mjfelton15
Banned
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We looked great, and I mean great UNTIL Faalele went down.
Fleck doesn’t believe in momentum. But watching this game on tv, and actually taking the time to analyze it, there is a clear and obvious turn of the tide. It starts when Faalele goes down in the first quarter. Morgan had enough time, on most plays, to make good calculated passes. There was one sack at 6:50 in the 1st that was bad, but that was immediately followed by the play that Morgan had a lot of time for Bateman to finally find some open space, ending in an amazing completed pass.
When Faalele went down at the 4:50 mark in the 1st quarter we immediately ran into issues. Called a timeout, looked confused. Ran Green into a wall for no gain. Controversially punted the ball away while we were on their 40 yard line.
At this point our defense was shutting down Taylor beautifully. Defense looked very solid the entire 1st quarter. Two bad plays in a row defensively were the bad coverage allowing Cephus to get the 1st down on 2nd and 13 with 47 seconds left in the quarter, followed by the costly pass interference on St. Juste with 26 seconds left. then we allowed Taylor his first solid run of the entire game to get them another first down on a long 1st and 15 to end the quarter. We were winning 7-0 after 1. Very little to complain about performance wise.
second quarter starts with Badgers in our end. Looked solid on first through 3rd down. This is where we made our first huge mistake, allowing Wisconsin to convert on 4th down with the end around. Everyone around me in the stands started bracing for impact as we are conditioned to do as long time Gopher fans. But then the defense comes up HUGE, absolute turnaround in momentum for us. They fumble, as the analysts and everyone was saying we needed then to do if we were going to win this game. The turnover margin NEEDED to go in our favor. Everyone knew that. So the defense still looked, for the most part, to be doing their job in winning us this game.
we start at the 32 with the ball with 13:55 in the second. Rodney goes 2 yards, followed by a bad miscue and sack on Morgan. THIS is where we start seeing how much we needed Faalele in this game. Morgan sees pressure two plays in a row. Badgers see the advantage they now have in the box. Morgan becomes immediately timid and looks jumpy after first sack mixed with immediate pressure on following play and forces an uncharacteristic pass off his back foot, resulting in the interception. Even with how bad this pass is, and set up for failure it is, Johnson actually had a shot at catching that ball. Went through his hands, just a little too high. Defense didn’t get much time to rest up. Wisconsin regained the momentum. They not only get good field position, but convert on 4th down. Defense bends by getting beat in the trenches allowing Coan to get the push he needed for that QB sneak, but it doesn’t break. Holds firm, but you can tell the D-line is getting gassed. Holds Wisconsin to 3.
The defense was still looking very good by the 9 minute mark in the second. Offense takes back over, completes some good passes. Has one solid run by Brooks for 5 yards. But can’t seem to snag any of the impressive sideline grabs that we’d been really solid with most of the season. Our play makers just weren’t making those game changing plays on this drive when it mattered. The refs missed a HUGE pass interference call that should have been made on the CB during the deep pass to Bateman. DB got away with yanking Bateman’s arm before the ball got there, it’s pretty clear. But you can’t count on the refs to make the right calls. I’d blame the play calling for this, we attempted too many 15+ yard passes along the sideline after a couple already failed. You need to stop at that point and go back to slants and shorter, higher probability of catch type passes. We end up having to punt, they start inside their 20. They complete a couple catches, the first one being for a first down.
defense shows that they’re getting tired, mixed with good play calling by Chryst, when they allow the screen play to the TE to go for 25 yards into our territory. Then follow that up with a great first down pass to Taylor. They started spreading us out and showing that they have some different dimensions. Defensively, this is where we hit a SERIOUS breakdown. Rossi didn’t know how to combat the diversity of play calls by Wisconsin on this drive, and they complete a pass to Taylor with no one really there to defend him other than Coughlin. Broken defensive play, clearly shouldn’t have ended up with Coughlin defending Taylor there. I knew on this TD, that our odds of winning just dropped drastically. I felt the sinking in my heart. From the stands it felt like a huge, collective sinking feeling in our fan base.
I would say that with 2:49 left in the 2nd, this is where we truly lost all momentum. We needed to score on one of our drives we had earlier. We needed to capitalize on that fumble recovery we had, and it needed to happen with 7. Not 3.
our final offensive drive before the half we had almost 3 minutes to retake the lead, and then get the ball back to start the second. Morgan looked shaky still. Making dangerous passes. Rodney breaks a big run, brings life back to the situation. But then our offensive line allows a huge sack. We attempt the screen to Autman-Bell. Doesn’t look as great as the one against Penn State. We get 5 yards. Then we try another deep prayer to Autman-Bell, it’s well defended. We don’t make anything of our chance. Go to half down 10-7.
we needed to be up at half. I truly think Faalele being out was the biggest piece to our lack of success. Followed by the interception that ruined our fumble recovery.
the second half the wheels came off. I don’t think I even need to break that down. But I do think our coaching staff should have been able to devise a halftime adjustment that answered not having Faalele. I think halftime adjustments should have been made to prevent any further screen plays to break for big yards against us.
in our first drive to start the second half though, we were driving. Slants were working VERY well. We completed two in a row for consecutive first downs. Followed by a stuffed run by Smith for no yards, and then a deeper sideline pass that went incomplete. I understand not wanting to be predictable, but you had the slants working. UNTIL YOU CANT. Why would you run Smith around the edge on 3rd and 10? In this same drive you had two slants work perfectly, and instead you think a run that was just stuffed on 1st and 10 is going to get you 10 yards on 3rd? Stupid.
They start with the ball deep in their end with a little over 11 minutes left in the 3rd. What started as a chance for us to make them tire out their offense (having to go 95 yards to get 7 more on the board), but this situation turns into a very manageable 60 yards to go in a matter of seconds. we maybe could have stood them up and gotten the ball back with solid field position, being down by only 3 STILL. We were STILL technically in this game at this point, even though most of us fans didn’t feel it momentum wise. Taylor then grabs 7 yards on the ground, and then 5 more for a first.
Then the game really felt out of reach quick. Coan completes the deep, 47 yard TD to Cephus. Huge break in coverage here, Howden didn’t drop back like he was supposed to soon enough. Leaving Barber as the guy trying to chase him down. This really deflated the entire squad. With our failed opportunities on offense, and the defense being told they need to come up big OVER and OVER again. It just wasn’t going to happen for us. Defense can only keep us in the game so long against a team like Wisconsin. For us to only have 7 this far into the game was the biggest disappointment for me. With an offense that, besides the first half against Iowa, had shown it could really burn people...I realized just how much we need to improve our depth at O-line. We can’t lose one lineman and see that big of a drop off in pass protection and the run game. Just can’t happen if you want to win these big games.
Everything after this is just embarrassing. And at this point when they went up 17-7 with 9:46 left in the 3rd. There was so much game left, we get the ball back. Big pass to Bateman. Spark of hope. Try a tunnel screen to Autman-Bell, 4 yards.
Then Ibrahim busts a huge run out of nowhere! Even bigger spark of hope. Could we make the comeback??? Well the miscue with Johnson on the deep ball out of the end zone...deflating again. We made it down to their 22 yard line. 8 minutes in the 3rd. We have 2nd and 10, bad unusual pass to Douglas incomplete and luckily not intercepted. Then we decide to play timid, use timid play calls. Run for 2 pathetic yards. Kick the field goal. It’s 17-10.
We.Are.Still.In.The.Game.
Aaaaaaaannnndddd then we’re not, just like that. Special teams gives up a huge kick return that goes into our territory. Totally deflated us again. So we FINALLY put a few more points on the board, and our Achilles heel (special teams) gets shot with an arrow by Bucky using a reverse on the kickoff. Defense by this point is probably collectively thinking “screw all of you”. They’re put into a situation with their backs against the wall, after how hard they’ve worked. Defense gives up a big first down pass to TE. Then it’s followed by an end around for a TD. Refs TOTALLY miss a HUGE holding call on #61. That gave them that TD, hands down. We had a guy right there. Now would he have gotten the tackle? I don’t know. But a penalty call is a penalty call. They missed it. Huge nail in the coffin. we answer their quick 7 with a run that gets stuffed, a nice first down pass, a run for little gain, a first down run by Brooks (very nice). We’re into badger territory. Marching nicely. Run the ball a couple times, end up 3rd and short. Snag a first down barely. 2:24 left in the 3rd, on their 36. Awesome first down completion to their 24. Run for 3 yards, slant that gets to their 6 YARD LINE. Imagine that..A SLANT THAT WORKED AGAIN. Run goes to the 4 to end the quarter.
we go into the 4th. down 2 scores. We’re knocking on the door to bring the game to within 7.
IN A GAME OF THIS MAGNITUDE, YOU NEED TO SCORE HERE. SO HELP ME GOD, FAALELE OR NOT, YOU PUNCH IT IN.
this is the MOST befuddling play calling of the game, if prior moments hadn’t been a bit puzzling already. We try 2 fade routes to Johnson, instead of Bateman. We run virtually the same pass twice in a row, out routes instead of slants. Refs missed the pass interference on the first one, and possibly even on the second one. Refs can’t be the deciding factor of a game though. HOW IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO FOR PLAY CALLS? Where was Seth Green? What about a PA pass, draw the blitz give a nice toss over the line to a wide open TE? Something else!
the rest is history, and it was so bad that at this point while in the stands, I was just waiting for a Badger fan to say the wrong thing near me. I was hoping for an all out fan brawl. Something to unleash my anger on. But I couldn’t. Had to stay classier than Badger fans.
this game sucked, it hurt, and there was so much on the line...
very deflating.
i am still rowing the boat, still totally on board, and I sure as hell hope the players use this as motivation and a learning experience going forward. Hope we win our bowl game to go 11-2. Overall it was a beautiful season. But every season generally encounters some level of heartbreak. Just sucks ours had to be to our two biggest rivals. Can’t change anything though. I love where we appear to be headed as a program, haven’t had this much hope for the future or love for the present in a long long time.
SKI-U-MAH
who hates Bucky? WE HATE BUCKY!
Fleck doesn’t believe in momentum. But watching this game on tv, and actually taking the time to analyze it, there is a clear and obvious turn of the tide. It starts when Faalele goes down in the first quarter. Morgan had enough time, on most plays, to make good calculated passes. There was one sack at 6:50 in the 1st that was bad, but that was immediately followed by the play that Morgan had a lot of time for Bateman to finally find some open space, ending in an amazing completed pass.
When Faalele went down at the 4:50 mark in the 1st quarter we immediately ran into issues. Called a timeout, looked confused. Ran Green into a wall for no gain. Controversially punted the ball away while we were on their 40 yard line.
At this point our defense was shutting down Taylor beautifully. Defense looked very solid the entire 1st quarter. Two bad plays in a row defensively were the bad coverage allowing Cephus to get the 1st down on 2nd and 13 with 47 seconds left in the quarter, followed by the costly pass interference on St. Juste with 26 seconds left. then we allowed Taylor his first solid run of the entire game to get them another first down on a long 1st and 15 to end the quarter. We were winning 7-0 after 1. Very little to complain about performance wise.
second quarter starts with Badgers in our end. Looked solid on first through 3rd down. This is where we made our first huge mistake, allowing Wisconsin to convert on 4th down with the end around. Everyone around me in the stands started bracing for impact as we are conditioned to do as long time Gopher fans. But then the defense comes up HUGE, absolute turnaround in momentum for us. They fumble, as the analysts and everyone was saying we needed then to do if we were going to win this game. The turnover margin NEEDED to go in our favor. Everyone knew that. So the defense still looked, for the most part, to be doing their job in winning us this game.
we start at the 32 with the ball with 13:55 in the second. Rodney goes 2 yards, followed by a bad miscue and sack on Morgan. THIS is where we start seeing how much we needed Faalele in this game. Morgan sees pressure two plays in a row. Badgers see the advantage they now have in the box. Morgan becomes immediately timid and looks jumpy after first sack mixed with immediate pressure on following play and forces an uncharacteristic pass off his back foot, resulting in the interception. Even with how bad this pass is, and set up for failure it is, Johnson actually had a shot at catching that ball. Went through his hands, just a little too high. Defense didn’t get much time to rest up. Wisconsin regained the momentum. They not only get good field position, but convert on 4th down. Defense bends by getting beat in the trenches allowing Coan to get the push he needed for that QB sneak, but it doesn’t break. Holds firm, but you can tell the D-line is getting gassed. Holds Wisconsin to 3.
The defense was still looking very good by the 9 minute mark in the second. Offense takes back over, completes some good passes. Has one solid run by Brooks for 5 yards. But can’t seem to snag any of the impressive sideline grabs that we’d been really solid with most of the season. Our play makers just weren’t making those game changing plays on this drive when it mattered. The refs missed a HUGE pass interference call that should have been made on the CB during the deep pass to Bateman. DB got away with yanking Bateman’s arm before the ball got there, it’s pretty clear. But you can’t count on the refs to make the right calls. I’d blame the play calling for this, we attempted too many 15+ yard passes along the sideline after a couple already failed. You need to stop at that point and go back to slants and shorter, higher probability of catch type passes. We end up having to punt, they start inside their 20. They complete a couple catches, the first one being for a first down.
defense shows that they’re getting tired, mixed with good play calling by Chryst, when they allow the screen play to the TE to go for 25 yards into our territory. Then follow that up with a great first down pass to Taylor. They started spreading us out and showing that they have some different dimensions. Defensively, this is where we hit a SERIOUS breakdown. Rossi didn’t know how to combat the diversity of play calls by Wisconsin on this drive, and they complete a pass to Taylor with no one really there to defend him other than Coughlin. Broken defensive play, clearly shouldn’t have ended up with Coughlin defending Taylor there. I knew on this TD, that our odds of winning just dropped drastically. I felt the sinking in my heart. From the stands it felt like a huge, collective sinking feeling in our fan base.
I would say that with 2:49 left in the 2nd, this is where we truly lost all momentum. We needed to score on one of our drives we had earlier. We needed to capitalize on that fumble recovery we had, and it needed to happen with 7. Not 3.
our final offensive drive before the half we had almost 3 minutes to retake the lead, and then get the ball back to start the second. Morgan looked shaky still. Making dangerous passes. Rodney breaks a big run, brings life back to the situation. But then our offensive line allows a huge sack. We attempt the screen to Autman-Bell. Doesn’t look as great as the one against Penn State. We get 5 yards. Then we try another deep prayer to Autman-Bell, it’s well defended. We don’t make anything of our chance. Go to half down 10-7.
we needed to be up at half. I truly think Faalele being out was the biggest piece to our lack of success. Followed by the interception that ruined our fumble recovery.
the second half the wheels came off. I don’t think I even need to break that down. But I do think our coaching staff should have been able to devise a halftime adjustment that answered not having Faalele. I think halftime adjustments should have been made to prevent any further screen plays to break for big yards against us.
in our first drive to start the second half though, we were driving. Slants were working VERY well. We completed two in a row for consecutive first downs. Followed by a stuffed run by Smith for no yards, and then a deeper sideline pass that went incomplete. I understand not wanting to be predictable, but you had the slants working. UNTIL YOU CANT. Why would you run Smith around the edge on 3rd and 10? In this same drive you had two slants work perfectly, and instead you think a run that was just stuffed on 1st and 10 is going to get you 10 yards on 3rd? Stupid.
They start with the ball deep in their end with a little over 11 minutes left in the 3rd. What started as a chance for us to make them tire out their offense (having to go 95 yards to get 7 more on the board), but this situation turns into a very manageable 60 yards to go in a matter of seconds. we maybe could have stood them up and gotten the ball back with solid field position, being down by only 3 STILL. We were STILL technically in this game at this point, even though most of us fans didn’t feel it momentum wise. Taylor then grabs 7 yards on the ground, and then 5 more for a first.
Then the game really felt out of reach quick. Coan completes the deep, 47 yard TD to Cephus. Huge break in coverage here, Howden didn’t drop back like he was supposed to soon enough. Leaving Barber as the guy trying to chase him down. This really deflated the entire squad. With our failed opportunities on offense, and the defense being told they need to come up big OVER and OVER again. It just wasn’t going to happen for us. Defense can only keep us in the game so long against a team like Wisconsin. For us to only have 7 this far into the game was the biggest disappointment for me. With an offense that, besides the first half against Iowa, had shown it could really burn people...I realized just how much we need to improve our depth at O-line. We can’t lose one lineman and see that big of a drop off in pass protection and the run game. Just can’t happen if you want to win these big games.
Everything after this is just embarrassing. And at this point when they went up 17-7 with 9:46 left in the 3rd. There was so much game left, we get the ball back. Big pass to Bateman. Spark of hope. Try a tunnel screen to Autman-Bell, 4 yards.
Then Ibrahim busts a huge run out of nowhere! Even bigger spark of hope. Could we make the comeback??? Well the miscue with Johnson on the deep ball out of the end zone...deflating again. We made it down to their 22 yard line. 8 minutes in the 3rd. We have 2nd and 10, bad unusual pass to Douglas incomplete and luckily not intercepted. Then we decide to play timid, use timid play calls. Run for 2 pathetic yards. Kick the field goal. It’s 17-10.
We.Are.Still.In.The.Game.
Aaaaaaaannnndddd then we’re not, just like that. Special teams gives up a huge kick return that goes into our territory. Totally deflated us again. So we FINALLY put a few more points on the board, and our Achilles heel (special teams) gets shot with an arrow by Bucky using a reverse on the kickoff. Defense by this point is probably collectively thinking “screw all of you”. They’re put into a situation with their backs against the wall, after how hard they’ve worked. Defense gives up a big first down pass to TE. Then it’s followed by an end around for a TD. Refs TOTALLY miss a HUGE holding call on #61. That gave them that TD, hands down. We had a guy right there. Now would he have gotten the tackle? I don’t know. But a penalty call is a penalty call. They missed it. Huge nail in the coffin. we answer their quick 7 with a run that gets stuffed, a nice first down pass, a run for little gain, a first down run by Brooks (very nice). We’re into badger territory. Marching nicely. Run the ball a couple times, end up 3rd and short. Snag a first down barely. 2:24 left in the 3rd, on their 36. Awesome first down completion to their 24. Run for 3 yards, slant that gets to their 6 YARD LINE. Imagine that..A SLANT THAT WORKED AGAIN. Run goes to the 4 to end the quarter.
we go into the 4th. down 2 scores. We’re knocking on the door to bring the game to within 7.
IN A GAME OF THIS MAGNITUDE, YOU NEED TO SCORE HERE. SO HELP ME GOD, FAALELE OR NOT, YOU PUNCH IT IN.
this is the MOST befuddling play calling of the game, if prior moments hadn’t been a bit puzzling already. We try 2 fade routes to Johnson, instead of Bateman. We run virtually the same pass twice in a row, out routes instead of slants. Refs missed the pass interference on the first one, and possibly even on the second one. Refs can’t be the deciding factor of a game though. HOW IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO FOR PLAY CALLS? Where was Seth Green? What about a PA pass, draw the blitz give a nice toss over the line to a wide open TE? Something else!
the rest is history, and it was so bad that at this point while in the stands, I was just waiting for a Badger fan to say the wrong thing near me. I was hoping for an all out fan brawl. Something to unleash my anger on. But I couldn’t. Had to stay classier than Badger fans.
this game sucked, it hurt, and there was so much on the line...
very deflating.
i am still rowing the boat, still totally on board, and I sure as hell hope the players use this as motivation and a learning experience going forward. Hope we win our bowl game to go 11-2. Overall it was a beautiful season. But every season generally encounters some level of heartbreak. Just sucks ours had to be to our two biggest rivals. Can’t change anything though. I love where we appear to be headed as a program, haven’t had this much hope for the future or love for the present in a long long time.
SKI-U-MAH
who hates Bucky? WE HATE BUCKY!
