: The coaching staff knew that our guys are bigger, stronger and faster and the coaches actually have patience. On the other hand, for UNLV, it's their Super Bowl. They were throwing out hook-and-lateral plays in the first half for God's sake. There might be something to not spilling out our entire playbook for the rest of the conference. These coaches are all about building a solid foundation. Wouldn't surprise me if they had a game plan like "we are going to run 5 plays and kick their ass".

Some of you might call that stubborn, or stupid. We'll see.

Every year somebody pulls out the "they're just saving it for the real season" theory to explain complete offensive ineptitude (in any sport). I very much wish I'd ever have seen evidence that it was true so that I could believe it here.

 

[cncmin]

It was the gophs that had the inferior talent at receiver (Look at 81 for the rebels)! Why can't we ever get the 6' 3" receiver with good hands and speed? Nelson is a solid qb but he needs a playmaker. Look at the interception he threw, a stud receiver would have hauled that in for a td.

well he threw that one too short, but yes, a stud receiver would have either made that catch or adjusted to make sure the defense didn't catch it.

 

[BarnBoy]

Every year somebody pulls out the "they're just saving it for the real season" theory to explain complete offensive ineptitude (in any sport). I very much wish I'd ever have seen evidence that it was true so that I could believe it here.

What evidence do you want? Maybe our 20-point losses to B1G opponents would have been 30-point losses? How's that for evidence? Did you actually play football in high school or college? Have you actually talked to any coaches about this kind of stuff? So you are saying the old, "let's not pull out the whole playbook first game" thing never happens? You are chalking that one up next to Area 51 and the Lockness Monster as "not plausible"?

It's not a theory when coaches actually do it. And it's not a theory to think that a double digit underdog is more likely to pull out the kitchen sink. I very much wish you would go away.

 

[John Galt]

You've got to love it when Gopher fans are complaining after we win by 28 points. That by itself indicates it's a new era of Gopher football... a mere two years ago we lost at home to bleeping New Mexico St. and NDSU. Now people are complaining that the offense didn't look good enough. What did you expect, Fruechte and Engel to turn into Eric Decker?

Last year we beat UNLV by 3 in 3OTs on the road. This year we win by 28 at home. Have we improved? Definitely. Are we going to win 8+ games this year? Doubtful based on what we saw tonight. But why would anyone realistically expect this? We still don't have all the pieces to be a really good team. We all knew this was going to take some time, and luckily the 2014 recruiting class is shaping up to be the best yet.

 

[mnsports1]

You've got to love it when Gopher fans are complaining after we win by 28 points. That by itself indicates it's a new era of Gopher football... a mere two years ago we lost at home to bleeping New Mexico St. and NDSU. Now people are complaining that the offense didn't look good enough. What did you expect, Fruechte and Engel to turn into Eric Decker?

Last year we beat UNLV by 3 in 3OTs on the road. This year we win by 28 at home. Have we improved? Definitely. Are we going to win 8+ games this year? Doubtful based on what we saw tonight. But why would anyone realistically expect this? We still don't have all the pieces to be a really good team. We all knew this was going to take some time, and luckily the 2014 recruiting class is shaping up to be the best yet.

+28

 

[patrick08]

Well that didn't take long. Let's just fire our coordinator that has been with our coach for 16 years. It worked so great for Brewster when he had a new coordinator every year. RELAX it's the first game!!!

 

[BarnBoy]

+28

I see what you did there.

 

[GophersInIowa]

And that hits on another concerning item - why did the UNLV offense led by their 1st-year OC look disciplined, prepared, and executed plays with substandard talent, while our 3rd-year OC could barely muster up a play more inventive than an off-tackle dive or 5-yard slant into coverage? If we're to accept that it's a TALENT deficit on the Gophers' side of things, then certainly the talent deficit of UNLV should lead to equally bad execution, not? Kind of blows that theory out of the water, unless one wants to argue that UNLV has much better talent on offense than the Gophers (and I have trouble believing that).

Couldn't one argue that scoring points also translates to executing?

How about we look at it this way: Minnesota's offense scored 30 points, UNLV's scored 23. And since UNLV's offense gave 7 points back with the INT & TD, someone could claim it was 30-16. The point is, there are many ways to look at it.

In no way am I saying our offense was great (or even good) or that we shouldn't be concerned about the defense giving up that many yards.

 

[MrC]

So let me get this straight:

Gopherholers go on and on about how even if we blow UNLV away, the media will still find something to complain about.

Then we blow UNLV away, and Gopherhole goes on to piss and moan?

Really guys? Jesus Christ you actually are the absolute worst.

Doubly ironic since the game coverage in the local newspapers was fairly positive....

 

[husker70]

If you take a closer look, you find the Gophers were 8-14 on third down, a 57.1%. I will take that. We did rush for 221 yards on 38 attempts, for a 5.8 average. The QB option off the tailback dive was unstoppable. I think we must have at least 100 yards off that play alone. And while Kirkwood and Williams were running north south, I was pleased that Cobb finally busted one off the outside zone. The offense put up 30 points, running maybe 4 running plays.

someone said things are never as bad as you think they are and never as good. We should have had 4 more points. We had run two I blasts with Williams and faced 2 and goal. We stacked the I and fumbled the snap. Later in the game faced with about the same it was a fake and QB keeper for TD.

And for All you who complaint about wide receiver cannot this or cannot that. We have mismatches with players like Goodger and Williams. And it seems Nelson is better on the roll out.

 

[tikited]

I'm super happy we won.

I'm super concerned we won't be able to score in the B10.

Scoring is hard. Scoring enough points for a Gopher victory is harder.

Yep. Anyone who feels otherwise is kidding themselves.

 

[John Galt]

Yep. Anyone who feels otherwise is kidding themselves.

Kidding themselves of what? Everyone who expected this offense, which has 1 senior starter, to average 30 points a game in the Big Ten, raise your hand.

 

[tikited]

Kidding themselves of what? Everyone who expected this offense, which has 1 senior starter, to average 30 points a game in the Big Ten, raise your hand.

We aren't in the Big Ten yet genius. Good win. Impressive offense? No. What don't you get?

 

[tikited]

And for All you who complaint about wide receiver cannot this or cannot that. We have mismatches with players like Goodger and Williams. And it seems Nelson is better on the roll out.

Yep.

 

[mnsports1]

We aren't in the Big Ten yet genius. Good win. Impressive offense? No. What don't you get?

Most people wringing their hands over the offense have been referencing "what will it look like in 5 weeks against B1G teams."

 

[John Galt]

We aren't in the Big Ten yet genius. Good win. Impressive offense? No. What don't you get?

You agreed with Studwell saying that the offense will have trouble scoring in the B1G. What was your expectation, Barber and Maroney in 2003? Tell me about all the great Gopher offenses in the past 5 years that this one won't measure up with?

 

[cncmin]

You've got to love it when Gopher fans are complaining after we win by 28 points. That by itself indicates it's a new era of Gopher football... a mere two years ago we lost at home to bleeping New Mexico St. and NDSU. Now people are complaining that the offense didn't look good enough. What did you expect, Fruechte and Engel to turn into Eric Decker?

Last year we beat UNLV by 3 in 3OTs on the road. This year we win by 28 at home. Have we improved? Definitely. Are we going to win 8+ games this year? Doubtful based on what we saw tonight. But why would anyone realistically expect this? We still don't have all the pieces to be a really good team. We all knew this was going to take some time, and luckily the 2014 recruiting class is shaping up to be the best yet.

Yeah, because winning by 3 in 3 OTs on the road against a bad home team while not being able to move the football offensively isn't anything at all like getting blown up on both sides of the football by a one of the most horrendous road teams in the history of CFB for almost a full 60 minutes, not being able to move the football offensively, and relying on huge special teams plays to win by 28 at home. No similarities at all.

If the coaches are as jubilant over that performance as most of you (drunk?) people are and believe that the team that took the field tonight played a good game such that they don't have that much to correct, then there is zero chance to win a single B1G game on that schedule this year. What I saw on the field with the lack of offense and defense rivals some of the worst Gophers teams I've ever seen. I'll give this team, the way it is now, the 4 opening cream puff victories (including a nailbiter or two among those), but it has no chance to win any game in the B1G schedule without a drastic overhaul. The offense sucked. The defense stunk, except for one beautiful INT play. Hawthorne's FGs and XPs were bad. The punting game was bad. The kickoff return game was nice and the FG defense was great. So, building on those strengths, what's the future game plan: hope to score enough points on blocked FGs and kickoff returns to win a bunch of football games?

I know the expectations in Gopher football aren't very high, but when you can't even criticize getting pummeled on both sides of the football by UNLV at home without getting a bunch of nastygrams from blindly jubilant idiots, then perhaps we really never deserve to be the fans of a winner.

 

[John Galt]

Yeah, because winning by 3 in 3 OTs on the road against a bad home team while not being able to move the football offensively isn't anything at all like getting blown up on both sides of the football by a one of the most horrendous road teams in the history of CFB for almost a full 60 minutes, not being able to move the football offensively, and relying on huge special teams plays to win by 28 at home. No similarities at all.

If the coaches are as jubilant over that performance as most of you (drunk?) people are and believe that the team that took the field tonight played a good game such that they don't have that much to correct, then there is zero chance to win a single B1G game on that schedule this year. What I saw on the field with the lack of offense and defense rivals some of the worst Gophers teams I've ever seen. I'll give this team, the way it is now, the 4 opening cream puff victories (including a nailbiter or two among those), but it has no chance to win any game in the B1G schedule without a drastic overhaul. The offense sucked. The defense stunk, except for one beautiful INT play. Hawthorne's FGs and XPs were bad. The punting game was bad. The kickoff return game was nice and the FG defense was great. So, building on those strengths, what's the future game plan: hope to score enough points on blocked FGs and kickoff returns to win a bunch of football games?

I know the expectations in Gopher football aren't very high, but when you can't even criticize getting pummeled on both sides of the football by UNLV at home without getting a bunch of nastygrams from blindly jubilant idiots, then perhaps we really never deserve to be the fans of a winner.

Before tonight, how many games did you expect the Gophers to win this year?

 

[Tully55]

Yes, the offensive short comings were obvious. BUT one area of the O line that was a HUGE...let me repeat, HUGE improvement was no false starts in short yardage situations. How many times in the last few years have we shot ourselves in the foot that way. Not once tonight!

 

[tikited]

You agreed with Studwell saying that the offense will have trouble scoring in the B1G. What was your expectation, Barber and Maroney in 2003? Tell me about all the great Gopher offenses in the past 5 years that this one won't measure up with?

You aren't very smart. Why bring-up Barber and Maroney? All that we know about the offense is that the offense struggled. Why don't you get that?